Geogrotesque Mono is the fixed-width counterpart of Geogrotesque. As in the original, the rounded finish provides a warm appearance and make it less hard or technological. It is ideal to use in tables and drafts, but also in packaging or branding where a technical or classic appearance is desired. Geogrotesque Mono is the perfect match for the all time best seller Geogrotesque. It comes in 14 styles: seven weights, plus seven underscored versions.

Geogrotesque, formal principle. 

Since the launch of Geogrotesque in the late 2008, I have had many failed attempts of doing a monospace version to accompany it. Actually, I have always given up the projects to start something more stimulating. It wasn't until mid 2023 that I took up the idea again. The first monospaced font in my catalogue was Approach Mono, then Inklination Mono; previously, I had done some monospaced fonts for clients. So, when I started this new version of Geogrotesque Mono, in some way, I used all the new knowledge I had accumulated recently and, instead of going back to previous attempts, I started again from scratch.

Emtype's monospaced fonts, Aribau and Shentox, have not been published yet.

First of all, I've rethought the width and decided not to force myself to respect the traditional “pitch” width (number of glyphs per inch in a specific point size); nowadays, it doesn't make much sense. The value of 600 ems is common, but it is not a fixed rule. It depends on the design and the specific typography needs. The original Geogrotesque is a bit condensed, and in my previous attempts, I always tried with 600 ems of width, which is the width of Courier and a popular choice, but I got a very light and open texture. In this published version, I switched to 560, and it works much better. The positive side effect of this decision is that Geogrotesque Mono saves horizontal space compared with traditional monospaced fonts like the mentioned Courier or San Francisco Mono, for instance. In monospaced fonts, the spacing is determined by the glyph (advance width) minus the width of the outline (bounding box or width); a change in the width has a huge impact on the texture. Finding the perfect black and white balance in a mono is a long but rewarding process; even better, kerning is not needed.

Comparison of Geogrotesque Mono with Other Monospaced Fonts. 

Due to the process of finding the ideal spacing, the uppercase letters are more condensed than the lowercase letters. This caused numbers, which are usually narrower than capitals, to have almost the same width as capitals. That is why the zero has a diagonal bar, to distinguish it from the capital O.

fi and fl ligatures are required in most common font encodings. In a context where all characters must be 560 Ems in width, what should be the width of the ligatures? I tried compact ones, but they were a bit noisy and broke the rhythm. Considering that programs like InDesign activate standard ligatures by default, it was not a good idea. The solution was to double the width of the ligatures to 1120, which looks more natural.

Some discarted options in grey and ligatures.

The punctuation is another detail to pay attention to in a mono; commonly, it is heavier and bigger to fill more of the width and avoid the empty feeling in the glyphs. That is why characters like the period, colon, semicolon, etc. are heavier; the same happens with the tittle of 'i' and 'j'. Other characters that were challenging to make fit in the available space were characters that were originally too wide, such as fractions, 'M', 'W', 'm', 'w'. On the other hand, 'i', 'l', or 'I' were too narrow and needed to fill the space, making them wider.

Comparison of Geogrotesque and Geogrotesque Mono. 

The are many historical references of monospaced typefaces and one of the recurring variation is the underscored one. This is not surprising, as monospace typefaces emerged due to typewriter machines, and underscoring was a method for highlighting text when there were no options for different weights or italics. Thus, when the first movable types of monospaced typefaces began to appear, they replicated this practice adding an underscored version. Although Geogrotesque Mono already has 7 weights for highlighting and contrasting text, it also includes an underscored version, which broadens the possibilities of use and makes it more versatile.

Source of inspiration: Slik Remington Underscored Typewriter. American Type Founders Company Specimen Book and Catalogue 1923. New Jersey: ATF, 1923.

Geogrotesque Mono U (U stands for underscored) can be used to highlight text like in the old days or simply to add another dimension to your design. Many characters have been adapted to perfectly match the underscore, for example, curly braces {([])}, descending letters like ‘g’ or ‘j’, etc.

