The Boxy squared sans family feels unique. In my on-going quest for display fonts to be used with my books and on my book covers, I decided I need a squared sans serif. I started the build off of Fiscal, a font I designed back in 2006. I opened it, made it narrower, increased the x-height, and various stuff like that. I made it much heavier—an ended up with Boxy. Solid, but not stodgy, Chic gives a lilt to Boxy. But they are visually quite different. You can click on the image for a link to the downloadable PDF of the specimen book.
I started with Boxy. I was in the continued mode of searching for a black, solid, condensed face for book cover titles. As is usual, the actual design takes on a life of its own based on my proclivities of that specific period of time. I have no other way of describing it. The designs and experiences which have filled my mind at that time unavoidably color the design process.
Then my brain slapped me and said, “Why don’t you make a sorta modern version?” So, I did and decided to call that style Chic. But then I wanted a thin version also. Fiscal was always too heavy and ponderous for me. So, I made the Thin style. Finally, I felt I needed an italic of Chic.
The Boxy squared sans family is what it is
OpenType features didn’t seem to work well with the family, so all I added was oldstyle figures. So, I ended up with another of my unique families—with two unmodulated fonts: Thin and Medium, and two modulated fonts: Chic and Chic Italic. But, I’m pleased with it. My hope is that you will like it also. In my world of book design, I need them to work for print or ePUB. It remains to be seen if the designs become part of a new aesthetic. I never know that. Often it does not find its place for many years.
My training in fine art keeps me focused on a personal vision of things. For me, this is neither good nor bad. It just is. I just produce the ideas I receive as well as I can. I hope to keep them clean enough to be useful for others. But, mainly my concern is that I do what pleases the Lord. Nothing else matters.
I hope you like them and have a use for them. I really have no idea how much I’ll use any of them: Boxy, Boxy Thin, Boxy Chic or Boxy Chic Italic. They’re available at MyFonts, FontSpring, YouWorkForThem, Creative Market, and here on the Hackberry Font Foundry. The family from here includes an ebook license.