TF, 2 letters that signify at the same time Type Foundry and Typographie Française (French Typography). 205TF is a type foundry that brings together the work of independent typeface designers, some of them well known, others closer to the beginning of their career, all highly talented. Each of them developing characters where a certain French spirit can be felt. 205TF is a foundry on a human scale, and beyond the distribution of their work, it supports typeface designers by making their creations available to a wider audience, allowing for greater recognition of their work.
205TF makes a choice of quality: a small number of creators, a precise selection of characters. The number is of little importance, the quality however is essential.
All of the characters are developed according to common standards (set standard, set pro and set spécial). The typefaces have – at a minimum – an extended set of characters (Latin extended) and this allows them to be used for compositions in a wide range of languages. With an Opentype format, they provide access to specific characters such as small capitals (according to the characters), different series of figures (aligned, old style, proportional and tabular), ligatures, fractions, etc.
This format allows access to specific typographic settings according to the characters. - For the group of characters – functions “All caps”, “Case sensitive punctuation”, “Tabular lining figures”, “Tabular old-style figures”, “Proportional old-style figures”, “Ligatures”, “Fractions”, “Ordinals”, “Contextual alternates”, “Localized forms”, etc.
For certain characters — “Small capitals”, “Capitals to Small Capitals”.
The presentation and interest of each function are detailed in the typeface specimens that can be downloaded for each typeface.
The groups of characters function with both MacOs and Windows platforms and have been tested for Office and Adobe applications. They can then be easily installed on the vast majority of computers and the direct transfer of a file that uses 205TF typefaces from one platform to another and from a Macintosh version of software to a Windows version of software is a process which is seamless.
For cases involving a specific and/or proprietary operating system or specific software, please contact us directly.
This concise typeface was originally designed for the eponymous city in Bourgogne, in 1995. Ultimately it was never used as planned for the signage in the municipal buildings.
In 2011, Damien Gautier completely overhauled this typeface to make it more lively. Its design has become simplified and stated. A number of details reveal surprising choices for this typeface that nonetheless retains its engraved origins. The numerous ligatures are a clear sign of this.
With the efficient and precious help of Roxane Gataud.
Superiors/Inferiors
Ordinals
Discretionary Ligatures
Stylistic Alternates
This standard corresponds to the Standard set to which are added specific signs depending on each typeface (alternative signs, stylistic signs, etc.) The detail of the available characters for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.
The Amiral character emerged from the discovery of the vestiges of a few letters painted on the ground. They seem to have resisted surprisingly well to time and the repeated passing of vehicles. We can still make out the rudimentary design of the letters, doubtlessly cut out of a metal plate.
This stencil typeface stands out for the robust nature of its letters that bring to mind markings on the side of cargo containers. However, this character is also used for punctuation.
Though this typeface may only be composed of capital letters, it does however contain a certain number of alternative signs.
With the efficient and precious help of Roxane Gataud.
Arrows
This standard corresponds to a set of characters that respond to the Extended Latin standard. It allows for the composition of a large majority of Western European languages. To do this, signs have been added to the standard latin alphabet, either through use of diacritic signs, or through construction of specific signs. The Extended Latin standard does not contain specific Cyrillic or Greek characters. The detail of the characters available for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.
The list of languages in which it is possible to compose is in the specimen.
For the Petit Serif typeface, Matthieu Cortat was inspired by lettering created by Percy J. Delf Smith for the building located at 55 Broadway, s.W. 1, London, that he reproduced in his book, “Civic and Memorial Lettering*.
This typeface is a lineal of monumental roman capitals with classical proportions, that possesses very slight serifs due to the use of brushes in its creation. A character used for titles and shopfronts, it does not possess a lowercase, but is available in Greek and Cyrillic alphabets. The letters A and I have variants available for Basque.
Percy J. Delf smith R.D.I., Civic and Memorial Lettering, Adam & Charles Black, London, 1946.
Automatic Fractions
Superiors/Inferiors
Ordinals
Stylistic Alternates
Arrows
This standard corresponds to the Standard set to which are added specific signs depending on each typeface (alternative signs, stylistic signs, etc.) The detail of the available characters for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.