Exploration to find the ideal counterpart. The goal was to create a compact and functional family, that implies the discard of superfluous, yet interesting, variations. Designers frequently view typefaces as overly complex, thus simplification is always a wise choice.

Geogrotesque Mono is perfect for use in coding or technical environments. It is well-suited for tables, film subtitles, scripts, and drafts, or professional communication where a technical or methodical appearance is desired. Its clarity and uniformity make it a solid choice for data representation and instructional material. But not only that, monospace typefaces exhibit a distinctive and attractive aesthetic, especially in editorial, packaging, or branding projects seeking to evoke a nostalgic or classic ambiance. The precise, grid-based structure of monospaced characters can infuse a design with personality and allure. The range of weights allows enough flexibility in design, making it appropriate for use in a general design context rather than limiting it to a merely technical one.

Suitable for a large range of situations, from whisky or cosmetic labels to tables or drafts; it could even be used for spatial computing :)

Since the release of the original Geogrotesque, many clients have asked us for a good monospaced font that pairs well with it. Geogrotesque Mono has arrived to answer that need and complement this popular family. It comes in 14 styles: seven weights, plus seven underscored versions. Variable fonts are included with the family or available as separate styles. / em.

View Geogrotesque Mono

Geogrotesque is a sans serif typeface family created in 2008. It has since grown to become a classic of the square genre. Coming up with a version of Geogrotesque is always a challenge, and making a slab is no exception as the structure of the letters need to be substantially modified. When creating a slab or serif version from a sans, the challenge is to achieve a fully recognizable font that works as part of the existing family. We wanted the font to be credible and not to become a caricature of itself. The font had to communicate the essence of Geogrotesque, to be perceived as an extension that would add new attributes without removing or overlapping the existing ones. In short, the key was to expand the visual vocabulary to convey the same message in a different way.  

Comparison between the original Geogrotesque and the new Slab.

The slab process does not simply involve adding serifs. When you incorporate serifs the visual width of each letter changes, some letters become wider, others narrower. All the relationships change and therefore one must try to compensate for this. For example: the H is wider than the O, a problem that has various solutions (to try a narrower H, or a wider O, for instance). As Geogrotesque is already a subtly condensed typeface, we decided to widen the O in order to preserve the general visual proportions.

Details of the serif height variations and the redraw curves on some letters.

The Slab genre, arguably has the loudest voice. Also known as Egyptian, fonts like this have some quirks that make their design particularly intricate. Although these kind of geometric slabs usually have minimal variation in stroke width (with a similar contrast to the sans typefaces), they also have a very heavy serif (thick, block-like serif). The combination of these factors leaves limited space as the letters gain weight, therefore countless ink traps and optical corrections are required.  

The first image is Antique, taken from Vincent Figgins Type Specimens 1801 and 1815 (Facsimile). London: Printing Historical Society, 1967. The image below shows Memphis from Specimen Book of Linotype Faces. Brooklyn, NY: Mergenthaler Linotype, 1939.

In addition to the serifs, the terminals are another distinctive element. Deciding where to put the terminals has been no easy task. What looks good in one letter can be totally dissonant in another or could considerably change the texture of the text. As a reference we used historical classics like Antique, possibly the first geometric slab typeface with low contrast, and Memphis. We have employed a flexible and pragmatic approach, without ever losing sight of the objective to recognize Geogrotesque in the final outcome.  

When creating a slab or serif version from a sans, the challenge is to achieve a fully recognizable font that works as part of the existing family.

Geogrotesque Slab transmits the same attributes as the sans version. The new font remains clean and tech with a human touch yet provides a new security, confidence and firmness. Nevertheless, it maintains its closeness without getting too serious or solemn. The result is a multipurpose family especially suitable for magazines, brochures, branding and any intermediate length text. Above all, Geogrotesque Slab is the ideal companion of the original Geogrotesque. 

A sample of the subtly different personalities of both Geogrotesque.

The type family consist of 14 styles 7 weights (Thin, UltraLight, Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold and Bold) plus italics. It is available for desktop and WebFont and includes ligatures, tabular figures, fractions, numerators, denominators, superiors and inferiors with support for Central and Eastern European languages.

View Geogrotesque Slab