Plovdiv Typeface
Plovdiv Typeface, a bespoke font family commissioned for Plovdiv's European Capital of Culture 2019 celebration, represents a unique fusion of community engagement and typography design.
Created in partnership with Typedepot, this distinctive character collection emerged from analysing over 3,800 handwriting samples from residents, culminating in three primary variants—Plovdiv Script, Display, and Sans—alongside the playful additions of Plovdiv Pictograms and MainaMode. Each font carries the authentic DNA of the city's collective penmanship, with the Script version embodying the warmth of handwritten forms, Display offering refined elegance, and Sans providing practical versatility for broader applications.
We started the project by a handwriting collecting campaign. For a week we collected more than 3800 blanks like the one above, filled in by random people met on the street in Plovdiv. Everyone had to write the same pangram in Bulgarian using their own handwriting. We also collected the sentence "I love Plovdiv, I write by hand" written in All Caps, the numbers 0 - 9 and some gender and age information.
The project transcends mere typography, serving as a cultural touchstone that bridges traditional handwriting with modern digital design.
Key deliverables include a comprehensive font family available in multiple weights, an innovative MainaMode feature that translates text into local Plovdiv slang, and over 60 pictograms integrated as ligatures—all offered as a free download to the global design community.
The initiative's success is evident in its widespread adoption by local Plovdiv residents, small business owners, and the Municipality. In 2021, the Plovdiv Typeface received the Font Family Prize at Modern Cyrillic 2021, an international type design competition. This recognition highlights its importance as both a valuable contribution to Bulgaria's cultural heritage and a notable achievement in the global type design community.
