The name Typografische comes from Typografische Monatsblätter. During my university years, this publication was not merely a reference; it was a field of thought. Designers such as Karl Gerstner, Siegfried Odermatt, Emil Ruder, Helmut Schmid, Wolfgang Weingart, and Jan Tschichold each leaving their mark in different years demonstrated that modernist discipline and experimental courage could coexist.

During those years of reading and experimenting, I encountered the word “Typografische” so frequently that it gradually transformed from a title into an attitude. Systematic but not rigid. Disciplined but not dogmatic. Timeless without being nostalgic.

I was also introduced to Wim Crouwel during my university years. His grid-driven posters and radical system-based approach to type design influenced me immediately. In Neu Alphabet, letterforms were reduced to almost engineering problems. The 45-degree cuts in lowercase letters such as “n” and “h,” the flat terminals, the deliberate severity. These were decisions that preserved systemic consistency, even at the expense of readability.

It may be difficult to read.
But its thinking is remarkably clear.

At the same time, there was another structure that continued to appear in global campaigns, in the visual language of brands like Nike, and in some of the world’s most recognized logos even nearly a century after its creation: Futura. Paul Renner’s humanized geometry, particularly in his original drawings of letters like “a,” “g,” and “n,” revealed a delicate balance between mathematics and intuition. Futura was not rigid geometry; it was geometry refined through optical correction.

At a certain point, these two names sat at the same table in my mind.

What kind of typeface would emerge if Paul Renner and Wim Crouwel had lived in the same era and collaborated?

FH Duo was born from that question.

• • •

FH Duo is a contemporary geometric sans serif family that reinterprets modernist typography through two distinct perspectives. This is not a historical merger. It did not begin as an attempt to redraw Futura or update Neu Alphabet. Instead, it was conceived as a timeless meeting of ideas.

On one side: human-centered geometry.
On the other: system-driven experimentation.

The core structure of FH Duo is built on controlled proportions, optically balanced forms, and a calm typographic rhythm. The skeleton is geometric, yet the final shapes are adjusted by eye rather than ruler. True geometry is felt optically, not measured mechanically.

Renner’s influence can be sensed in the optical corrections that allow the letters to breathe. Crouwel’s influence appears in structural decisions and more mechanical terminals.

Initially, FH Duo was designed as a single family. However, as the process evolved, two distinct tendencies became evident. One structure leaned toward balance and readability for extended text. The other began to express a more graphic, more systematic language.

This divergence led to the creation of two subfamilies:

FH Duo was designed for text and extended reading. It offers a balanced, functional, and timeless tone. The geometry is softened, the rhythm controlled, and readability prioritized.

FH Duo Display, on the other hand, is more experimental and more declarative. Here, Crouwel’s influence becomes more visible. Cut edges, mechanical terminals, and system-oriented decisions come forward. The geometry is more exposed. Less forgiving. More assertive.

Yet the two subfamilies are not opposites. They share the same geometric foundation. One allows the form to breathe; the other reveals the system beneath. They speak in different tones on the same grid.

The brutalist character of Neu Alphabet’s 45-degree cuts has been consciously reconsidered in certain display characters. However, the intention was never to challenge readability, but to imply structure. Meanwhile, the optical softness of Futura is more apparent in the core family. Mathematical precision gives way to typographic calm.

FH Duo is not a historical reconstruction.
It is neither a continuation of Futura nor a revival of Neu Alphabet.

It is a speculative design.
A typographic “what if.”

The name “Duo” does not represent opposition, but dialogue. Can human-centered form and system-centered structure coexist? Can softness and rigidity move within the same rhythm? Can geometry both breathe and remain mechanical?

FH Duo was shaped around these questions.

What emerged is not an exercise in nostalgia, but a contemporary conversation between two modernist temperaments.

One table.
Two ideas.
One system.