Dutch government introduces corporate typeface
Friday, November 14th, 2008
As part of the new brand identity of the Dutch government Peter Verheul designed a custom typeface for all forms of visual communications.
Currently there are over 200 departments and ministries which all have different logos and uses different typefaces as their brand identity. In a pitch held by the Dutch government studio Dumbar won this competition and introduced a new logo and 1 brand identity: 1 Logo.
Typeface: Rijksoverheid Sans / Serif
From the beginning of 2008 Peter Verheul was asked by studio Dumbar to take his typeface Versa and transform the typeface usable for a larger audience. He changed the look and feel of the Serif version of Versa Serif and created a complete new set of letters for the Sans version. The fonts are named Rijksoverheid Sans and Rijksoverheid Serif. The name of the typeface is recognizable as “government” and will be used in every way of visual communication. The Rijksoverheid Sans will be used mainly for headings of text and in signage or wayfinding systems. The Rijksoverheid Serif is used as bread letter for reading text. In just under nine months Peter Verheul managed to finalize the fonts and released them in four different variations, from Regular, Italic to Bold.
Designing the Rijksoverheid typeface
During the time of creation Peter Verheul did not have much time to take pictures (as said in his introduction speech) but he kept a note book full of drawings and notes of creating and designing the typefaces. After finishing the typefaces he donated them to Bijzondere Collecties, a Dutch important collection of valuable work from Dutch graphical, typographical- artists. The Bijzondere Collections hosts the booklet, first printouts and everything that is related in creating the typeface Rijksoverheid.
Letterijk book
Letterrijk Book is a story about the birth and why of creation the typeface Rijksoverheid written by Mathieu Lommen, published by De Buitenkant Publishers. The booklet covers everything from the start of the project and the combination with project 1 Logo, a story about how the typography started working together, with many drawn examples of early stages of letter design. It also covers the complete glyphs of the typeface variations, with over 700 glyphs each this typeface is multi-language proof. With the design of the typeface several key factors of demands where given to Peter Verheul and Studio Dumbar. The typeface should be easy to read, should not be too wide in order to reduce printing costs, it could be used for all forms of visual communication of the Dutch Government and every department will use it therefore it will reduce the costs of different typeface licenses. The typeface will function as a bridge between society and government, a typeface that everybody will feel comfortable with.
RijksoverheidSans
In this example above you can cleary see the use of Rijksoverheid Sans, an easy to read typeface with a large x-height. This allows maximum legibility for heading text, signage, wayfinding and other forms of visual identity. In the introduction speech Peter Verheul mentioned that he was impressed by the way the Sans version would be used for bread letter. He is interested to see the further development of Rijksoverheid Sans in this field.
RijksoverheidSerif
In the example above the Rijksoverheid Serif is the bread letter for reading text, I have read the booklet a couple of times and it seems to be a very legible typeface. Which will form the basis of the whole brand identity of the Dutch Government.
Project: 1 Logo
The Dutch government brand identity was not concise or consistent, with over 200 departments and ministries costs were rising of each department havigd their own logo, typeface, print materials, signage and everything that involves the visual communication of that department. There was not a direct link to society and confusion about the identity the government wants to presents themselves. Project 1 Logo was born to bring back all brand identity of the Dutch government and give one signal to society about what the government stands for. In a pitch several design studios participated in order to create 1 Logo, 1 brand, 1 identity, 1 way of communicating between society and government, coming all together as 1 government. From 2009 until 2011 every department should use the new logo and typeface in all forms of visual communication, a huge operation which involves many parties. I believe there will be a brand guideline from studio Dumbar to lead everything into the correct, concise and consistent use of the brand identity.
1 Logo Signage
We have been pleased to work on a mock-up signage nameplate for 1 logo project, the Rijksoverheid logo was engraved into an stainless steel nameplate.
Rijksoverheid Sans / Serif
Related information
- Studio Dumbar, the designer of 1 Logo identity.
- Dutch government website about project 1 Logo, Communicatieplein.
- Website of designer Peter Verheul
Comment and win Letterrijk Book
I have a free copy of the Book Letterrijk waiting for you, just comment in this post and random I will select one person who wins a copy of Letterijk Book. Closing in one week, Friday November 21st.
