Monotype’s Masqualero typeface is inspired by Miles Davis

Type designer Jim Ford, part of Monotype’s in-house studio, came up with the idea for Masqualero while listening to Miles Davis, he says. The qualities of Miles and the music he created inspired Jim to create serif letterforms “as complex and contradictory as the musician himself”, with an eclectic variance of styles within the one font.

The serif face comes in eight versions, including six weights – light to extra black – plus two specialist iterations called Stencil and Groove, the latter featuring tapered stripes within the letter surface.

At lighter weights the typeface is fairly traditional and sophisticated, but in Bold, Black and Extra Black, and particularly in italic, the letter shapes become softer, contrasting thick and thin strokes. The Groove version is fairly flamboyant, shown in caps that resemble classical columns.

“Its detail and sculptural quality make it well suited for luxury goods, publishing, mastheads, headlines, logos, packaging, signage, book covers and annual reports – anywhere that must capture and hold the attention of the audience,” says Monotype.

Jim, the designer says: “With the Masqualero typeface, there’s never a hair out of place,” said Ford. “It’s the black tuxedo or stiletto heels – it dresses up words.”