Industry: Design

Canela Blackletter

Rooted in Mexican fonda signage culture

Miguel Reyes designed this blackletter companion to Canela, drawing on Mexican blackletter traditions found on signage for fondas—small, casual restaurants. Initial sketches served as a logotype for his family's restaurant, Raíz, before the character set was filled out. The family includes two capital sets: a simplified variant and a more ornate set evoking newspaper nameplates.

Set in Canela Blackletter

Insights

The design originated as a logotype for Reyes's family restaurant, Raíz, before being developed into an expanded character set.
Two capital variants serve different registers: one simplified, one complex and nameplate-like.
Released through Commercial Type's Vault, a repository for over 20 years of unreleased typefaces.