BMF Elettriche Modular Type System 1.0

Numbering system

Influenced by the numbering system developed by Adrian Frutiger for his Univers typeface and later expanded for Linotype Univers, we created a simple and user-friendly coding for BMF Elettriche. The numbering system consists of four figures, which respectively designate the shape (design), width, weight and style of a particular font. This scheme allows for easy search and selection of the fonts in the menu and also shows the relationship of fonts to each other. For instance: 1230 is bolder than 1220 and wider than 1130.

Shape

The first digit in the BMF Elettriche numbering system stands for the character shape, which exists in six different variants represented by the numbers 1 through 6. Apart from the number, the shape is also designated in the font name by a character (A, B, C, D, E or F). In the numbering system, the number for BMFElettricheBaseA begins with 1, that of BMFElettricheBaseC with 3, etc. The six shapes of the BMF Elettriche family couldn’t be further apart. They range from a minimalist Bauhaus-like approach to a baroque English script:

A. The letter shapes are reduced to the minimum; the characters are the narrowest of the system.
B. A little more experimental than A; the descenders of the lowercase characters h, k, n and s are noteworthy.
C. The characters seem rounded off because corner modules have been taken away: the overall impression is lighter.
D. Playing with the edges of the grid results in Idiosyncratic letterforms
E. A real serifed typeface.
F. A unique series of script fonts, with the usual cheeky curls and lush curves.

Width & Weight

The second digit in the BMF Elettriche numbering system designates the width of the font. There are three widths: Condensed (1), Normal (2) and Extended (3). ‘Normal’ is the standard width, ‘Condensed’ takes up minimum space without loosing any of its legibility, while ‘Extended’ spreads out into horizontality without restraint (plate 13).

The third digit in the BMF Elettriche numbering system designates the four weights: XLight (1), Light (2), Regular (3) and Heavy (4).

Style

The forth digit in the BMF Elettriche numbering system designates the style of the characters. There are three styles available: Normale (0), Doppie (2) and Triple (3). While the Doppie (italian word for double) uses two modules for each letterpart in the horizontal direction, Triple uses no less than three (plate 14). Additional styles are being developed: the BMF Elettriche numbering system has capacity for up to 10 different styles.