Untitled Case
Turning screen degradation into a design method
Px Grotesk, by Nicolas Eigenheer, embeds a pixel-grid structure into a classically optically adjusted grotesque drawing. The design originated from observing how screens brutally simplify curves at small sizes, using that constraint as a generative starting point. The result is hybrid shapes that preserve the pixelated character while revealing more refined drawing at larger sizes. The family includes proportional and monospaced variants, with Cyrillic and Greek script support.
Set in Px Grotesk
Insights
- The concept treats pixel simplification of curves—normally an unwanted rendering artifact—as a formal starting point, encoding grid logic into the outlines rather than correcting for it.
- Reduced-size glyphs (numerators, denominators, superscripts, subscripts) are drawn slightly heavier to maintain apparent weight consistency with the parent forms.
- Proportional figures are set as the default; tabular lining figures are available via OpenType for columnar use, with the default chosen because some applications cannot access the feature.
- Designer Nicolas Eigenheer received the Swiss Federal Design Awards in 2008 and has had multiple book designs recognised in The Most Beautiful Swiss Books.
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