Discourse Font Family by Delve Fonts

About: Discourse was first visualized when letterer and designer Dave Bailey heard a preview of the album “Dust and Buried Bones: A Western Fantasy” by Opiate Eyes. The title alone evokes vivid imagery of gritty western films and the Oregon Trail. Although Discourse references classic reverse-contrast wood type associated with the era of the Wild West, it re-interprets conventional forms to be more unique and dis­tinctly neo-modern.

The three heavy weights of Discourse concentrate on creat­ing the highest visual impact with the darkest color possible and tight spacing. The horizontal strokes create overall strong word shapes and the attention to con­sistent color creates a surprisingly even block when setting multi­ple lines of text.

The three light weights are the opposite extreme, com­pletely shedding the weight of the horizontal strokes that characterizes the heavy weights. The core forms re­main intact but are refreshingly monolinear with details carried over from the heavy weights where strokes join. This drives Discourse into new territory by stripping away historical context, adding versatility and staking a claim in contemporary design.

Overall, the neo-modern interpretation of the forms so closely associated with the Wild West led to some in­terest­ing solutions to take place in individual glyphs like the X, at sign, ampersand, the dagger, as well as a unique set of numer­als. All of the Light and Heavy fonts include shadow, outline and fill versions that can be lay­ered for a fun chromatic effect. The family is comprised of 24 fonts in total.

Discourse is best used at large sizes. It looks great on packag­ing, in headlines and for building logotypes. In­dividual glyphs are powerful as isolated design elements like drop caps or icons.

Tags: Font, Multi-Weight Family, Serif, Western, Wood Type