November 14th, 2008
Nice report Sander!
I really like the sans, and I usually dont like sans-fonts like that..
November 14th, 2008
Prachtige letter en zeer goed initiatief!
November 14th, 2008
I really like that Sans too! Modern and neutral. Hollandse nuchterheid.
November 14th, 2008
Thank you Erik - for your comment and mention on your website Fontanel. Appreciated!
Dank Joep Roozen - voor je reactie, de filosofie achter 1 Logo en het lettertype zijn zeer sterk en zal zeker een duidelijke uitstraling hebben tussen burgers en overheid.
Thanks d. - for your comment, appreciated.
November 14th, 2008
Seen the logo, the typeface is new for me. Looks good and suitable. Do you think it will ever be available for the public?
(+1 for the moleskine doodles!
November 14th, 2008
De Nederlanders zetten weer de toon!
November 14th, 2008
Nice article. I posted on Typophile (as Quincunx) that I didn’t really like the Sans, but after seeing more and more material, I stand corrected. I’m beginning to like it.
Dutch type doet het maar weer eens goed
November 14th, 2008
Als alle informatie van de overheid eens zo helder zou zijn als deze letters. Proficiat!
November 14th, 2008
There seems to be a lot of love for the sans, but I think the serif is equally beautiful
November 14th, 2008
This looks great! I love how much importance the government puts on their design and branding!
November 14th, 2008
He Vincent - Thanks for your comment, I don’t think it will be public available, in the presentation yesterday the project 1 Logo clearly stated that Rijksoverheid Sans & Serif are exclusive for the Dutch government.
Hallo Guido - Dank voor je reactie!
Hi Jelmar - Thanks for your reply at Typophile, I believe we must change Dutch Design to Dutch Type Design,
. Thank you for your comment.
Hallo Colette lacoste - Dank voor je reactie, het proficiat gaat naar Peter Verheul en studio Dumbar voor deze geweldige prestatie.
Hi Matthe - Totally agree, I think the Rijksoverheid Serif is highly suitable for printed text. Thanks for you comment.
Hi Jarret Fuller - Thanks for your comment, I agree with you that this operation of one corporate identity for all communication will close a gap between society and government.
November 14th, 2008
Interesting - I wonder if other governments have/will have their own typefaces. This may be an interesting idea to pitch to the new CTO that US President-Elect Barack Obama wants to appoint.
November 14th, 2008
The NRC (big Dutch newspaper) had the news of this typeface on their front page. Very nice
.
I really like most of the new font, both in serif and sans versions, but the italic, lowercase ‘k’ is a big let-down for me. Too frivolous and reads very much like an ‘R’!
November 14th, 2008
Ik kan het er alleen maar mee eens zijn, een erg mooi font! Ik was nog niet op de hoogte van deze website en kwam er toevallig op terecht doordat m’n liefde voor typografie begint te groeien, bookmarked!
November 14th, 2008
Sans and serif fonts have their uses and both of them can be equally beatiful or disastrous. In fact the main and first consideration must be the use and later aesthetic concern and such.
In the above case the sans version is very nice: modern, has tasty curves, minute detail and open forms - great for signage, bad lighting conditions and outdoor applications etc.
While the serif version is a proper choice for reading text but i found its serifs a little bit too thick and short. They are almost non-existent and i don’t think they can make any contributions to better reading. Plus all of the letter forms are too thick for my taste. It makes pages more “blackier” than it should be. Yet I’m writing in front of a CRT and making guesses according to what i see…
November 14th, 2008
cool
November 14th, 2008
@David Millar
I like the Barack Obama thoughts.
November 14th, 2008
Woohooo, I already read about it in the newspaper (nrc.next) and now here too. Nice! Great that the government considers typography important, and great that we have such a pretty result. I can’t wait to see the typefaces in use.
November 14th, 2008
Hi David Millar - Thank you for your input. Let us known if you see any progress in addressing this to the US government.
Thanks Bob - for bringing the NRC to the attention. When taking a closer look at the letter ‘k’ it indeed has a strange pointing to the sky kind of look. Did you notice the number ‘3’? This is a photo of the NRCNext article published yesterday. Thanks for your comment, if anyone has a photo of NRC today let me know.
