In April 2026, the Artemis II lunar flyby mission brought four astronauts around the moon and set the record for human distance from earth. Its crew includes the first person of color, the first woman, and the first Canadian to travel beyond low earth orbit.

Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian astronaut, wore a special mission patch created specifically for him by the Canadian Space Agency. It was designed by Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond of the Turtle Lodge. Its heptagonal shape and the animals shown on it reference to the Seven Sacred Laws, a traditional First Nations teaching that emphasizes Respect, Love, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility, and Truth. The agency’s webpage and press video go into greater detail about the symbolism of each element on the patch.

The Canadian Space Agency video about the patch and its symbolism:

Jeremy Hansen sharing the patch while in space, during a Space-to-earth connection event:

On the patch, Hansen’s name is typeset prominently on the bottom in the heaviest weight of my typeface Condor. (As far as I know, this is the first time a font of mine has traveled to space!) The agency’s name is typeset in Helvetica in both English and French.

Other styles of Condor have also been used extensively by the Canadian Space Agency for its mission poster, its space-to-earth connection events, and other video documentation of the mission.

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen (right), pictured with his mission patch on his torso, stands alongside American astronaut Victor Glover in Florida.

A still from the April 8 space-to-Earth connection event. Jeremy Hansen shares and discusses the patch and what it means to him while aboard the Orion spacecraft during its return flight to Earth.

Artemis II mission poster

An embroidered patch replica available for sale at Ingenium Boutique

The crew of Artemis II pose with the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Jeremy Hansen is at far right, with the patch visible on his uniform.

Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell onstage at a space-to-Earth connection event with astronaut Jeremy Hansen, with tightly-tracked Condor in French and English

Paperback edition, February 1989

A rare sighting of Obliq, a Letraset release from 1984, used in both of its weights for a science fiction novel by Hal Clement (1922–2003):

The Riddle of Enigma Years of exacting study were coming to an end. All five student scientists, each the best its species had to offer, were one step away from their final degrees. One examination remained: the students were to determine why the tiny planet of Enigma, a planet with so little mass that it should never have had an atmosphere, in fact it did. Everything seemed to be running smoothly until the only Human member of the team, Molly was accidentally blown into one of the deep fissures that pocked the planet’s surface. She found herself trapped in a series of tunnels and caves that only led her deeper into the riddle that was at the heart of Enigma. But as her concerned companions followed her, they found Enigma’s most puzzling anomaly. For in the dark passages they discovered life – life which couldn’t possibly exist.

For the title, the caps were enlarged and shifted down, so that they align with the ascenders and the underline underneath the lowercase letters. Small text is in Univers.

[More info on ISFDB]

Hardback edition, June 1987

Routine is a survival horror game developed by Lunar Software and published by Raw Fury. After a protracted development cycle – starting in 2012, lasting 13 years, and achieving a near mythical status within the gaming community – the game was finally released on December 4th, 2025.

Set in 1999. you play as a “Software Engineer” aboard Union Plaza—a resort on the moon, initially tasked with resetting its security system. However, after waking up from a brief isolation period, the resort is now empty and in a state of utter disarray. In search of an answer, you'll only find more questions.

Routine, which is now officially my pick for horror game of the year, has a slightly unusual roster of typefaces that works surprisingly well. Open Sans is the primary typeface used for Routine's logo since at least 2017, in its branding and for the in-game subtitles. Arial, while not used much in the UI, is seen a lot throughout Union Plaza from way-finding signs to decals, documents and more.

Pocket, a bitmap typeface designed by Aaron D. Chand (memesbruh03) is used in the game’s menu, and especially in all of the displays you interact with such as your personal C.A.T and the many computers. Dubiel, a tall serif typeface, is used in parts of the station and for the chapter title card, paired with Arial Italic.

Routine logo

Main menu. While not shown here, the background is grainy footage of the moon being scanned.

The start of chapter 01, “Birth”, using Dubiel

A view outside Union Plaza. The tutorial prompt is the only other HUD element in Routine.

Reading a note

The same note but now directly from the paper itself. Arial and Dubiel are used here.

