Bertin
Cartographic theory as type system
Designed by Roman Seban and released in 2023, Bertin is a modular variable typeface drawing on Jacques Bertin's 1967 cartographic treatise Semiology of Graphics and Jurriaan Schrofer's 1973 typographic interpretation of it. The family splits into two subfamilies—Bertin Dot (circle modules) and Bertin Square (square modules)—each offering six styles derived from Bertin's six visual variables: Size, Shape, Value, Multi, Rotation, and Orientation. Variable font axes allow continuous adjustment within each style. Because all glyphs share identical metrics regardless of style, different style instances can be overlaid on the same text to compound effects.
Set in Bertin Dot, Bertin Square
Insights
- The six styles per subfamily map directly to Bertin's cartographic visual variables—Size, Shape, Value, Multi, Rotation, and Orientation—making the design system structurally derived from information theory.
- Identical glyph metrics across all variable settings allow literal text overlay between styles, a layering capability the source describes as built into the system by design.
- Schrofer's 1973 grid-based typeface, which typographically illustrates Bertin's six visual variables, is cited alongside the cartographer's treatise as a direct source for Seban's interpretation.
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