Hallo Mark Mulder - Welkom op DWP en dank voor je gewaardeerde reactie!
Hi Emre Arin - Thanks very much for your in dept comment, appreciated. In the presentation yesterday Peter Verheul talked about the various versions of the typeface, he first started out with light, regular, medium, bold and black. In the final typeface they made the decision for medium and black but named them regular and bold. So, well spotted from your CRT. Thanks again for your comment.
He Sander Spek - Good to see you again, thanks for your comment! When we have more signage designs completed I will publish the photos on my blog.
November 14th, 2008
Very nice review Sander. The timing of this post is great, because I’m actually working on the redesign of a major US gov agency. I’ve decided to go with Serif instead of Sans-Serif for the new copy. Both types are beautiful, but I think for government or political use, Serif is more appropriate.
November 14th, 2008
That’s purdy! Great to see governments understanding the importance of unifying through typography and identity.
November 14th, 2008
I’d love to promote my country by using this font
November 15th, 2008
the 1 logo seal reminds me of philip morris
November 15th, 2008
Hi Jin - I love to see some of your work for the US government, I agree with your ideas on using a Serif typeface. Thanks for your comment.
Thank you gabriel amadeus - for your insight, I haven’t seen any other government putting this much emphasis on brand identity. I believe this will work into getting the society closer to the government.
Hi Evert - Dank voor je gewaardeerde reactie.
Hi Alfredo - Sorry, I cannot agree with you comparing these logos. I believe the 1 logo puts alot of power in sending out a solid and clear government message. Thanks very much for your comment.
November 15th, 2008
It’s a great font, and I think it will definitely serve it’s purpose well. I’ve always been partial to sans type, and this typeface is no exception.
It’s super legible, easily identifiable (which will definitely help with distinguishing government publications), and lends itself well to both titling and body copy. I really like how every glyph subtly leads your eye towards the right, moving you forward. It seems kind of symbolic of the initiative “moving forward” from the current, confusing hodgepodge of brandings. I also like how the baselines are slightly dulled or flattened, which helps prevent the font from feeling too geometric, as some sans typefaces do. It feels more human, which should really help bridge the perceived gap between the public and the government. Kudos to Peter on this one: it’s a great font that should far exceed all of it’s expectations.
I agree with Emre, however, that the serif seems slightly too black. I think that it would probably work well as a mid-sized titling font, but as smaller body copy, it looks like the characters might run together a little too much. But it’s impossible to tell without seeing it on paper.
The one thing I didn’t see in the available samples, though I’m sure has already been discussed elsewhere, are the available ligatures. During the presentation you saw, were they addressed? I’m a sucker for smooth fl’s
I can’t wait to see the new publications that come out with this typeface. You’ll have to get your hands on some and post pictures for all of us non-Dutch typophiles
Oh, also, I found your blog through the Script&Style.com web feed, and I just added you to my google reader feeds. I look forward to a lot more type design information from across the pond
November 15th, 2008
Thank you very much Jordan - for your comment, appreciated!
I like your observation of the typeface moving to the right, I’ve checked be book again and this seems to be the case, interesting that type can make you move. Peter was surprised himself of the power of the Sans version, in his introduction speech he mentioned that Sans could very well be used a text letter.
Here is an example of some ligatures… Fabulously done.
There are not much public examples available yet, when I have more materials with the use of the typeface I will publish it here. Thanks for your kind word and subscribing to this blog!
Thanks everybody so far for commenting, you all have a change of winning a copy of the Letterrijk Book.
November 15th, 2008
I love this idea. I could really see the Obama administration get behind something like this for the US with his already very capable design team – I think his logo was one of the best campaign logos in history.
As much as I like the font design, I hope that the Dutch government does not release it to the general public. It would be a shame to see it overused and on products that have nothing to do with the Dutch government.
And on another note… not to nit pick, but am I completely off by saying something looks a bit awkward about the lowercase “a” when paired with the other glyphs? Other than that, I love the font.
November 15th, 2008
Love the way the logo is incorporated in every aspect of the government!
Am wondering how we will look back at the previous state in 10 years or so.
November 15th, 2008
A national government with a brand identity? A planned identity, unlike the bodged-together one we Americans have blundered into? Wonderful! (Well, I suppose now we can expect something a little more stylish from the US government, with official templates designed by Hoefler & Frere-Jones.)
