Display Typeface for Fontwerk

Analog craft meets variable font technology

Nikolai is a serif/display typeface designed by Franziska Weitgruber and published by Fontwerk in 2020, with variable font support added in February 2022. The family spans 24 styles across weight and width axes. Weitgruber's practice bridges analog and digital methods, drawing on manual printing techniques including risography, screen printing, enamel paint, and gold leaf application. She trained in type design at the New Design University St. Pölten and completed the TypeMedia Master at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague.

Set in Nikolai

Insights

Design period ran 2018–2020; variable fonts followed as a separate update in February 2022.
The variable font ships with two axes—weight and width—with woff2 file sizes of 97 KB (upright) and 102 KB (italic).
Weitgruber's background spans calligraphy, hand lettering, and manual printing techniques including gold leaf, enamel paint, risography, and screen printing.
Mastering and production involved separate contributors (Andreas Frohloff, Christoph Koeberlin, Rosalie Wagner) distinct from the type designer.