Aiming to distil the overall gesture, flavour and intention of wood type, Dries Wiewauters’ Cru, removes the historic limitations of the medium to breathe new life into a classic.
Manufacturing limitations historically drove certain letter forms definition. Wood type processes limited the inside radius or changes in stroke direction to be a minimum thickness of the router piece, thus forcing restraints that were reflected in nuanced and at points, cru(de) output.
In English, Cru can be defined as a French vineyard producing wine grapes, especially one formally graded as to the quality of its annual production. However the Dutch meaning is more layered. A Cru person is painfully candid and sincere. A Cru form is rough. A Cru statement can be rude or excessive. Cru food can be unsalted. Reflecting the dual definitions of refinement vs roughness, as a typeface Cru aims to be, and can be, many things at once.
Traversing from X Condensed through X Expanded, Cru gives a unique take on an old favourite. Giving users the most flavour with the least effort, akin to the simple pleasures of the best comfort food.
Cru is available in one weight — Black — across seven widths — X Condensed, Condensed, Semi Condensed, Black, Semi Expanded, Expanded, X Expanded. It is open to licensing in both Standard (‘STD’) and Professional (‘PRO’) versions. The latter contains Cyrillic and Greek language support, additional OpenType features, stylistic alternates, and symbols.