The results of the International Type Design Competition “Modern Cyrillic 2009″ were announced last week. The competition took place in Moscow and was held by ParaType with support by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications of Russia. It was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Peter the Great’s reform of Russian typography. This event follows the success of “Kirillitsa‘99” which took place ten years ago. The competition judges included well-known Russian designers and font specialists representing leading Russian type foundries and schools of type design. Cyrillic typeface projects and completed typefaces created and/or released after January 1, 2006 were eligible. This applied both to original works as well as revivals. There were 234 entries from 13 countries. The jury which convened on September 14, reviewed and evaluated 185 works presented by the Selection Committee. Then they selected 23 entries for Honor Diplomas for Excellence in Type Design.
PF Centro Pro, last year’s winner of the European Design ED Awards 2008 for Original Typeface, was selected to be among the winners. Centro was also in the list of the 10 best typefaces of 2008 which was compiled by the independent Evasion. Centro Pro is not just a type family, it is a type system.This large series of 40 fonts with 1519 glyphs each, is composed of three superfamilies (serif, sans and slab), includes true italics and supports Latin, Greek and Cyrillic. Centro is a very legible contemporary group of typefaces, which is ideal for a wide range of design works. You may also read a very informative article here in this blog about the making of Centro Pro.
PF Champion Script Pro, one of the most-talked-about typefaces, was also selected by the jury. This is the most advanced and powerful calligraphic typeface ever made. Its contemporary appearance blends perfectly with its classic roots. Each one of the two weights is loaded with 4280 glyphs(!), offering simultaneous support for all European languages based on the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic scripts. It includes an extensive array of ligatures and alternate glyphs in all languages, never before released or incorporated within the same font. The article on the making of Champion Script Pro explains how it was designed and put together as a typeface.
Finally, PF Goudy Initials Pro and Ornaments is a revival taken to a higher level. The Latin characters were designed originally by Frederic Goudy around 1918. The craftmanship of these complicated initials as well as the endless creative coloring possibilities offered by the 6 additional styles which function as overlay layers (may be colored individually), make this typeface an essential part of your type library. The 3 winning typefaces were designed by Panos Vassiliou.
International Type Design Competition
PF Centro Pro
PF Champion Script Pro
PF Goudy Initials and Ornaments
