Most grotesks try very hard to be invisible. Bricolage Grotesque does not. At display sizes it gets tight, a little eccentric and unmistakably human; at text sizes it relaxes into something calm and readable.
Optical sizes do the heavy lifting
The variable optical-size axis means one family can play both the loud headline and the quiet caption. We set our display type at the largest optical size with tight tracking, and let body copy breathe in a neutral companion.
Good type has a voice. Great type knows when to lower it.
When we’d choose something else
For banks, hospitals and anything that needs to disappear, we look elsewhere. Character is a feature until it becomes a distraction — and knowing the difference is most of the job.
Written by
Tomás Reis
Tomás looks after type, color and the studio’s ever-growing specimen library. He has opinions about kerning and very few about coffee.
