Kolonia, typeface by Dominik Bissem

Athens Design Forum (ADF) steps quietly  into a new season with a lucid typographic identity: Kolonia, a typeface designed by Dominik Bissem, a graduate of ECAL’s Master’s program in Type Design (2023). Built from the foundation of F. H. Ernst Schneidler’s 1923 Deutsch-Römisch, Kolonia moves between eras with exacting precision — its opulent curves and understated presence giving it a percussive body. Reminiscent of the great typographies that adorned artistic catalogues published in Athens throughout the 1950s-1970s, Bissem animates the characterization of the font: “Glyphs like the dancing g, the number 3, the dagger-like 7, or the question mark clearly refer to the calligraphic background of the original and are important features of Kolonia,” with more philosophical musings behind Kolonia’s enduring design to follow:

ATHENS DESIGN FORUM, KATERÍNA PAPANIKOLOPOULOS: Describe the process from research and prototyping to final application – How was the typeface born?

DOMINIK BISSEM: The typeface was born in the first semester of the Master’s program in Type Design at ECAL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Before the semester started, our teacher Alice Savoie gave us the assignment in her lecture “Revival, Remix, Tribute” to research a historical source as the foundation for reviving an existing typeface. Back at that time, I was living and working in Stuttgart and started to contact the State Academy of Fine Arts to visit their typography department’s metal type archive. F. H. Ernst Schneidler had taught at the academy for 29 years, which is one reason why the archive holds several of his typographic works. Among the typefaces I particularly liked Deutsch-Römisch, and I started scanning pages of the original type specimen as well as taking a closer look at the existing metal type. The result of the first semester was an upright text weight, which formed the starting point of Kolonia. While studying, I kept refining the typeface and started exploring the italics. After graduating from ECAL, I refined and completed both the upright and italic Regular weights, resulting in the release through ECAL Typefaces in late 2023.

KATERÍNA PAPANIKOLOPOULOS: What initially attracted you to select this typeface during the ECAL program? What influences within the 1920’s may have progressed to the outcome of the archival font?

DOMINIK BISSEM: Especially the strong character of Schneidler’s original, as well as the oddity of the typeface, instantly made me curious to explore the source. The original model has a humorous flavor, which I immediately liked. Following this, I established the revival’s approach: maintaining the crucial characteristics and humor of Deutsch-Römisch, while bringing the typeface into the present by meeting today’s demands. Schneidler originally drew a display and a text version. The display version has a very strong calligraphic character and even more unusual glyphs than the text version. They differ in terms of letter construction a lot. That was one reason why I constantly explored both weights at the same time, brought them together, and decided what was worth keeping in my interpretation. Besides all of these purely typographic reasons, I liked the fact that Ernst Schneidler’s vita partly crossed paths with mine. He studied in Düsseldorf, taught in Wuppertal – where I grew up – and continued working in Stuttgart.

KATERÍNA PAPANIKOLOPOULOS: How do typefaces within urban contexts inspire you, and what do you think is at risk of being lost in an era dominated by globalization?

“I am constantly inspired by glyphs, letterings, and typefaces when I walk through my urban environment. Taking time, for sure, is something that, in my opinion, is at risk. Taking time for details, for sustainable work, and for precision.”

DOMINIK BISSEM: Letters inspire me always and everywhere. They can be painted on a wall or printed on the canvas of a truck. I think it’s mostly a subconscious inspiration from these daily encounters, but I save them somewhere in my mind or take a picture to use later on. I am always curious about what surrounds me. In terms of typography in particular, it means that I am constantly inspired by glyphs, letterings, and typefaces when I walk through my urban environment. Taking time, for sure, is something that, in my opinion, is at risk. Taking time for details, for sustainable work, and for precision. The time we live in today is very fast—the speed of things, the speed of living, the speed of producing. When it comes to Type Design, I think quality matters more than quantity. Furthermore, I think it can be easy to get lost in an overwhelmed visual landscape. Therefore, it is crucial from my point of view to constantly rethink one's approach and face the responsibility in our environment.

KATERÍNA PAPANIKOLOPOULOS: How does the calligraphic influence come into balance within the typeface of Kolonia?

DOMINIK BISSEM: As I described earlier, it was a very thin line figuring out how much of a calligraphic angle Kolonia should follow, especially looking at the display version, which is clearly characterized by its tool. The typeface has rather a low overall contrast with strong serifs, which should support a better reading experience, especially in smaller sizes—one reason why I decided to lower the calligraphic influence. On the other hand, there are still many moments where the origin is noticeable. Glyphs like the dancing g, the number 3, the dagger-like 7, or the question mark clearly refer to the calligraphic background of the original and are, in my opinion, important features of Kolonia.

KATERÍNA PAPANIKOLOPOULOS: Which typefaces have had a significant impact on shaping your design philosophy or career, and how have they influenced your work with Kolonia?

DOMINIK BISSEM: It’s hard for me to pinpoint specific typefaces that influenced me. For Kolonia, it was obviously Deutsch-Römisch. In general, I would rather point out that people inspired me, my work, and approach. That started with my first Type Design lecture during my Graphic Design studies in Düsseldorf and continued with my Bachelor project about the Swiss typographer Walter Haettenschweiler, where I designed a type collection featuring 17 of Haettenschweiler’s display typefaces. Studying at ECAL a few years later had a very big influence on me as well. Talking about this, I mean my teachers, people I met during this time period, and especially meeting so many talented and good individuals in my class. Finally, working together with Laurenz Brunner for Zurich and New York-based type foundry Sourcetype the last two and a half years definitely gave my Type Design practice another big and very important push.

KATERÍNA PAPANIKOLOPOULOS: We often speak of fonts as having engendered personalities. How would you describe the personality of Kolonia?

DOMINIK BISSEM: Kolonia has both a humorous and a serious side. While the typeface is serious enough to handle any kind of content, there are glyphs and quirky features that represent the friendly and playful personality. I would say Kolonia has definitely some funny moments, which shows that Kolonia does not take itself too seriously: the vertical and horizontal proportions of the uppercase E and F, or the dynamic and uncommon glyphs V, W, k, and x within the italics.

DOMINIK BISSEM is a type designer and graduate of the Master’s program in Type Design at ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne), Switzerland. His design philosophy blends historical typography with contemporary needs, and his work draws from both classical influences and modern-day considerations in type design. His project Kolonia, a revival of F. H. Ernst Schneidler’s Deutsch-Römisch, is a reflection of his dedication to bringing past designs into a modern context while preserving their original character and charm. Bissem’s career has been shaped by various influential mentors and projects, and his type design practice has evolved through collaborations with esteemed foundries such as Sourcetype.

@dominikbissem