I’d like to see more samples of the heavier weights and the italics, especially for RijksoverheidSans. The letterforms are intriguing, but I need to see some mixed samples.
[BTW, Hello from America, my distant Van Schouten cousins!]
November 15th, 2008
I love it..during my time at Dumbar I was lucky to see the first glimpses. Now it’s finished I’m beginning to feel confident about the whole government branding falling in to one big beautiful piece.
November 15th, 2008
Beautiful project!
November 15th, 2008
Prachtig zo’n Letterrijk! Peter Verheul en Dumbar en Nederland van HARTE gefeliciteerd.
Ik ben goot fan van zo’n beetje alles wat met type te maken heeft. Ik heb jaren bij Sun Microsystems gewerkt en daar hebben ze op een gegeven moment het Sun font laten ontwerpen door Luc(as) de Groot van LucasFonts. Net zoals het Rijksfont heeft het Sun font zowel Sans als Serif. Sindsien gebruik ik het als mijn eigen “corporate” font, zelfs nu ik al sinds 2003 daar weg ben en als zelfstandig ondernemer werk.
Verder kan ik me nog herinneren dat ik tijdens een bijeenkomst van Premsela eind 2006 over Common Good de vraag stelde wanneer Nederland een “corporate” font zou adopteren t.b.v. haar identiteit, zowel nationaal als internationeel. Toen werd ik glazig aangekeken. Twee jaar later is het een feit.
Mijn wens/droom nu is om middels crowdfunding het geld bij elkaar te krijgen om voor Mac, Windows en Linux een samenhangende open source global open typeface te (laten) ontwikkelen die we op al onze computerplatformen kunnen gebruiken. Beetje zoals Microsoft’s C fonts, maar dan voor de hele wereldgemeenschap.
I LOVE BIG TYPE.
November 15th, 2008
In een woord, een prachtig lettertype en dus een goede keuze van de overheid. Prachtig.
November 16th, 2008
Gorgeous new font, I likes. <3
November 16th, 2008
Hi Greg - Thanks for your comment, I love to see adressing a one brand identity to the Obama administration. According to the release of Rijksoverheid font, I believe it will not be public released and it will only be used for government identity. In the speech by Peter Verheul he explained about the letter ‘a’, he created many versions and this one is chosen to have a distinctive look.
Thomas - Thanks for your comment! I believe the 1 Logo identity is one of the best acts the government has decided in years!
Hi Will Parker - The one brand identity strategy for a government sounds so simple and straightforward thinking that it actually strange nobody has done this in this scale before. I love to see if Hoefler & Frere-Jones would create similiar identity strategy for the US government. When there are more examples available I will post them on this blog. Thanks for your comment!
He Willem - I totally agree with you, the one brand identity feels and looks very natural. Superb for you to have seen the creation process from the inside at Studio Dumbar. Thank you for you comment.
Thanks Peer - for your comment.
Hallo Martien van Steenbergen - Dank voor je diepgaande reactie, gewaardeerd. Een eigen corporate font kan inderdaad het verschil maken in uitstraling, als het maar goed en consistent word toegepast. Geweldig te zien dat je hier al twee jaar geleden over gesproken hebt, maar soms word de belangrijkheid van een eigen identiteit (lettertype) over het hoofd gezien. Ik zal je een email sturen aangaande je idee voor een global open typeface, interessant! Nogmaals dank voor je reactie.
Hallo Stefan Vervoort and Xander - Thank you both for your comments!
November 16th, 2008
@Martien, je laatste opmerking snap ik niet helemaal. Voldoen gratis, open-source, cross-platform fonts als Gentium en de Bitstream Vera-familie daar niet al aan?
November 16th, 2008
@Sander Spek: op de gebieden van gratis en open source natuurlijk wel. Op het gebied van samenhangende fontfamilie voor mij niet. Dumbar’ Letterijk, Microsoft’s C Fonts en LucasFont’s Sun Font (althans de door Sun gebruikte) zijn allen families bestaande uit Sans en Serif met daarbinnen nog weer varianten voor specifieke doelen.
Daarnaast vind ik de kwaliteit, professionaliteit en het gevoel van die fonts met kop en schouder uitstijgen boven Gentium en Vera. De laatste twee voelen voor mij meer als “pro-am” aan (professional amateurs).