This lovely terminal uses a good deal of Arial

This lovely mix of Arial Regular and Arial Black on a mechanical door

Interacting with the Cosmonaut Assistance Tool (C.A.T) where current tasks and previous media collected are stored. Pocket is used plentifully here.

Interacting with the tram’s computer

Front cover

Augustea Open is the typeface used on the cover of New Traditionalists. The fourth studio album by Devo was released on September 16, 1981 by Warner Bros. Records.

From Wikipedia:

The front and back cover were photographed by Moshe Brakha and feature artwork by Richard Seireeni, based on a concept by the band. The band's clothing, also worn during live performances, was influenced by Japanese fashion, while the rubber pompadours, created by Brent Scrivner, were based on the hairstyle of John F. Kennedy but were frequently mistaken for that of Ronald Reagan. Casale’s longheld interest in the space program led to the band using a cartoon image of an astronaut’s head from a paper Halloween mask in the artwork, which was later reused for the limited edition “Beautiful World” picture disc.

The band wore blue V-neck T-shirts with the New Traditionalists astronaut on the black sleeves. This shirt can be seen on the US, Australian and New Zealand versions of the album cover. On the European cover, Devo is seen wearing “Sleeveless Maxi-Turtleneck Sweaters”. The T-shirts, turtlenecks and plastic versions of the pompadours were all available through Devo’s fan club catalog.

Design concept by DEVO INC. with art direction by Seireeni and graphics by Fran “Narf” Fresquez.

[More info on Discogs]

Back cover

Alternate front cover used for European markets

Not of This World, 1973

Two books by Peter Kolosimo (1922–1984), one of the founders of pseudoarchaeology who popularized ancient astronaut theories of contact between extraterrestrial beings and ancient human civilizations, published by Bantam Books in the 1970s.

The titles are set in caps from West Behemoth (1960), with contour and drop shadow. The author’s name and the teasers use the similar – but much older – Egyptienne Bold Condensed. Caledonia is used for the lists of topics, with ellipses for the first book and question marks for the second one.

Timeless Earth, 1975

Babe Ruth is an English rock band from Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Initially named Shacklock, it was renamed after the famous baseball player in 1972. The debut album is best known for the song “The Mexican”. It comes with cover art by Roger Dean (b. 1944) who chose to depict a scene of space baseball, with the astronaut players surfing on sharks.

While the UK release featured Cooper Black Italic, with related lettering for the band name, the type was changed for the North American market: there, it’s almost as bonkers as the art, featuring a chromatic setting of Vanderbilt. This style is the shaded variant of Vassar, a top-heavy novelty face added to Filmotype’s library sometime before 1970.

[More info on Discogs]

Detail

Funk and soul album One Step Beyond was released in 1970, by Johnnie Taylor on the Stax record label. Both David Krieger and The Graffiteria served for this album's art direction, with model and dancer Pat Evans appearing on both front and back covers.

Photo-Lettering's Bauhaus Geometric is appropriately used for “JOHNNIE TAYLOR” and “STS-2030 STEREO” only, with Futura for the tracklist and credits on the back cover.

A rare sighting of the Dellacroce Beta typeface, specifically variant #3 (6180) is used for “one step beyond” on both front and back. Photo-Lettering’s One Line Manual of Styles only displays #1 (6178), #2 (6179), #5 (6194), and #6 (6195), with #2 being the closest style to Beta #2.

[More info on Discogs]

Dellacroce Beta as shown in Art Deco, 1970

Dellacroce Beta plus four of the shaded variants (#1, #2, #5 and #6) as shown in the One Line Manual of Styles, 1971. Carl P. Dellacroce’s family name is accidentally spelled with one l in four of the captions.

This is the second and last studio album by the Japanese fusion band Space Circus. Tsunehisa Kimura created the artwork cover for the front and back, which is titled Divine Retribution and Earth Fantasy. Both artworks are currently in the collection of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.

The album title is set in an extra compressed variant of Helvetica Compressed [edit: or rather Schmalfette Grotesk, see comments], while the band's name is set in Neo Script.

