Herk Type Crew

André Teixeira da Silva – Herk Type Crew

Herk is a typeface that incorporates roman and gothic styles, inspired by the aesthetics of b-boying and the recurrence of blackletter on the clothing of its practitioners. The contrast between this centuries-old typography and the relatively young underground world of breaking intrigued me. Inspired by a mysterious letterform popular among b-boys and b-girls, I started by designing a new skeleton. This became the basis for the pencil, marker and brush versions. This early exploration led to the creation of the gothic and roman display variants, underlining a more refined development of Herk. Finally, with the addition of the text versions, Herk underwent its final metamorphosis, combining roman and gothic styles into a unified typeface family.

Diploma project (2023) by André Teixeira da Silva

Mention
Bien
Award
David Rust
Know-how
Type design
Exhibition
Exhibition

1/2

Specimen
Specimen
Specimen
Specimen
Specimen

1/5

Projects related to Type design

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Type Design BA1 S1 2024/2025

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The second-year students had to vectorize a typeface they had drawn last semester.

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Third-year students had to develop a typography and digitise it. 

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The second-year students had to develop the lower-case letters of two display fonts by hand. 

Type Design BA1 S1 2024/2025

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  Designing a logotype means defining a strong visual identity anchored in a specific context. First-year Graphic Design students developed a hand-drawn logotype based on a subject, theme, or environment of their own choosing. This creation was informed by prior research in typographic archives. Each student produced a reference booklet and a specimen system based on six or more typefaces, to ground their visual and conceptual exploration. Balancing typographic culture and contemporary expression, each project investigates what makes a visual identity truly distinctive.  

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