Maar… ik ben geen typograaf of expert. Onderzoek het en vraag de mening van een expert op dit gebied. Ik ben benieuwd.
November 16th, 2008
Interesting post, thanks!
November 16th, 2008
This is such a great project documentation! Every time I visit a blog, I hope for articles just like this one.
Of course, the Netherlands is not the only government to have an official, unified identity system. The Germans have this, too (also with typefaces created by a Dutchman), and the French have several typefaces that only their government can use, created within the national printing house.
I’ll bet that this redesign is more thorough than the Germans’, though. It would be insteresting to see someone compare these two.
November 16th, 2008
I like the new font, but I think the new design for the Rijksoverheid websites could be a lot better.
November 16th, 2008
@Martien: Victor Gaultney’s Gentium zou ik niet zozeer als amateuristisch willen omschrijven. Die letterfamilie is door hem ontwikkeld tijdens de opleiding MA Typeface Design aan de University of Reading, Engeland, ofwel hij weet wel waarover ie het heeft. Of het lettertype je aanstaat is natuurlijk een tweede.
November 16th, 2008
Hi Dan Reynolds - Thank you very much for your comment and kind words, highly appreciated! I am not familiar with the German or French government brand identity and it would be definitly worth taking a closer look at them and make comparisments.
November 17th, 2008
When will my clients understand the bliss of a custom-made typeface?
November 17th, 2008
Wat een goede ontwikkeling. Deze heldere, mooie fonts vormen een plezierig beeld en nodigen uit om gelezen te worden. Hiermee heeft de overheid een gebruiksvriendelijk communicatiemiddel en een smaakvol visitekaartje. Bovendien zou de eenvoud van de typografische vorm wel eens inspirerend kunnen zijn voor de tekstschrijvers van het Rijk.
(komt het lettertype vrij beschikbaar?)
November 17th, 2008
LOVE the Serif.
November 17th, 2008
nice to know that at least some governments in the world take visual communication so seriously. Wish the Romanian government was one of them.
November 18th, 2008
Why Rijksoverheid Sans looks like DaxlinePro?
November 18th, 2008
Will the font be available to the public?
November 18th, 2008
An outstanding job considering most governments would lean towards a very conservative design. Typographers should promote this to their own countries as an example. Thoughtful design = thoughtful government. There must be politicians all over who could use a good campaign issue.
November 18th, 2008
I want that book :-> Great work!
November 18th, 2008
Hi Alexander Fjelldal - Thanks for your comment, if you think your client needs a custom typeface then convince them they should.
Hallo merel - Dank voor je reactie, ik ben het helemaal met je eens. De 1 Logo uitstraling zal een positieve uitwerking hebben op de relatie tussen overheid en burgers. Naar verwachting zal het lettertype niet openbaar worden om misbruik te voorkomen.
Justin - When I find more examples I will try to publish them at my blog, thank you for your comment.
Hi Radu - I believe they take it this seriously in order to close the gap between society and government, thank you for your comment.
Sorry Paul, but I have taken a closer look comparing Rijksoverheid Sans and DaxlinePro and they don’t look alike. Thanks for your comment.
Hi rstlne - I don’t think the typeface family will be public to avoid un-authorized use of the typeface. Thanks for your comment.
Thank you George - for your comment. Agreed with this brand identity studio Dumbar puts in innovation into design, rather than leaning on what was… The reason I put this post together was exactly your thought, to promote the philosophy of 1 Logo and 1 brand identity for a central government. With the Barak campaign I have also seen the power of concise and consistent use of typography as method to empower the message.
Thank you sukisouk - for your comment. With your comment you have a change of winning the book, on Friday I will annouce the winner.
November 18th, 2008
This is a dream come true. A *government* using consistent brand and identity across all departments. Designed in a competition by real designers. Boy, I am envious.
BTW, is there any other government that would do/have done something like this?
j
November 18th, 2008
Ik kan het alleen maar eens zijn met Guido: de Nederlanders zetten alweer de toon.
De boekdrukkunst mag dan een uitvinding zijn van Gutenberg (of Dirk Martens, of Pi Chang, of…) maar typografie en de liefde voor lettervormen zijn volgens mij toch op en top Nederlands.
