"Italic Strategies" are a writing exercise from 2016. Thought of as a list of potential typographic fictions, they were a tool to begin exploring the frameworks of type design thinking. They were given a web version in 2018, of which the text below is the introduction.

Italic Strategies are a series of utterances that aim to free, unblock and shift the mind of the type designer. Inspired by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidts Oblique Strategies — described as « Over one hundred worthwhile dilemmas » — each proposal plays on the confrontation between an abstract statement about typography, readers type knowledge and the need for the receiver to create a mental image of it.

Try to imagine what, for example, An font in case of emergency. What might it look like? In what situation could it be useful? Why should we have a typeface that we cant use, except in extreme circumstances? What force majeure might require a typeface, and what characteristics would it have to deal with ? Does an emergency mean the need for protection? But how could small ink letters protect anyone? Did they scare the one who read them ?

Would I be able to draw, right here, right now, a typeface so much... so... something...? So ugly maybe ? So evocative of fear itself in all that it can make the human being tremble, that it would persuade a possible threat to flee? Technically... who tells us that this is impossible? But... A font in case of emergency, could also speak about the Last font, the one that remains when all the others have disappeared and we have no choice but to use it. In your opinion, «what will the last typeface that humanity will produce look like», and who will be its designer?

The resulting solutions of those strange commands, unique to each person, allow us to reconsider past projects, reflect on current work, or imagine future creations. Beyond a reflexive experience, they allow an exploratory design practice, answering invented questions without applications. Nothingness briefs, but maybe the only natural ones.

