Kyū Maru Gothic

Japanese Display Family ECAL Variable CJK

Kyū Maru Gothic 「九丸ゴシック」 is a variable Latin-Japanese typeface inspired by hand-painted station signs of Japan’s Shōwa period. The design translates the vernacular craft of these signs — their irregular shapes, the dynamic and occasionally odd brush strokes — into a contemporary typeface. Latin and Japanese are designed to sit harmoniously together, with the Latin’s compact vertical proportions made especially for display usage. The typeface is variable on a width axis across all four scripts: Latin, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.

Kyū Maru Gothic was designed as the diploma project of the Master Type Design programme at ECAL. It reached the finals of the Morisawa Type Design Competition 2024 and won the TDC New York Young Ones Award 2024. Currently under development.

Mentored by: Kai Bernau, Alice Savoie, Akira Kobayashi, Ryota Doi, Toshi Omagari, Shoko Mugikura, Mariko Takagi.