En komende van een Belg wil dat wat zeggen…
November 18th, 2008
Smart really smart and effcient I like that way of thinking, such a huge sving of budget found that can be invested in development and other stuff, plus it looks so nice and fresh. Nice tool i wonder would it be even possible in my own country.
Gratz great job
November 18th, 2008
Een downloadlinkje zou prettig zijn ;D
November 18th, 2008
Hi Sander,
Just want to offer my compliments on your attention to reader comments. It’s nice to see you address so many different thoughts.
I hope all’s well with you this week.
November 18th, 2008
Wow, that’s pretty cool. I didn’t know our government cared so much for their identity. Great they saw the need for a unified look.
Guess this is only relevant to Dutch readers, but the book is available on bol.com:
http://www.bol.com/nl/p/boeken/letterrijk-druk-1/1001004006289347/index.html
November 18th, 2008
Wow this is an amazing idea! I wonder if other governments will follow suit - it would definitely help clear the clutter associated with the Canadian Government’s materials.
I’m also intrigued as I work for a global company based in The Hague, I bet a lot of companies based in that country will take a hint and do the same.
November 18th, 2008
Hi Jarek - I believe the real implementation of the new brand identity starts beginning of 2009 and hopefully it will be done with a consistent use. As you I also am very interested in seeing other goverments brands, if anyone can give examples please email me. Thank you for your comment.
Hallo Michael - Dank voor je reactie. Er zijn inderdaad veel Nederlandse succesvolle font designers. Maar volgens mij heeft Peter Verheul aangegeven dat ourtype.be een rol heeft gespeeld in de totstandkoming van het lettertype Rijksoverheid.
Hi koodi - Reducing the costs was one of the perspectives of the Dutch government I believe. Thanks for your comment.
Dag Iemand - Bijgaand verschillende verwijzingen, ontwerper van het Rijkslogo studio Dumbar, het communicatieplatform van de overheid, de ontwerper van de Rijksoverhied lettertype Peter Verheul en de uitgever Buitenkant van het boekje Letterrijk.
Hi David Airey - Thank you for the huge compliment, much appreciated. I want to keep an open mind to everybody, btw learned it from your blog. Thanks!
He Simon - Thank you for linking to Bol.com where the book Letterrijk is sold online.
Hi Gabby - Thanks for your comment, I’m looking forward seeing brand identities from other governments. If you have any photos or materials you want to share please email me. Thank you.
November 18th, 2008
I want the book!
November 19th, 2008
As a government employee I attended a conference last week where there happened to be a display showing off the brand new typefaces. Quite an improvement over the current situation, I have to say. Unfortunately the person attending the display didn’t seem to have a clue why she was there and couldn’t tell me anything about the new typefaces, so I am glad to have stumbled upon your weblog by accident!
On a completely unrelated note: yours is perhaps the best looking Wordpress theme I have seen in a long time. Very inspirational. You have given me quite a few ideas where to take my own designs. Thanks!
Very clever solution for the fact that Wordpress by default capitalizes the names of months (which is something one typically doesn’t want in Dutch): just turn the date into a calendar style (huge) number with small text just below). Brilliant! This was really bugging me!
November 19th, 2008
Cool. Although Luc[as] as I recall did do work for some of the goverment’s individual bodies before.
November 19th, 2008
I wish our government could be as cool is the Dutch.
The emphasis here is on being professional and having that look on show for the world to see!
This is great!
November 19th, 2008
Duidelijk en helder, prachtig.
November 19th, 2008
Hi de chasse - you have a change of winning, this Friday I will annouce the winner. Thank you.
Thank you Axel - for your insight comments as you are working with the brand identity from the inside. The presentation had two elements, one the introduction of the Rijksoverheid typeface, second the project 1 Logo (where the typeface is part of). Maby the emphasis on explaining the idea behing the new brand identity could have been better. Thank you very much for your kind word and compliments on my design, much appreciated.
Hi Emir - I also thought Luc[as] de Groot has a role in the forming of the Rijksoverheid typeface, but I couldn’t find any detailed information on that, thank you for bringing it to the attention.
Welcome Andre - and thank you for your links and comments about the brand identity of the Dutch government.