The track titles on the back cover are set in a bold weight of Futura, while the track numbers, song credits, and staff credits are set in Optima. The Japanese sans serif typeface on the bottom left and the serif typeface on the bottom right are Ishii Gothic (石井ゴシック) and Ishii Mincho (石井明朝).

[More info on Discogs]

Series of posters commissioned by Khruangbin for a show the band played in Houston, also known as “Space City” for becoming home to NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in 1967.

The brief was very straightforward: The three members of the band had to be represented somehow in the poster, featuring elements allusive to NASA and New Year's Eve*. Originally, the task was to make just one poster. However, after seeing the initial round of sketches they suggested turning them into a series, as if they were a sequence of events – “ignition, sequence, start”.

The typefaces in the design, Nasalization and Bernstein Serial Heavy, were chosen using as a reference the two most recognizable NASA logos, while keeping a consistent color palette and the disco ball and circles as recurring elements.

Limited edition three-color screen-printed on holographic paper by Native Screen Print Co
Hand-signed and numbered copies are available for purchase.

* Originally, the show was supposed to happen on December 21st 2021, featuring Adan Kennedy and Kornbread as opening acts, but due to a surge in COVID cases, it had to be moved to May 2022 with Quantic as the guest artist.

Referenced: the NASA “meatball” insignia (left) and the 1975 “worm” logo that inspired Nasalization.

Every year, the MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) stake a claim as the ultimate anti-academy awards, with a colourful night of jaw-dropping performances watched by a vast global audience. From Britney’s serpentine co-star to Ye’s infamous interruption, headline-grabbing moments play a key role in VMAs folklore. The branding follows suit, with MTV’s archetypal, in-your-face attitude shouting louder than other awards. For 2022 and 2023, MTV invited Studio Dumbar/DEPT® to create a campaign identity encompassing motion design and social media visuals.

For the type, Studio Dumbar chose Signs (by Swiss foundry Maxitype)—a chunky, spirited typeface that communicates with clarity whether static or in motion—combined with Selecta for the informative text displayed in compact sizes.

Poster design and interstitial graphics for Leveski & Gordon Go to the Moon, a sketch comedy show about the moon, food, masculinity, technology, violence, the environment, our national condition, and resort wear.

Matilda the Computer Cat, 1984. Cover design by Carol Conway with an illustration by Bethann Thornburgh

In 1984, Claire Bailey Passantino authored a series of books that taught kids – explicitly including girls – about computers and programming. They were published by Reston, a specialized imprint of Prentice-Hall, in the Creative Pastimes book series. Each title was available in different editions: for the Atari, the Commodore 64, and the TI-99/4A.

The cover typography uses all-caps ITC Benguiat Gothic throughout. The sans-serif variant of ITC Benguiat (1978) with monolinear strokes and round terminals was released in 1979, becoming a staple on 1980s book covers.

Itty Bitty Bytes of Space for the Commodore 64 computer, 1984. Cover design by Nancy Sutherland with an illustration by Bethann Thornburgh

School Days for the TI-99/4A, 1984. Cover design by Carol Conway with an illustration by Bethann Thornburgh

The plaque that was left on the moon, with the signatures of the three astronauts; Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.; and US President Richard Nixon

Paul Renner’s Futura played a significant role in the Apollo 11 mission, being the chosen typeface for various communication aspects within NASA’s systems. It was extensively used in labels, equipment controls, and spacecraft interfaces, providing clarity for astronauts, and aiding in their understanding and operation of the spacecraft. Its widespread use in the mission established it as a key visual element, ensuring streamlined communication and functionality.

The plaque left on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts bears an inscription written in Futura, making it the sole typeface to have ever reached the lunar surface. This choice represents Futura’s unique distinction as the selected font for immortalizing the historic moment of mankind's first steps on the moon.

Futura is a registered trademark of Bauer Types S.L.

