Mietraum², Dec 2025 issue, Ottensen feature
Altona in Mietraum² magazine. The spread shown is page 14–15 in the issue of December 2025.
Altona was used for the typography of a spread in the December 2025 issue of Mietraum², a magazine for members of Mieter helfen Mietern Hamburg (“Tenants help Tenants Hamburg”).
Hamburg and Lübeck based graphic designer Jana Madle-Elmerhaus, the designer of Mietraum², picked the typeface Altona because it relates to the spirit of interwar modernism. This was an era in which large social housing projects were developed in the city of Altona, something that is sorely missed today. Altona thus symbolizes the commitment of the social democratic city council of the time to the poorer segments of its population. This period ended in 1933, when the Nazis came to power. By 1937 they even incorporated Altona into Hamburg. The article shows what may happen when a government loses its influence over the ownership, prices and maintenance of rental housing, exemplified by a case study about a rental building in Ottensen, a neighbourhood in Hamburg-Altona.
Altona was designed by Albert-Jan Pool and Julia Uplegger and released by TypeMates in 2024. The Altona family comes with an extensive set of icons, designed by Antonia Cornelius. Their choice and design are mainly inspired by Hamburg and its district Altona, many directly relate to their history.
6 Comments on “Mietraum², Dec 2025 issue, Ottensen feature”
A very elegant typeface, particularly for headlines!
[Translated from the German by moderator]
A typeface with character and historical references, yet fresh and modern. From one of the best in the type design world.
very interesting revival with lot of character ! curious what kind of content will be conveyed with it in the future.
Great work!
I am delighted and proud to announce that we, the designers of this typeface – Julia Uplegger, Antonia Cornelius and myself – have just learnt that Altona has won a bronze medal at the German Design Award for Design from Germany (Deutscher Designpreis für Design aus Deutschland)
www.designmadeingermany.de/…
www.instagram.com/p/DbLYPbm…
Congratulations!