strategies

1. A font that would not have a reflection.
2. A mime typeface.
3. A font where the capitals would have the role of lowercases and vice versa.
4. A serif mimicking a sans.
5. A font without a priori.
6. An objective font.
7. A font without interior, nor exterior.
8. A font that one can turn inside out like an octopus.
9. A font that can only be used once.
10. A typeface that can age.
11. A font of Youth.
12. A font with an accent.
13. A rare typography.
14. An inimitable typeface.
15. A disposable font.
16. A font with an aftertaste.
17. A polluting typeface.
18. A recyclable typography.
19. An eco-friendly typeface.
20. Two twin fonts.
21. Two fonts influencing each other.
22. Two fonts finished at exactly the same time.
23. Two second cousin fonts
24. Two inbred fonts.
25. A creeping font.
26. A font invisible to the eyes of the old.
27. A flowing font.
28. A typeface that would emerge like a mountain.
29. A topographic font family with river, sea & ocean variations.
30. A typeface based on the idea of flow.
31. A typeface that would act like a tide.
32. A typeface whose curve tensions would be those of liquids.
33. A caricatural font.
34. A screaming font.
35. A caricature of font.
36. A medieval Grotesque.
37. A monospace civilité type.
38. A liberticidal typography.
39. A typeface that shines.
40. A typeface that radiates.
41. A typeface that blinds.
42. A typeface that emits light.
43. A typeface that sucks up light.
44. A typeface so heavy that it curves space-time.
45. A dangerous font.
46. A font that cannot be fixed for more than 5 seconds.
47. A font that one is forced to set at least a minute.
48. A typeface as an advertisment.
49. A pop-up font.
50. A spam font.
51. A scam font.
52. A Hoax font.
53. A typeface that grows.
54. An invasive typeface.
55. A virus font.
56. A contagious typeface.
57. A typographic font family as a climbing plant.
58. A totem font family.
59. A silent typeface.
60. A font that improvises.
61. A font that stutters.
62. A stressed typeface.
63. An anxious font.
64. A font family with a major mode and a minor mode.
65. A inscannable font.
66. A font that fades when scanned.
67. A font that is a few minutes late.
68. A zero mass font.
69. An infinite mass font.
70. A typeface without which life is no longer worth living.
71. A molting typeface.
72. A skinless font.
73. A typeface with a broken skeleton.
74. A typeface in full puberty.
75. A typeface that predicts the future.
76. A font of several kilometres tall.
77. A font the size of the universe.
78. A monospace made of dark matter.
79. A font family that has a scent.
80. A typeface illegible by children.
81. A typeface with innuendoes.
82. A transgenerational font.
83. The typeface of a generation.
84. A typeface of a sexual nature.
85. A typeface classified over 18.
86. A typeface forbidden for administrations.
87. A typeface that makes you sad.
88. A typeface that conveys emotions.
89. A typeface that makes you drunk.
90. A typeface for criminals.
91. A font family where every typeface is the same.
92. A font family composed of the same typeface redesigned over and over again.
93. One pixel by one pixel font.
94. A terrorist typeface.
95. A typeface virus.
96. A font family that makes you hungry.
97. A font family composed of dry and wet fonts.
98. A sponge typeface.
99. A typeface unstable above absolute zero.
100. A typeface as a planet.
101. An informative font.
102. A font family made just to name other fonts.
103. A typeface legible only by graphic designers.
104. A typeface illegible to graphic designers.
105. A bilingual font.
106. The shadow of a typeface.
107. The dark side of a font.
108. Font family secrets.
109. A typeface in several acts.
110. A font on both sides.
111. Two fonts entangled quantitatively.
112. A font that only exists in dreams.
113. A robotic humanist font.
114. An illegal typeface.
115. A font that must not be spoken.
116. A typeface that has been sanded.
117. A Zionist typeface.
118. An ideological font.
119. A font that walks.
120. A blind font.
121. A typeface with and without a blow dry.
122. A compound typeface in the body of Christ.
123. A planed font.
124. A typeface with an unpronouncable name.
125. The reincarnation of a typeface.
126. A font family composed of one font with good karma and another with bad karma.
127. A typeface that reaches enlightenment.
128. A meditating font.
129. A typeface that deserves purgatory.
130. A typeface that does evil.
131. A typeface that is evil incarnate.
132. A typeface that comes out of purgatory.
133. A typographic font family Earth > Hell > Purgatory > Paradise.
134. A universal typeface.
135. A font so logical it would be understood by aliens.
136. A human font.
137. An inhuman typeface.
138. A non-human typeface.
139. A font family based on Darwinian evolution.
140. A creationist font.
141. A font family that would be readable only if all its variants were used.
142. A Mega-Zord font family.
143. A font family dinner.
144. A font family composed of nearby and distant fonts.
145. A font family composed of fonts with a short focal length and a long focal length.
146. A typeface that accounts for an upheaval.
147. A typeface created by the last human.
148. A typeface that can survive 100,000 years.
149. A typeface that would cause the end of the world.
150. A font that would change according to an event.
151. A font that contains another font.
152. A font that contains all fonts.
153. A disguised typeface.
154. A typeface font family based on sexual orientation.
155. A typeface that summarizes the whole history of typography.
156. The only typeface that is capital.
157. A font family composed of a very well drawn ugly font and a very badly drawn elegant font.
158. A sexist font.
159. A racist typeface.
160. A homophobic typeface.
161. A typographic font family whose variations would be echoes of a first font.
162. A seasonal font.
163. An off-season font.
164. A typeface as a special issue.
165. A typeface developed in greenhouses.
166. An imported typeface.
167. A local font.
168. An artificial typeface.
169. A natural typeface.
170. Pure typeface.
171. The original typeface.
172. A font that is not designed by the hands of a human.
173. A schizophrenic font.
174. A typographic font family where each typeface is a different personality.
175. A manic-depressive font.
176. A paranoid typeface.
177. A bipolar typeface.
178. A psychopathic font.
179. A typeface that only one person can use.
180. A typeface that can only be read once.
181. A typeface everyone knows but that is impossible to draw.
182. A typeface made only of serifs.
183. A typeface that destroys all others.
184. A typeface to threaten people.
185. A typeface that would have no author.
186. A typeface with a y-height.
187. A gonzo typography.
188. A meaningless font.
189. A subjective font.
190. The death of a typeface.
191. A typeface that makes us forget how to read.
192. A typeface for learning.
193. A typeface whose glyphs are NEVER the same.
194. A typeface so black that the paper disappears.
195. A typeface with teeth.
196. A font that reloads your PC.
197. A typeface that discharges and recharges.
198. Super super super lame typeface.
199. A typeface whose use would lead to ruin.
200. A font drug.
201. A font that would make you believe that what you write is super interesting.
202. A typographic font family where each typeface is a different drug.
203. A typeface dealer.
204. A typeface overdose.
205. A typeface font family with an ingurgitational typeface and a regurgitational font.
206. A typeface font family like Noahs Ark.
207. The only font family worth saving.
208. A font family with fonts that work in pairs.
209. A font family with two variants: Sodom and Gomorrah.
210. The font of God.
211. The typeface used for the Ten Commandments.
212. The font of the number of the beast.
213. A typeface where the first would be the last, and the last would the first.
214. A fanatical typeface.
215. A sectarian typeface.
216. A poorly translated font.
217. A typeface with a bad haircut.
218. A sacrificial font.
219. A suicidal font.
220. A stillborn typeface.
221. An immortal typeface.
222. A premature font.
223. A typeface with Downs syndrome.
224. A font family composed of a typeface with hypertension and one with hypotension.
225. A typeface with an evil twin.
226. The Nemesis of a font.
227. The typographic antichrist.
228. A typeface who absorbs his twin in his mothers womb.
229. An in-vitro font.
230. A typeface out of wedlock.
231. A bastard typeface.
232. A font family that adopts one font from another.
233. A blended font family.
234. A typeface born by cesarean section.
235. A font family based on fetal development.
236. A gifted typeface.
237. A reptilian font.
238. A typeface at rockbottom.
239. A depressive font.
240. A typeface who no longer knows how be a font.
241. A typeface that if it didnt exist youd have to invent it.
242. A font with license to kill.
243. A pigs font.
244. A chemically unstable typography.
245. A typeface made of beta brainwaves.
246. A font to read with your eyes closed.
247. A typeface painted in oils.
248. A typeface to declare war.
249. One typeface in case of emergency.
250. A typeface kept secret.
251. A typeface for divorce.
252. A typeface to put a reward on someones head.
253. A typeface in four dimensions.