Ethan Nakache brings a 1970s typeface back from the dead, to “add something to the serif genre”

When Ethan Nakache’s friend showed him the Gesh Ortega Roman 275 typeface from 1972, he instantly knew it was “too beautiful to be all but dead”. Originally designed by Gerhard Schwekendiek for Berthold, the usage and documentation of the typeface online is “somewhat scarce”, but Daniel had a vision. “I thought it could really add something to the serif genre if revived. It had everything I love in the serif realm: very generous curves, unusual shapes, yet a very sensible feeling, and even some spiky serifs to complete the package,” he says. With support from The Designers Foundry founder, Daniel McQueen, Ethan has created Goodman, complete with six weights, with matching italics in a variable font format.

The project started over four years ago, at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Ethan tells us that he wasn’t too much concerned with the commercial aspect to begin with, he was “mostly just glad to have a cool project to work on during that time”. But, Ethan also had to have some determination; Goodman did go against the grain of style back then. “During the design stage, graphic designers were heavily favouring sans-serifs,” says Ethan. “It was an era of high ‘blanding’, but noticing a small resurgence ‘goopy’ and Art Nouveau style serifs motivated me to keep going and get Goodman out there since I had already started on it.” A release of Goodman today is perfect timing, you might say, with the recent reinvigoration of love for serif typefaces.

Ethan says that reviving a typeface rests on one thing in particular: a lot of decision making. “You need to focus on what to keep and what to drop,” he says. “That’s what will give the feeling and shapes of the new typeface. It’s about picking out what you like, what’s still relevant today, and what’s not.” For Ethan, after trailing it with many sketches, it was the influence of the italics in lowercase that stood out, which he then highlighted through the various forms. “In other words, I’d say bring some inspiration and originality to a historical gem,” says Ethan. “It’s your interpretation of something that you already find greatness within.” So why did Ethan want to create so many weights and an italics version? “Versatility.” He continues: “While the source material was just one style, I wanted to enhance upon that and challenge myself by making a display typeface, something that was more usable, flexible, and ultimately going to ensure the longevity of Goodman.”

The Designers Foundry is well known for finding inventive ways of displaying their typefaces. In the past they’ve used clocks and even bricks, and Goodman was no exception – finding its way onto a series of Risograph prints, into a 3D video, and even printed on a blanket. On a practical level, this diversity of presentation is a means of promoting and showing the versatility of the typeface. But it’s also a way of having some fun “after a lot of serious work” and a way of celebrating a four-year project, says Ethan. The blanket evokes a dry-transfer sheet style design, paying homage to the era of Gesh Ortega Roman 275, while the Risograph (made in collaboration with Quintal Print House) was chosen for simply being a format that designers love, and one that’s good for experimenting with. However, the 3D video – made by Anthony Hernandez – stands in contrast to the type of physical products. “That was just a bit of selfish fun to do something quirky and slightly weird,” says Ethan. “It’s designed to be the display banner on The Designers Foundry website, just something a bit more than the usual 2D jpg image we might have done.”

While Ethan had no commercial considerations at the beginning of Goodman, now he has a good feeling it would work well in numerous contexts: fashion, luxury brands, music projects or event film posters. “But I have no control over that. That’s what’s beautiful about type design,” he ends. “After those countless hours working on those shapes, it’s time for others to play with them now!”