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Cult Gothic

Fred Cochran

Profile picture of Fred Cochran

A multidisciplinary designer focusing on the art of typography, creating custom typefaces, identities and publications showcasing the communicative power of letterforms.

A multidisciplinary designer focusing on the art of typography, creating custom typefaces, identi...

A post-post-modernist variable typeface.

Bringing the emotive type of the 20th Century into the digital age, Cult Gothic aims to push back against the growing trend of modernist, sans-serif typefaces taking over the design world. Inspired by the youth movements of the 1980's, when expression and provocation were at the forefront of everybody's minds, this variable typeface slides between a gothic, blackletter script, inspired by the streets and clubs of Camden, and modernist sans-serif letterforms.

Final work

Hand holding closed black type specimen.

Cult Gothic type specimen

Riso printed type specimen. The tall format reflects the compressed type, with loop staples piercing the spine.

Hands holding an open black booklet against a white background

Cult Gothic type specimen

Central spread of the Riso type specimen, showing the lowercase character set.

Full glyph set includes upper and lower case, numerals and ligatures.

Variations in the letter 'l', from blackletter to sans-serif.

Variations in the letter 'l'

Variations in the letter 'l', corresponding to its year on the variable slider.

As the years progress, the typeface becomes more modernist and less expressive.

Research and process

Screenshot of Glyphs interface.

Working in Glyphs

Master compatibility was key in creating an effective variable typeface. Drawing both ends of the spectrum allows the typeface to interpolate, offering infinite variations.

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Cult Gothic

A post-post-modernist variable typeface. Bringing the emotive type of the 20th Century into the digital age, Cult Gothic aims to push back against the growing trend of modernist, sans-serif typefaces taking over the design world. Inspired by the youth movemen...

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