Font Designer - Mark van Wageningen

The Dutch designer Mark van Wageningen created the fonts Linotype Cerny™, Linotype Laika™ and Linotype Sjablony™ in 1997. All these fonts are included in the Take Type Library, chosen from the contestants of Linotype’s International Digital Type Design Contests of 1994 and 1997.

Van Wageningen designed for Linotype Cerny an alphabet consisting exclusively of capital letters. The font’s most distinguishing characteristic is its irregular outer contour, almost as though they were ripped out of paper. Linotype Cerny is intended exclusively for headlines in larger point sizes.

The forms of the fun font Linotype Laika are based on those of a sans serif font but gave them wavy, irregular contours. They look almost as though they lie just under the surface of a pool and the movement of the water gives them their undulating appearance. The dynamic Linotype Laika is especially good for headlines in larger point sizes or shorter texts in point sizes of 14 or larger.

The typeface Linotype Sjablony with its interrupted strokes has the characteristics of the stencils seen on crates and barrels. The difference lies in the raw contours of this font, which make the characters look as though they were slowly eroded away by water and wind. Linotype Sjablony is composed exclusively of heavy capital letters and is particular suitable for initials and headlines with point sizes of 18 and larger.