Wildpark Bad Mergentheim is a wildlife park in the Main-Tauber-Kreis, Germany. Since 2007, design agency ps:ag from nearby Lauda-Königshofen is in charge of the visual identity. The logo typeface is Maiandra. Designed by Dennis Pasternak and released by Galapagos in 1994,

the Maiandra family of typefaces was inspired by an early example of Oswald Cooper’s hand lettering as seen in an advertisement for a book on home furnishing, circa 1909. Although many of Oz Cooper’s letterform designs were cast in metal type, this particular one was not.

Cooper’s design itself was inspired by examples of letterforms he had admired in his study of Greek epigraphy (inscriptions). Cooper combined those ancient forms with the flair characteristic of design styles of his time. The result was an attractive design possessing subtle, purposeful irregularities, or ‘meanders,’ in his skilled brushwork.

In this application, Maiandra’s organic quality is a good match for the general theme – its W almost looks like antlers – and the park’s declared sustainable approach. The handmade impression of the letterforms is echoed in the sign posts made from untreated wood. If you look closely, you can spot a subtle intervention that further reduces straight lines and rectangularity: in “Wildpark”, the caps were made gradually smaller toward the middle of the word.

Maiandra is supported by Agendatype. This sturdy dynamic serif was designed by Natascha Dell and Kai Oetzbach and released on their Fontfarm label in 2006. The family comprises two weights in roman and italic, with additional Swash Italic styles as well as small caps.

Miscellaneous printed matter featuring Agendatype Swash Italic for headings

Leaflets and booklets

Menu set in Agendatype Regular and Bold, with Swash Italic styles for the heading

Van featuring the logo in Maiandra and the slogan (“See and experience animals”) in Agendatype Swash Italic

On a weekend exploration of London, I found a slightly underwhelming use of the font Maiandra on a bicycle shop. Since finding Maiandra on a Microsoft Works install disc, I have had a bit of a soft spot for it. The basic form of Maiandra is based on Oswald Cooper’s hand-lettering, and seems strong. Versions with OpenType ligatures and fractions are available, and it seems a shame to me that it is not more popular.

Here Maiandra is used in caps only for the shop name with modified W and C that form a bicycle motif. The phone number and the URL were added in Gill Sans.