Hallo Noud - Ik denk inderdaad dat studio Dumbar er in geslaagd is een sterke eenduidige uitstraling voor de overheid te creëren, dank voor je reactie.
November 19th, 2008
Hello,
nice article.. i’d really like to win the prize
November 19th, 2008
Superb typography, i can´t stop staring at it. It´s the first type i´ve liked entirely in any of its forms (even if i usually prefer sans) and it works perfectly as a government brand identity. Great article for a great site. Congratulations!
November 20th, 2008
What I really enjoyed in this account, aside from seeing the faces themselves and reading the account of making them, is this sentence:
“The Rijksoverheid Serif is used as bread letter for reading text.”
“Bread Letter”: what a wonderful term for that which we read every day. As in “Give us this day our daily bread letter.”
Is this a common typographic term among the Dutch? It should be added to the typographic lexicon.
November 21st, 2008
heel leuk!
en il wil het boek
groeten uit duitsland
November 21st, 2008
@will powers
“Bread Letter”: what a wonderful term for that which we read every day. … Is this a common typographic term among the Dutch?
In Dutch the common text on a page is called bread text (translated), but you won’t find that in a dictionary.
November 21st, 2008
I love the way the typeface bonds with the paper. It is indeed very legible and doesn’t stop at that by not sacrificing character. Thank you for sharing.
November 21st, 2008
Duidelijk verhaal over het ontwerp. Duidelijke letter en erg fijn dat er nu een herkenbare huisstijl komt voor alle overheidsinstellingen. Interssant om te lezen als student-vormgever. Een mooi onderwerp voor mijn afstuderen.
November 21st, 2008
Hi Žiga Artnak & Stefan - The winner in announced in this thread. Thank you for participating.
Thank you Daniel Pizarro - Thank you for your insight in the specific glyphs of the Rijksoverheid typeface.
Hi will powers - Thanks for highlighting the sentence, bread-letter is a free translation of broodletter which means a typeface or font family which is used for reading text in a book, newspaper of magazine.
Thank you michielvoo - for explaining.
Hi Josef Go-Oco - Thanks for your comment.
Hallo Kitty - Dank voor je reactie, ik denk dat het onderwerp brand identity & overheid een hele mooie afstudeer scriptie zou kunnen zijn. Succes met je studie!
November 21st, 2008
Thanks again for the huge support, the competition about the Letterrijk book is closed but not commenting and discussing about the topic.
Please leave your thoughts about the brand identity of the Rijksoverheid.
November 21st, 2008
Wow,
this is rather nice. I really hope we’ll see more money being spent on custom fonts as part of a visual identity. I would love that book
November 22nd, 2008
Hi John Green - Thanks for your comment, I agree with you that a custom typeface can make the difference in a concept of brand identity.
November 24th, 2008
Indeed, the effort of selecting a typeface (custom or not) for a new brand identity has a huge impact – which is usually invisible to the market. That’s why in our country, most designers don’t employ typefaces that reveal a brand’s identity. Many just pick a font that looks really nice (niceness is relative) like Comic Sans for their brand.
I’ve yet to see the spirit of typography in our country.
November 25th, 2008
Schitterende letter!
November 25th, 2008
One of the best serif fonts I have ever seen. I was very impressed.
November 25th, 2008
He jammer, net te laat voor het boek :p
November 25th, 2008
Hele mooie letter alleen vind ik het jammer dat de letter niet de standaard aanhoud die op scholen ook geleerd worden. Op Nederlandse scholen in ieder geval.
Nu zijn alle webfonts ook niet kidsproof maar goed… ik had het toch wel VET gevonden als dit 1 van de weinige letters zou zijn die daar wel rekening mee zou houden.
November 25th, 2008
Thanks Josef Go-Oco - Thanks for your comment. I believe that not only the typeface is important for branding but the guts feeling that a brand creates.
Hallo Maarten - Inderdaad! Peter Verheul is er in geslaagd een letter vorm te geven welke heel breed ingezet kan worden. Dank voor je reactie.
Hi Kim Siever - Thanks for your comment.
Hallo Tim - Nog wel te koop bij o.a. bol.com, maar wees snel want er is een lage oplage van Letterrijk.
