Range Left’s Playful Approach To Typeface Design

The undeniable proximity of typography and graphic design is always what balances a good studio. London-based agency Range Left is becoming known for its exciting approach to type design, working across a variety of sectors from beauty and interior design to finance and property.

Matthew Gowar, Range Left‘s founder, decided to open a new space for some of the creations that the studio produces, showing new ideas and grasping new challenges. Invigorated by the possibilities of expressive type design, Range Left Shop was born with an initial focus on display typefaces.

RANGE LEFT TYPE01 TYPE DESIGN
RANGE LEFT TYPE01 TYPE DESIGN

“The main concept is a space for selling typography by associating each typeface with a graphic universe highlighted by scenes and environments. Each typeface is accompanied by a set of high-quality mockups with various possibilities of effects,” explains Matthew.

The Range Left Shop currently has three typefaces available; Bakerie, Timepiece, and the newest release, Bufala. Bakerie‘s name references the changing curves of bread dough as it is kneaded, pushed, and pulled into wonderful shapes. Its range of alternative letters and ligatures allows for inventive combinations, representing the variable expansion of the dough — ideal for elegant titles and logotypes.

RANGE LEFT TYPE01 TYPE DESIGN
RANGE LEFT TYPE01 TYPE DESIGN

“The process for Bakerie was to try to align our style with our current client base and what attracts them to our methodology. We asked ourselves: what can we offer that is different?” tells Matthew. “This perhaps can manifest itself as a stylish typeface with some elegant ligatures and a large set of alternates to create freedom of expression. Thus Bakerie was born as a timeless yet modern manifestation of many classic art movements, with plenty of scope for customization by anyone wishing to play with it.”

For Timepiece, the inspiration came from a different direction. It began with numbers. The challenge was to design a typeface inspired by the style of a classic yet functional wristwatch, the Rolex Trench Watch.

RANGE LEFT TYPE01 TYPE DESIGN

Timepiece was our first outing into custom type, although it became the second style to be released,” says Matthew. “Initially the stylistic concept derived from the numerals on an old classic wristwatch face, used in times of conflict during the early 20th century. The first few letters were then expanded into the remainder of the alphabet and onto a set of ligatures, eventually being finalized through creative input, a lot of elbow grease here in our studio, and from other expert collaborators who had already experienced that journey themselves to help us on our way.”

New: Bufala

After its two font releases, Range Left is delighted to introduce its third release – a monolinear stroke typography that can be transformed into various forms, called Bufala. It’s a playful and geometric typeface, inspired by the shapes of Italian design from the 1960s.

“This typeface is more playful and unusual than the previous two. The main premise is to make a variable font to transform a monolinear stroke into its weird and wonderful opposites,” says Matthew.

After its initial release as a single weight, Bufala will be available as a variable typeface, the development of which is almost complete. “Any variable font will evolve, naturally. As we make new improvements to each font, those who have bought an earlier version will benefit from future refinements and sprinkles that we add. That is what we would like for ourselves, so it’s important to be able to offer that to our design compadres too”, continues Matthew.

RANGE LEFT TYPE01 TYPE DESIGN

Range Left Shop

The Range Left Shop also offers a range of beautifully crafted mockups. “Taking the beauty product mockups as an example, we like the androgyny and the artistic license for creative composition that it enables. Having used countless mockups ourselves, we enjoy adding a creative license to our own and seeing what other people do with them.”

Range Left believes that their design creations should be accessible to everyone. They offer free trials where possible and have very affordable pricing on a flexible range of products, such as mockup sets paired with typefaces.

“We think that creativity needs to be accessible to everyone and we try to make a design or composition for good feelings and results, to be enjoyed by a broad audience. All designers should think of themselves as the enchanters of tomorrow, conveying the logistics of today. The process of design may be hard and complex—but the result should be one of enjoyment twinned with essential communication of the message,” says Matthew.

“The functional side of our studio has taught us over many years that a designer might propose a typeface to a client but may not want to purchase it if the client eventually prefers something else. It’s all part of the process and we understand both sides of it,” he finishes.

Keep up with Range Left’s third typeface release on a series of posts they are publishing on their Instagram page. You can also browse more through Range Left on their website, and The Range Left Shop on their page as well. Follow The Range Left Shop on their Instagram for more.

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