Space food packaging

Lunar map with the Apollo Zone of Interest

Apollo 11 badge with a bald eagle planting a branch on the Moon

Patches with embroidered lettering

Cabin repress instructions

Labels inside the spacecraft

Detail from an Apollo Training Manual

Front panel of box for the Casio electronic game Astro Chicken. The game's title is set in Earth.

Front panel of box and device for the Casio electronic game Astro Chicken, model CG-130. The version released in France is titled Planete Interdite. The game's title is set in Earth. Additional text looks to be set in Helvetica. The Casio logo is set in Microgramma.

See also the Marine Hunter game from the same year.

French version, titled Planete Interdite.

Flyer for Williams Space Station pinball machine.

Flyer and translite for Williams 1987 Space Station pinball machine. The game's title is based on Earth. Additional text on the translite appears to be set in Eurostile.

Artwork by Tim Elliot.

Translite for Williams Space Station pinball machine.

Volume One: The First Small Step

Covers for all five volumes of Petersen's Book of Man in Space by Al Hall, published by Petersen Publishing Co. in 1974. Cover titles for each volume are set in Earth, horizontally squished and also slanted in a faux italic, with additional text set in Helvetica.

Volume Two: A New Environment

Volume Three: The Power & The Glory

Volume Four: A Giant Leap For Mankind

Volume Five: Beyond The Threshold

From Wikipedia:

Star Crystal is a 1986 science fiction film directed by Lance Lindsay. The film stars C. Juston Campbell and Faye Bolt as a pair of astronauts who must survive against a mysterious alien lifeform seeking to kill them, while also facing dwindling supplies aboard their damaged shuttlecraft.

The film was released by New World Pictures. The poster and print ad state Skouras Pictures, whose logo is also attached to foreign prints of the film. The first image is of a French poster and the second is of a US print ad from a trade magazine advertising screenings of the film.

Both feature the film's title set in Earth. The tagline on the French poster is set in Antique Olive. The credit block on both is set in Eurostile, which is also used for the tagline on the US print ad.

Designer(s) currently unknown.

Cover of Aviation/Space Dictionary, Sixth Edition, by Ernest J. Gentle and Lawrence W. Reithmaier, published in 1980 by Aero Publishers, Inc.

The gold cover titling is set in Earth. Additional text appears to be set in Helvetica.

The same typographic setup was also used on the covers of Aero Publishers' Aviation/Space: The Journal of Aerospace Education magazine from the May/June issue in 1979 until around 1985.

Cover designer/s unknown.

Fonts In Use featured other editions of this book before, see Pink Mouse for the 1973 paperback by Pocket Books and Optex for the Faber edition from 1974. This is the first edition of Beyond Apollo, published by Random House in 1972. The story about the repercussions of a failed Venus mission set in 1981 won Barry N. Malzberg (b. 1939) the inaugural John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Joachim Boaz wrote an insightful review on Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations.

Jacket illustration and design by Roger Hane (1939–1974), featuring a bichromatic setting of Eightway Shaded South. The author’s name and the blurb by Robert Silverberg are in all-caps Goudy Oldstyle.

Full jacket. The spine lettering on the cover appears to be in Franklin Gothic.

Detail from the inner flap. The synopsis is set in ATF Garamond.

Jazz Super Hits, 1969 [More info on Discogs]

Jazz Super Hits is a series of compilation records by Atlantic Records.

The cover of the first volume from 1969 is another example of designer Loring Eutemey making early use of a new face from Photo-Lettering’s library. In this case, it’s Eightway by Milton Glaser and George Leavitt, and specifically the Shaded Northwest style. It’s complemented by Kabel Black in all caps (for artist names) and all lowercase letters (for titles), respectively.

For vol. 2 from 1970, Eutemey chose Endicott Shaded G for the title, set in bichromatic caps, with one word per line. Other text is added in all-caps Egyptienne Bold Condensed. Again, the designer who started his career at Push Pin Studios illustrated each of the tracks with an individual image, using a mix of drawing, found graphics and photomontage.

See also his cover design for the The Super Groups compilation (1969) for which Eutemey used a similar potpourri of illustrations and another shaded typeface.

Jazz Super Hits Vol. 2, 1970 [More info on Discogs]