On some occasion, it happens that a typeface is commissioned by a client to be extended by styles or additional scripts. TypeTogether was therefore pleased to receive a request to develop Cyrillic for three styles of the successful Karmina type family, for both print and web use.
Karmina's calligraphic roots also influenced the design of the Cyrillic part, most notably in out-strokes reminiscent of a broad-nip pen, e.g. on letters such as ж (zhe) and л (el). As is also common in multi-script typefaces, the most representative features of the design were maintained for consistency; low contrast, narrow proportions, chunky serifs, acute connections and the large and yet graceful ink traps.
Due to the caps-like structure of the Cyrillic lowercase it is advisable, in some typefaces, to increase the x-height of the Cyrillic. To achieve coherently good results when both Latin and Cyrillic are set on the same line of text, it was decided to do so with Karmina Cyrillic. The result of all these characteristics grants Karmina Cyrillic outstanding legibility and economy.
Russian type designer Alexandra Korolkova gave valuable feedback and suggestions in tune with current typographic trends on the Cyrillic lettershapes.
Karmina Cyrillic will remain a exclusive foint exclusive for the Bible Society in Russia for the next 18 months, after which it will be released as part of the full Karmina family.
Awards
– Third prize for Cyrillic text typeface in the 2015 Granshan Type Design Competition. Read more here
TypeTogether is an indie type foundry committed to excellence in type design with a focus on editorial use. Additionally, TypeTogether creates custom type design for corporate use. We invite you to browse our library of retail fonts or contact us to discuss custom type design projects.