Handwriting and identity

This morning, I have been looking at Roger Excoffon [more] typographic work. I have been starring at the Mistral typeface; I also came across the Antique Olive which seems to have weird letter forms when compared to the Helvetica – but from the Antique Olive, there’s a je-ne-sais-quoi of something more human that makes me happy about it. i really would like to use it sometimes soon.

* Mistral

* Antique Olive (light)

I also quite like the idea of making a custom font dedicated to an identity, a little bit like a finger print, something that would really say: ‘Look, it’s us, writing’ – something man-made. But then i’m wondering if the fact of digitalising such a typeface wouldn’t say quite the opposite, like if loosing its purpose and authenticity in an attempt at overemphasizeing something that should be subtle.

I come to the point where I think I should stick to something really man-made and not trying to reproduce the man-made (the Truth of the medium). In this sense, maybe, the identity shouldn’t be conveyed exclusively by the typeface but rather by a set of parameters (physicality: weight, texture, color), applied to the context of the communication.