OUR TYPE FOUNDRY
KOBU Foundry, a new type foundry in the Portuguese scene, was launched in July 2019 as a result of a 6-month long in-house project: it is now running at top speed at kobufoundry.com. It was born by the hand of our type geek – Brígida Guerreiro. Her drive and passion for typography fuelled the idea, and it took nearly every element of our team to put it in place. From scripting stories to storyboarding, designing characters and scenes, managing animations and motion graphics with our partners, studying UI/UX and developing the website and… most importantly, designing what we believe are great fonts!
We believe in the power of typography to show a brand’s personality and character, and we know how a project can benefit from a much greater reach if its message is conveyed with the right typography.
TYPEFACE DESIGN AS A PROCESS
At KOBU Foundry, we focus on developing retail and customised fonts. Developing a typeface is a design task that involves research, analysis, know-how, sensibility and technique. This process is central to how we approach projects at the agency, so it is only natural that we mirror it into the development of our retail and custom fonts – achieving a charismatic font is always the ultimate goal.
Charisma is the cornerstone that sets the design of a visual identity and communication tone. We invite you to browse through our typefaces and read between the lines. They all tell stories and have particular features that can reflect key elements of brands.
The Entertainment System
Design 101 teaches us that fonts convey meaning. Some of them became pillars in the History of Graphic Design. From the start, it was clear we didn’t want to be “just another type foundry” where designers go for fonts but, instead, create an experience that would inspire our clients. But how could we do that?
Remember the golden era of video games in the 1980s and 1990s? “Please insert cartridge”. Vectrex, Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum, Nintendo NES, Sega Mega Drive and countless hours of fun! This universe became timeless, and we still go crazy over consoles and arcade games that tell stories about imaginary worlds, iconic villains and superheroes like Pacman, Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. A place in time where funny and simple characters, crazy worlds, easter eggs and alike got the nerds in us thrilled!
BUILDING THE CONCEPT
This universe sparkled our inspiration and got us excited to create a digital platform with e-commerce that mixes everything we love into what we call “an entertainment system”: typography, fun, games, creativity, storytelling… and bonus levels just for you.
The first step of the process was to create a captivating story to convey the message of the first typefaces and study the best way to implement it on the web. The team gathered around to make it happen: scripting, sketching characters and scenes, exploring games, designing layouts and guaranteeing an optimal solution to user experience in desktop and mobile.
KOBU Foundry was conceived with your entertainment in mind. It is our attempt to bring the nerdy designer in you. We dare you to explore the website and look for the perks lurking around!
Play to win discount coupons on KOBU Foundry’s fonts
With the concept of Entertainment System in mind, we looked for ways to provide our friend designers with perks. And who doesn’t like a good game? If you go through our fonts, now and then you’ll discover good-old games that can give you special discounts to use.
Have fun playing and, if you win, coupons will be unlocked. The better the score the higher the discount! Use the code when purchasing the fonts at KOBU Foundry.
Our first Font Collection: “Meji Adventures”
Aside from our regular serif, sans-serif, display and many other typefaces, we decided to release special Font Collections that, in some meaningful way, glue together groups of font families. The set of premium typefaces that comprises these collections is embedded in a story that is revealed over time: just like new levels in a game. With every new level, a new font is launched.
‘Meji Adventures’, our first Font Collection, tells the story of a bumpy ride made by a very curious rabbit, Meji, that crosses several worlds to complete his objective – return home. The concept story was inspired by nostalgic video games and the sweetness of old tales and follows this character through the universe as his story unfolds.
The “Meji Adventures” Font Collection includes five typefaces – Sakasu, Tsuku, Kaito, Taiyo and Meji – which were inspired by the tribulations our little white rabbit faces in each chapter of the story. Whenever you find a game console at KOBU Foundry, feel free to drag and insert a cartridge and experience typographic adventures!
Brígida Guerreiro – Our Type Master
Our type designer is Brígida Guerreiro, a Portuguese graphic designer and mostly a typography geek who masters the art of drawing letters and breathes inspiration from all around. Independent learning, dedication and practice are crucial to deliver the best work and feed her passion for typography.
Brígida pays her best attention to every detail and gives meaning to every line when crafting a Type character. Her aim is to achieve perfectly fitted and exquisite works to exceed clients’ purposes and expectations.
If you want to know more about our Type master, visit her Behance profile.
So, are you a type wacko like us?
Head to kobufoundry.com and take your time to look around, feel inspired and get in touch!
Our fonts are registered, and we have different types of licenses. Check out which one best suits your needs – see more on this topic here.
Maybe you are curious to know more about how to get a customised font for your brand? Check out more information in the Buy Fonts page.
You can also follow our doings on social media:
Instagram: @kobufoundry
Dribbble: dribbble.com/kobufoundry
Enjoy!
EXPERIENCE OUR WORLD OF TYPOGRAPHY