Darby Sans is a contemporary family of two related sans serifs: one is the functional Darby Sans; the other a refined display version for large sizes, where the contrast is dramatically higher. In style they can be described as humanist designs. Originally designed for Wallpaper*magazine, they are suited for many uses spanning editorial design, graphic design, corporate design and through to advertising. The roots of Darby lie in the British tradition of lettering and typefounding that began to flower in the middle of the eighteenth century. Behind the contemporary bodies, one can see the structural qualities of the three major type founders of this period: John Baskerville of Birmingham, Joseph Fry of Bristol and Alexander Wilson of Glasgow.



Darby Sans is a contemporary humanist sans serif that is at its heart a workhorse, working effortlessly in all situations, from small text sizes to large bold display use. Its open forms and no nonsense slanted italic make it well suited to many uses. Rather than following the typical British sans serif model of Gill and Johnston, Darby Sans looks back instead to the eighteenth century. At its heart in the roman it follows the transitional forms found in the typefaces of Baskerville, Fry & Wilson, but also in the vernacular lettering style found in everyday life. These are the letters of the Age of Enlightenment; the name itself comes from the Darby family, famed pioneers of the industrial revolution. Stripping these forms of serifs and contrast renders an open and intelligent sans serif typeface suited for both print and for screen use.

https://commercialtype.com/catalog/darby/darby_sans



High-contrast sans serifs offer a form of beauty and refinement we more typically associate with serif letters of luxury and elegance. Darby Sans Poster mixes the traditional form of the transitional letter with a stripped down sans form to create a modern display form. Sans letters with high contrast reappeared in Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and Darby Sans Poster draws on these sources: lettering found on memorials, lettering on coins, and later in the typefaces of the Figgins foundry. While Darby Sans features a simple slanted italic, Darby Sans Poster’s italics are patterned on the condensed and upright style of Joseph Fry. More limited in use than its lower contrast sibling, Darby Sans Poster works best at large sizes where its beauty can truly sparkle.

https://commercialtype.com/catalog/darby/darby_sans_poster





https://commercialtype.com/catalog/darby