The aspect I like the best are the characters that seem solid -- the "S" at the very top and left of the page, the "B" and "E" and "G" just below that, and the numerals in the middle.

i agree. the "s" was actually developed as a logo, and the face was built around that concept. those forms definitely are more dense than the others--H, L, T, and U are the most open feeling-- but there's just not much to work with on those letters. i've found that the condensed is easier to actually set type with, but the extended has a more unique feel.

Wow. This has got to be one of the best dystopian typefaces I have ever seen!

Your subtle blend of stencil, blackletter and grid-based type is just excellent, and the condensed version, which imho is the best, even reads quite well. I can easily picture this successfully used in a cyberpunk scifi-flick on oppressive propaganda posters. (Too bad you didn't finish it before they made Blade Runner... ;D) The slanted line-ends are my favourite, as they subtly echo blackletter type and the (undeserved) associations that it has gained with Nazism, thus strengthening the totalitarian feel of the face. (They also remind somewhat of Gothic Gothic, another great face.) I hope I didn't read to much into your face... ;D

Furthermore, making the normal and condensed verions related, but not by squishing or extending, is a stroke of genious. (But skip the italics.) However, the normal version seems a bit too heavy to my eye. I would look into either sacrificing the grid, or making it one "pixel" narrower. But then again, this might destroy the feel of the face. You could try it anyway.

Also, shouldn't the stencil gap of your normal 'G' be positioned like that on your normal 'C'? And shouldn't the tail of the normal 'Q' extend outside of the letter, just like that on the condesed 'Q'? Possibly, you could also slant the line-end of the roof on the '1'.


Btw, the name makes me associate to the computer game classic Syndicate, which indeed is very dark and dystopian. Is this intentional? Do you even know of the game?

Thank you very much for the compliments, and the thorough critique. I don

For me, I continue to love the "solid" characters -- the S, the G and the E, for instance. (The non-condensed versions). The problem I have is that those characters don't sync up with the "non-solid" characters as well -- Q, U, and so on. On the other hand, there are some characters that are flat-out impossible to make fit into that paradigm, like the T and I -- no matter how you make them, they will never be as black as the S and G.

So I'd have to say things are going great -- I love the typeface. However, the condensed still doesn't turn my crank.

Tyler - well you know already how I feel about this face!* So maybe some Typophiles can help answer some questions that really haven't been answered here.

Specifically, if a face like this goes to retail, approximately HOW MANY copies (licenses) will be sold?

There are plenty of lurkers who could give us some idea of retail sales. Someone said 50 might be an average of sales within the first year.

For example, Gothic Gothic by IHOF. Is that selling 50 copies, 100 copies, or more?

I've read about percentages offered by various foundries, but I've never heard anyone mention how many of a particular font is sold.

If anyone wants to contact Tyler or myself directly, we will respect your privacy and not share the information if that's what you request.

thanks,

bj

* I contacted Tyler the day he posted this about possibly including Syndicate in Apollo 26's first retail release.