The semi-bold weight of a poster-size typeface that was lighter than most of the according semi-bolds in metal type at the time, gave the impetus to FF Real’s regular weight. Berthold AG – released such designs between 18. Several German type foundries – among them the Berlin-based foundries Theinhardt and H. In the meantime, FF Real has been extended to a family of two styles and 65 weights each.The design of FF Real is rooted in early static grotesques from the turn of the century. While Spiekermann drew the alphabets, he passed on the font data to Ralph du Carrois and Anja Meiners who cleaned it up and completed it.
Later on, not just slanted styles, but a “proper” italic version was added inspired by the way Roman and Italic are distinguished in traditional serif faces.NEW: a specially created set of obliques were added in 2018 to give designers more design flexibility, for those looking for a less calligraphic look.In 2020 the family was extended with matching condensed weights.FF Real was originally conceived by Erik Spiekermann as one text weight and one headline weight to be used as the only faces in his biography ‘Hello I am Erik’, edited by Johannes Erler, published in 2014.
FF Real is a convincing re-interpretation of the German grotesque style from between 19, but with much more warmth and improved legibility as well as a hint towards the warmer American grotesques.