- 21-Sathonay-LightA
- 21-Sathonay-LightB
- 31-Sathonay-Regular
- 41-Sathonay-Bold
- 22-Griffon-Light
- 32-Griffon-Regular
- 42-Griffon-Bold
- 23-Pradel-Light
- 33-Pradel-Regular
- 43-Pradel-Bold
- 24-Terme-Light
- 34-Terme-Regular
- 44-Terme-Bold
- 25-Foch-Light
- 35-Foch-Regular
- 45-Foch-Bold
- 26-Ney-Light
- 36-Ney-Regular
- 46-Ney-Bold
- 56-Ney-Heavy
Plaax (with an x) is an extension of the typeface Plaak (with a k) completed with lowercase letters. Plaax is a large family of 20 cuts.
This typeface takes its inspiration from the characters that one can find on the nameplates of French streets. For a long time, Damien Gautier has been interested in these letters that everyone sees on a daily basis without really knowing them. No one seems to pay them any attention and yet they reveal themselves to be particularly interesting due to their great diversity. Though we can imagine that it is always a question of the same typeface, a closer study shows that a number of alphabets co-exist. One common point: elementary, robust forms, that seem more to have been traced than drawn by a few industrial draughtsmen, eager to be able to compose names of streets, avenues and boulevards in the restricted space of a standardised enamelled plate (well almost, this is France after all!)
It is definitely not a question of smoothing out and unifying all of the drawings finishing with a slick and homogenous typeface! On the contrary, Damien Gautier wants these typefaces to conserve the disparity of the typographic forms that have been noted.
In an apparent logic of organisation and of design that somewhat amusedly reminds us of the method used by Adrian Frutiger for the Univers typeface, the different series of the Plaax conserve the independent designs in a certain number of details (accents, the specific forms of a few letters: f, g, j, k, r, t, y, etc.)
This typeface is composed of 20 styles that display the typographic wealth of this source of inspiration. “Plaax 1 – Sathonay”: very narrow characters; “Plaax 2 – Griffon” and “Plaax 3 – Pradel”: narrow characters; “Plaax 4 – Terme” and “Plaax 5 – Foch”: wide characters; “Plaax 6 – Ney”: extra-wide characters.
Each series (from 1 to 6) contains a number of weights. By activating the “Ligatures” function, a particular series of ligatures refer to the origin of this typeface…
Thanks to its many variants and its design that is rid of any outdated pastiche, this typeface reveals itself to have a large range of possible uses: press, publishing, signage, visual identity.
Uppercases
Small Capitals
Superiors/Inferiors
Ordinals
Discretionary Ligatures
This standard corresponds to the Standard set to which are added specific signs depending on each typeface (alternative signs, stylistic signs, etc.) The detail of the available characters for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.
The Chrysaora typeface was originally commissioned by the architects of group8 and the artist John Armleder, for a piece entitled, “Les Plates-formes de la porte dorée”, inspired by the story of the Golden door. It is part of the Parisian landscape, echoing the engravings made by the great names of the wall of the Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration, originally the Museum of the Colonies, a showroom for French colonialism. Chrysaora revisits the general features of these engravings, solely in capitals, and is used to engrave texts presented in John Armleder's work. Chrysaor (literally “golden sword”) was the son of Poseidon and Medusa, the brother of Pegasus. His mother was transformed into a gorgon by the goddess Athena as punishment for having desecrated her temple. A statue of Athena, incarnating a triumphant France, decorates the Palais de la Porte dorée.
The Chrysaora typeface is available in three weights, and can be used to compose more than 105 languages, including Vietnamese with its many accented characters. It also contains numerous ligatures.
Automatic Fractions
Superiors/Inferiors
Ordinals
Arrows
This standard corresponds to a set of characters that respond to the Extended Latin standard. It allows for the composition of a large majority of Western European languages. To do this, signs have been added to the standard latin alphabet, either through use of diacritic signs, or through construction of specific signs. The Extended Latin standard does not contain specific Cyrillic or Greek characters. The detail of the characters available for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.
The list of languages in which it is possible to compose is in the specimen.