Hallo Ischa Gast - Ik ben van mening dat een lettertype geschikt voor kinderen andere eisen nodig heeft als een lettertype wat een brede toepassing heeft voor het informeren van burgers (volwassenen) over alle voorkomende zaken met betrekking tot de overheid. Wellicht is een doorwerking van het project 1 Logo in de toekomst breder inzetbaar op bv. gemeente en of school niveau, waarin een aanpassing van het lettertype het wel geschikt maakt voor bv scholen. Dank voor je reactie.
November 26th, 2008
What is really inspiring to me, is that your post has generated so much interest and commentary. Bravo, Sander, for bringing this information out and providing such a stimulating place to read and discuss.
November 26th, 2008
Thank you very much Erik Brandt - for your comment, appreciated. Looking forward discussing more with you about type & communication.
November 27th, 2008
Very nice to find so much information about this new typeface.
One thing though:
Bread letter is not a proper english term for this (see your paragraph about Sans). It is a typical Dutch word, broodletter, referring to the size of the type, generally between 8-14 pt., was named this way as it was the most used by the good old typesetters, and thus their main source of income, as in: earning their bread with this letter.
In english one should call it ‘body type’ or ‘book face’.
Keep up the great work with your weblog!
November 29th, 2008
Reminds me a lot of Fontin and Fontin Sans. Nice job. Wish my govt. had their own typeface
December 1st, 2008
Excellent typeface and article. I’m impressed!
December 1st, 2008
less is more. 1 logo says it all.
December 11th, 2008
Hele mooie letter! Het logo is ook heel erg sterk. Top werk ga zo door!
December 16th, 2008
I especially like the requirement that the typeface “should not be too wide in order to reduce printing costs”.
December 29th, 2008
Deze fonts moeten gewoon openbaar worden. Vooral de sans is erg mooi.
February 4th, 2009
Nice and clean!
I like it.
Regards
February 19th, 2009
Awesome, nice posting! I love the Serif!
May 13th, 2009
Hi Sander
I’m delighted to come across this post, because..
- You’ve put together an intelligent blog, a lot of hard work, well done!
- This is a beautifully crafted typeface, and nicely applied
- On a personal level, it was a lovely surprise to see Peter Verheul’s name. I did a double take when I saw the name, and your shot of the sketchbook confirmed to me it’s got to be the same Peter who sat in Banks & Miles London years ago (must have been 1990) designing his Sherriff typeface (I’m sure he should have been working on something else).
I can recall meeting Peter around the time New Berlin was released and I can see he’s gone from strength to strength since! (I’m pleased to say - he’s also a thoroughly nice guy, what a sickener!)
Thanks!
Garrett Reil
June 15th, 2009
Love the contrast of the conservative vs the subtlety of a beautiful typeface that has the scent of the dutch typography “school”. I wish our government had that kind of concern…
December 11th, 2009
Hoe kom ik aan dit font? Ik wil me graag zo vroeg mogelijk conformeren aan de nieuwe overheidsstijl. Ik wil graag een LaTeX fontfamily en een voor Word.
December 11th, 2009
Hi Stef Joosten - het lettertype is niet direct verkrijgbaar, zie de Rijksoverheid Huisstijl website voor meer informatie. http://bit.ly/6fUirp Succes.
December 28th, 2009
Hi Sander,
How about the introduction of the 4 new fonts “Rijksoverheid Sans Text” and the renaming of “Rijksoverheid Sans” in “Rijksoverheid Sans Heading”. Finally the designers for the government get the sans serif typefaces for text, they wanted.
Why didn’t the Logo 1 project group offer these facilities at the start of the Rijksoverheid Huisstijl project?
Regards,
Henk
December 28th, 2009
Hi Henk,
Thank you for the mention of the new typefaces for Rijksoverheid. In the new year I will devote a follow up post on the typefaces and corporate identity for the Dutch Rijksoverheid.
After the introduction of the typefaces, Rijksoverheid Sans was quickly being used for text purposes. In December 2009 Peter Verheul released V2 for Rijksoverheid Sans Text and Heading and including an screenupdate for the Rijksoverheid Serif. I believe this is a good step in the right direction providing a font family for multiple purposes. See below for a screenshot.
Thanks again for asking, I’ll let you know when the follow up is online.