Industry: Design

Typeface Design for Editorial Typography

Broad-nib meets pointed pen in a newspaper-first serif

Meret is a serif typeface by TypeMates, designed by Nils Thomsen in 2010 for newspaper and editorial use in tight columns and dense leading. Its forms balance broad-nib and pointed-pen influences to achieve a character described as simultaneously sturdy and refined. The family spans 16 styles across 8 weights, includes a variable font, and provides exactly 1,150 glyphs with Latin language support across more than 200 languages. It was recognised by Typographica's Notable Typefaces of 2011, the ATypI Letter.2 competition, and a 2012 CommArts Excellence Award.

Set in Meret

Insights

Default figures are drawn slightly taller than the x-height to remain legible at small sizes without distracting at normal sizes.
Five figure styles are provided—each with matching tabular variants—to serve complex editorial typography needs.
Small caps are drawn wider than the caps, a deliberate book-typography decision.
Punctuation adapts to case and small-cap contexts via OpenType, with five alternate arrow stylistic sets also included.