Ludwig Black and Atma Serif is a pairing I will never grow tired of. Ludwig has its own intended serif partner, Arnhem, but I’m not sure that face is great for literary applications. An original “transitional” design with a low x-height, Atma stands up well as a literary typeface—pretty but not precious. The capitals are a bit on the narrow side, the varied small cap sets to choose from give a lot of freedom in text settings as well as the occasional display use (though the details are not quite sharp enough at large point sizes). Ludwig is a deceptive workhorse—a quirky, old-style grotesque with small caps and a very functional italic.

When it came to creating a unified design for a poetry book and a companion cassette single, the pairing offered the right mix of character and neutrality. Ludwig lends an artisanal quality to the titles in the poetry book and evokes dry transfer letters in the more garish palette of the cassette. Atma (which appears only in the book) holds its own against the look-at-me details of the sans. That it’s not a legacy font helps a bit, I think.

Published by Publishing Genius.

Art by Allison Cole.