Industry: Design

Marr Sans Collection

A Scottish grotesque expanded from almost nothing

Marr Sans is a grotesque typeface revival rooted in an 1870s design from James Marr & Co. of Edinburgh, successors to Alexander Wilson & Sons. Paul Barnes and Dave Foster expanded a sparse original—a few lines in three sizes and one weight—into a range spanning Thin through Bold, with an Ultra Black and a wider companion to the six lighter weights.

Set in Marr Sans

Insights

The source material comprised only a few lines of type in three sizes and a single weight.
An Ultra Black and a wider variant supplement the core six-weight progression.
Positioned alongside Graphik and Atlas as a contrast: those reflect twentieth-century homogeneity; Marr, like Druk, embraces nineteenth-century individuality.