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Inspired by the classic American typewriter, the Treza font from French designer Benjamin Gomez was first conceived in the Black weight and developed in collaboration with Maroussia Jannelle for a book publication packed with technical data such as tables, references, drawings and more. The result is a sober and functional typeface ideal for use in classic print media, with pulpy serif and curves and fluid lines reminiscent of classic calligraphy.

Benjamin Gomez accrued his graphic design training first at Valence's art school then at Ecole Supérieure des arts décoratifs in Strasbourg. He went on to graduate from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, where he stayed and started the design collective Dépli Design Studio in 2007. Together with designers Aurelie Gasche and Vadim Bernard, Gomez distinguishes his work based on a superior sensitivity to cultural activities and missions of public utility. The studio provides design solutions in communication, signage, motion design, multimedia, print, and type design.
www.depli.net 

 

Can you provide a short history of yourself as a designer?
I'm from Grenoble, and I've lived and worked in Paris since 2004. I studied graphic design in Valence's art school, then at the Ecole Supérieure des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg, then I completed the ARi (interactive search postgraduate) at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris. After that, I worked three years with Maroussia Jannelle, with whom I designed the book Materiology. 

You work in a collective. How did this come about, and what is the creative collaboration like on a day-to-day basis?
In 2007, I co-founded the Dépli Design Studio together with Aurelie Gasche and Vadim Bernard. I continue to work there today. We are particularly sensitive to cultural activities and missions of public utility, and we combine orders and personal projects in the following areas: communication, signage, motion design, multimedia, print and type design.

The Treza font was in a first step developed for the book publication, Materiology. How did you come up with this typeface – the book's content does not clearly indicate a specific kind of typeface. What was the intent? 
The Treza Font font was in a first step developed in a heavy style for the book publication Materiology. The content is quite technical, with a lot of tables, references, technical drawings, etc. So we chose to design a function and sober layout.

The font looks like it was inspired by typewriter machines, but upon closer inspection there are so many details and beautiful shapes. What were they inspired by?
For a contrast, we wanted a typeface with generous forms for the titling. The book is about material, and the typeface had to reflect this, that's why it's so heavy, with pulpy serif and curves. We also were interested by the typewriter. The typewriter also interested us because it's a personal and pleasurable way to print a font, with thick ink, and that's works with the book's content, which describes a lot of processing or conversion of the material. The font is obviously inspired by the American typewriter, designed by Tony Stan and Joel Kaden. 

What were the challenges in picking up this project again and extending/building this whole beautiful family? Did the parameters change during its development?When I began the project again, I was working simultaneously on a Claude Mediavilla typeface, then followed that up with calligraphy lessons. That encounter really influenced the way I designed the typeface. I took all the drawings and tried to add the elegance in some of the proportions and details of classic letters, like Garamond. 

I was excited to draw several weights, and a very fine one to offer maximum contrast with the original version. In the "thin," "book," and "medium" versions, I've smoothed out the movement of the serifs on the baseline so that they can be easily used for long texts. I also wanted a feminine name for the font. "Treza" is short for Theresa, and it's composed of the first five letters of the AZERTY keyboard, the French counterpart of the American Typewriter QWERTY.

How do you envision this font's application in media? And how is the Treza font similar or different from the other typefaces that you've designed?
This typeface is different from the others in that it's the first one to be commercialized. I can't control its application, unlike a font for visual identity etc. I wanted to make a performance tool for designers, so I really paid attention to details, kerning, and to the secondary glyphs and how they are used in graphic design today. For instance, if you enter "–" and ">," , the symbols and their kerning automatically make a well-formed arrow.