Black Train Family - working title
Dušan Jelesijević13 Apr 2026
13th April, 2026
Initial idea
I have always been drawn to retro and vintage typefaces because of their diversity in design and the way they combine different styles. I am particularly fascinated by typefaces in which several distinct design concepts—seemingly unrelated at first glance—are successfully integrated throughout the entire font, resulting in a cohesive and well-functioning whole. This is my attempt to create such a typeface, with pronounced decorative characteristics, but one that I hope is also practical, under the working title Black Train.
My initial and direct inspiration came from Art Nouveau and Art Deco typefaces. In order to avoid merely replicating existing features from those styles, I chose an approach I always use in such cases: modernizing vintage design for contemporary application—introducing different proportions, stroke relationships and stem structures closer to sans-serif typefaces, along with details intended to distinguish this font from others of a similar style.
Samples from Bauersche Gießerei specimen.
15th April, 2026
First drafts
The design of the first few characters was done in a sans style, with subtle contrasts in stroke thickness. For now, the plan is for the letter design to be based more on a sans structure, with fewer decorative and calligraphic elements.
28th April, 2026
Serif added
Serifs have been added to several new characters. I opted for serifs that combine multiple styles, forming a hybrid of Transitional and Humanist/Old Style: thin, slightly curved, with terminals that carry a subtle calligraphic note, including certain outgoing calligraphic strokes.
5th May, 2026
A-Z & a-z
All basic uppercase and lowercase Latin letters have also been completed, making it now possible to display full words and get a clearer sense of what kind of typeface this is intended to be.
12th May, 2026
Numbers
Numbers have been added, as well as certain punctuation marks and mathematical characters (which are not shown in the example). The next phase is to create all remaining characters in order to complete the desired character map.
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Expected launch: 30 June 2026