Santa Esmeralda – “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” German single cover

Motter Ombra was distributed by Berthold Fototypes in West Berlin and Letraset in the United Kingdom. It found its way to the other side of the Iron Curtain as well – as documented by uses from Czechoslovakia and Hungary – by means of privately imported dry-transfer sheets, cut-and-pasted photocopies, or by tracing showings in trade journals.

Gisela Kossatz, a prolific designer from East Germany, fell in love with Othmar Motter’s extrabold display novelty, too. Apparently she couldn’t get hold of the original font, though. Or maybe she had run out of smuggled rub-down type. For the cover of Santa Esmeralda’s disco remake of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” on Amiga, Kossatz went ahead and cut her own Ombra. The letterforms may be a little wonky and inconsistent, but the result is all the more charming.