Not Sorry Serif

In contrast to our primary brand font, Sorry Sans, Not Sorry Serif (a Reverse Contrast Serif) was always meant to be a font that was more expressive – something that looked unique while maintaining familiar attributes.

We often say we wanted to design a font reminiscent of a 1970s Japanese Donut Shop – which is a very befuddling way of saying we aspired to create a radical and unexpected style that had slightly nostalgic qualities.

In actuality we were inspired by Japanese influences while researching design for our Mr. Yuzu branding, and were particularly drawn to the flourishes seen in Japanese calligraphy that were emotive through their movement.  We wanted to capture this form of expression and somehow meld this with the humour and ‘happy’ qualities of the emoji – our theme of the year. We were inspired by the exuberance of posters from the ‘70s which told us to “have a nice day!”

The result is a structured font that feels slightly hand done, as Colophon implemented an unusual stroke contrast into the design. Thick and thin strokes are switched around (contrary to convention), and the resulting contemporary, curved endings to the letters feel joyous – like smiles. Set of alternates (swashes, curvy letterforms) that enables to control the amount of expressiveness of the typeface lends itself to a typography that is gestural and warm, kind of like a Milton Glaser poster telling you to have a nice day. Kind of like something you might see in a 1970s Japanese Donut Shop.