Cina Sans
Public Type · 2023
A neo-grotesque family built from over thirty years of critical engagement with Helvetica, spanning nine weights with italics, a variable axis, a monospaced sibling, and 1,460 characters per style.
About
Rooted in repeated reinterpretations of Helvetica across 2002, 2009 and 2019, Cina Sans arrived in 2023 following a custom type commission that prompted a rethinking of the genre. The family ships in nine static weights with matching italics, a variable font, and a full monospaced variant, each weight carrying 1,460 characters and an extensive set of OpenType stylistic alternates that shift its character considerably. Technical development was carried out in collaboration with a Google typeface developer to ensure reliability across print and screen.
Classification
A neo-grotesque sans informed by decades of critical engagement with Helvetica, following in the tradition of rational, closed-aperture grotesques with uniform stroke weight and neutral character forms. Multiple stylistic sets allow significant tonal variation within the neo-grotesque framework.