Custom Type Design in Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies”

In an age where movie titles are becoming an industry of their own and the name of the game is crediting the Key Grip and Best Boy with increasingly obnoxious motion graphics gymnastics, Michael Mann has gone back to basics. For his upcoming “Public Enemies”, a crime drama set in the 1930’s, he commissioned Neville Brody to design New Deal, an original display typeface for titling and promotional materials. The face was specifically designed with the imperfections of the period taken into account–as signage was often done by artists who weren’t themselves dedicated type designers–resulting in a quirky, uneven character. Note the somewhat inconsistent character widths and orthogonal, grid-based style. There are a million blocky geometric fonts out there, but New Deal’s historical attention to detail, combined with a willingness to break convention, gives it a unique energy and rhythm.

Topic: Design
Tags: custom type, michael mann, public enemies

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