- 21A-Sathonay-LightA
- 21B-Sathonay-LightB
- 31-Sathonay-Regular
- 41-Sathonay-Bold
- 22-Griffon-Light
- 32-Griffon-Regular
- 42-Griffon-Bold
- 23-Pradel-Light
- 33-Pradel-Regular
- 43-Pradel-Bold
- 24-Terme-Light
- 34A-Terme-RegularA
- 34B-Terme-RegularB
- 44A-Terme-BoldA
- 44B-Terme-BoldB
- 25-Foch-Light
- 35A-Foch-RegularA
- 35B-Foch-RegularB
- 45A-Foch-BoldA
- 45B-Foch-BoldB
- 26-Ney-Light
- 36-Ney-Regular
- 46-Ney-Bold
- 56-Ney-Heavy
This typeface takes its inspiration from the characters that one can find on the nameplates of French streets. For a long time, Damien Gauthier has been interested in these letters that everyone sees on a daily basis without really knowing them. No one seems to pay them any attention and yet they reveal themselves to be particularly interesting due to their great diversity. Though we can imagine that it is always a question of the same typeface, a closer study shows that a number of alphabets co-exist. One common point: elementary, robust forms, that seem more to have been traced than drawn by a few industrial draughtsmen, eager to be able to compose names of streets, avenues and boulevards in the restricted space of a standardised enamelled plate (well almost, this is France after all!)
It is definitely not a question of smoothing out and unifying all of the drawings finishing with a slick and homogenous typeface! On the contrary, Damien Gautier wants these typefaces to conserve the disparity of the typographic forms that have been noted.
In an apparent logic of organisation and of design that somewhat amusedly reminds us of the method used by Adrian Frutiger for the Univers typeface, the different series of the Plaak conserve the independent designs in a certain number of details (accents, the specific forms of a few letters: G, K, M, Q, R, etc.)
This typeface is composed of 24 styles that display the typographic wealth of this source of inspiration.
“Plaak 1 – Sathonay”: very narrow characters;
“Plaak 2 – Griffon” and “Plaak 3 – Pradel”: narrow characters;
“Plaak 4 – Terme” and “Plaak 5 – Foch”: wide characters;
“Plaak 6 – Ney”: extra-wide characters.
Each serie (from 1 to 6) contains a number of weights and a set of capital and small capitals (because the lowercase letters were almost completely missing from French street signs). By activating the “Ligatures” function, a particular series of ligatures refer to the origin of this typeface…
Thanks to its many variants and its design that is rid of any outdated pastiche, this typeface reveals itself to have a large range of possible uses: press, publishing, signage, visual identity.
An enhanced version of lowercase letters is currently being studied. Its launch is planned for 2018.
With the efficient and precious help of Roxane Gataud.
Proportional Lining Figures
Superiors/Inferiors
Ordinals
Discretionary Ligatures
This standard corresponds to the Standard set to which are added specific signs depending on each typeface (alternative signs, stylistic signs, etc.) The detail of the available characters for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.
Le François is a unique typeface for several reasons.
Firstly, it only contains capital letters, in three distinct series: uppercase, “high” and “low” small caps. However, the capitals are in strong contrast to ancient historical engravings. With its geometrical form, Le François echoes French characters such as Peignot, and its contrast between thick and thin strokes evokes the elegance of letterings such as Yves Saint-Laurent, also created by Cassandre.
Secondly, thanks to several ligatures and its specific spacing, you can compose distinctive words and titles. Just as Avant Garde Gothic, it plays with the strong contrast in lighting created by the capital letters, resulting in a dynamic graphic rhythm.
The synergy created between classic French and more modern references give this typeface a strong personality. Le François can therefore be an alternate typeface in many historical and patrimonial contexts. It is also perfectly adapted to fashion, luxe and gastronomy, as it distinguishes itself not only by its elegance, but also its bold audacity.
2 series of small caps
Ligatures
Superiors/Inferiors
Proportional Lining Figures
Proportional Old Style Figures
Ordinals
Discretionary Ligatures
Stylistic Alternates
This standard corresponds to the Standard set to which are added specific signs depending on each typeface (alternative signs, stylistic signs, etc.) The detail of the available characters for each typeface is presented in the typeface specimen that you can download from our website.