The AW Inuit origins

Arjowiggins introduced a new premium offset paper in 2006 called Inuit®. Jeremy Tankard, via the Blast design agency, was commissioned to design a display typeface based on the alphabet used by the Inuit people of Northern Canada. This syllabic writing system, developed in the 19th century presents strangely alien and graphic shapes to our eyes.

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Jeremy has developed a collection of letterforms taking inspiration from the Inuktitut alphabet and from the more familiar roman alphabet in order to create a balanced, harmonious, and last but not least legible result.

Singularities

The eye-catching appearance is a tribute to the origin of this alphabet where graphic angular forms balance geometric curves.

Some original Inuktitut shapes appeared too extreme for Latin readability, so a few alternative characters were developed giving the user the possibility to add some variety to their text composition.

As well as these alternates and the usual symbols and punctuation found in today’s fonts, Jeremy has added a set of ligatures to add texture and rhythm.