Fresh Fonts: Introducing DIN Next Slab

Ilene Strizver

With scores of new typeface designs being released all the time, it is difficult to separate the “wheat from the chaff,” typographically speaking. One important new release you might want to take note of is Linotype’s DIN Next Slab. This robust family consisting of seven weights and companion italics is an extension of the DIN Next family, which itself is an adaptation of the Linotype’s original DIN 1451.

History

DIN is a popular typeface with an interesting history. The name DIN is an acronym for the German Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Institute for Standardization). This industrial strength sans serif dates back to the early 20th century, 1936 to be exact. It was first used to identify railroad cars, and shortly after became the standard font for highway and street signage, town names and house numbers, as well as engineering and technology applications. DIN did not gain international popularity with graphic designers and art directors until the late 1980s.

DIN Next is an adaptation of the original DIN 1451. It was designed by Akira Kobayashi, type director at Monotype GmbH, in 2009. His specific objective was to improve the DIN family and make it more useful to graphic designers. “I knew that DIN Next had to be more ordered and flexible, have more weight variations, and include OpenType features.” The DIN Next family contains regular, condensed, and rounded versions.

The DIN Next Slab family is the result of a collaboration between Kobayashi as the design director, and designers Sandra Winter and Tom Grace, who did much of the heavy lifting. DIN Next Slab is a natural addition to the DIN Next family. “The condensed, rounded, and language extensions to DIN Next had been obvious accompaniments,” he says. “After these, I looked at the family and thought, ‘The open letterforms and no-nonsense shapes would lend themselves to the addition of strong slab serifs.’”

Usage

The characters in DIN Next Slab echo the underlying shapes, proportions, and industrial precision of DIN Next. Glyph shapes remain simple, and maintain its open counters, ensuring high levels of legibility. The Slab versions complement the original sans serif, and extend its range of applications, making it a true versatile super family. Super families share the same basic underlying foundation and structure, but with different finishing details; for this reason, their weights and styles combine harmoniously when used together. The light and medium weights of DIN Next Slab perform well in continuous text, while the heavier designs make a strong statement at large sizes, including in headlines, subheads, and on-screen applications. Try it out for signage, magazine layouts, book covers, or flyers. This family’s simple forms and square, slab serifs contribute to its legibility in all environments.

The headline is set in DIN Next Heavy, and the text in DIN Next Slab Regular, demonstrating how well the two versions (sans and slab serif) work together.

Why consider DIN Next Slab? Slabs are hot! To be more typographically specific, slab serif typefaces (also referred to as square serif or Egyptian) are currently in vogue. Whether it be for print, on the web, in motion graphics, in ebooks and other digital devices and applications, slab serifs are a stylish and practical choice. Truth be known, they never were out of style; there is something inherently solid and reliable-looking about this style of type. With the current profusion of new and revised slab serifs, there are a lot to choose from. If you want a fresh, new slab that is part of a larger super family, give DIN Next Slab a whirl.