Industry: Design

Typeface Design for Complex Text Settings

Letterpress Bible research as the foundation for a modern dictionary typeface

Sirba is a low-contrast serif designed by Nicolien van der Keur for demanding text environments including dictionaries, academic publications, annual reports, novels, and magazines. Its design was guided by research into letterpress-printed Bibles and dictionaries, with emphasis on small-size legibility. The family spans five styles—including a Black weight with proportions engineered to keep counters open at very small sizes—and covers Latin, polytonic Greek, Cyrillic with Bulgarian alternates, and a full IPA symbol set.

Set in Sirba

Insights

Design was guided by in-depth research into letterpress-printed Bibles and dictionaries, particularly regarding readability at small point sizes.
The Black weight's stem width is twice that of Regular, so its letter spacing and width were made proportionally more generous to preserve counter prominence at very small sizes.
The italic was developed as an equal counterpart to the roman—differentiated enough for distinction without creating visual unevenness in running text.
Annual reports and tables benefit from the low cap height and consistent tabular numeral widths across weights, according to the foundry.