Our weekly look at a favorite new typeface. Share yours with us on Twitter and Instagram @AIGAdesign with #TypeTuesday.
Name: Bella
Designer: Rick Banks
Foundry: F37, available for purchase at Hype For Type
Release date: 2012
Back story: Designer Rick Banks of the London design studio Face37 created Bella as a riff on the classic French typeface, Didot, with lush rounded contours and a shift in overall geometry that we think increases the sex appeal. It’s based on the work of renowned typographers, America’s John Pistilli and Herb Lubalin, and Switzerland’s Jan Tschichold. Bella received the 2012 TDC Tokyo Award.
Why’s it called Bella? Banks says, “It’s named after my beautiful wife Annabel and I think the name matches the font quite well.”
What are its distinguishing characteristics? Voluptuous curves paired with ultra thin serifs, plus some charming ball terminal alternatives in the uppercase library that mirror the terminals on the lowercase alphabet and numerals. “Tschichold’s Saskia inspired Bella’s perfect circular terminals,” says Banks. “Pistilli and Lubalin’s typeface called Pistilli Roman inspired many of Bella’s other forms, especially the very fine hairlines.”
What should I use it for? Bella is fantastic for headlines or other display uses; the whisper-weight serifs vanish at small sizes.
Who’s it friends with? Understated sans serif typefaces like Futura work well with Bella, as does F37Ginger.
