Industry: Design

Typeface Family for Q Project

Six bases, 35 attachments, near-infinite combinations

Q Project is a modular type system by Peter Biľak (with contributor Nikola Djurek) released by Typotheque in 2020. It comprises six uppercase base fonts and 35 attachments that share vertical and horizontal metrics, enabling layered colour combinations. The system also includes Q Mechanic, a variable font with a motion axis, and Q Shapes, three sets of elements spanning Roman inscriptional brushstrokes, monolinear forms, and rudimentary geometry for constructing letterforms from scratch.

Set in Q Project

Insights

Attachments and base fonts share vertical and horizontal metrics specifically to allow reliable layering across separate font files.
Q Mechanic uses OpenType Discretionary Ligatures to substitute single glyphs with multiple pieces—a GSUB Lookup Type that requires Adobe World-Ready Composer in Adobe applications.
Q Shapes 1 is grounded in Edward Catich's brushstroke analysis of Roman inscriptional lettering, allowing users to reassemble capital letters stroke by stroke.
The system was conceptually inspired by construction toys such as Lego and Meccano, framing type exploration as play-driven problem discovery.