Fontsmith launches FS Aldrin: a typeface endorsed by a real life spaceman

When Fontsmith was developing its new rounded typeface, design director Phil Garnham found his thoughts repeatedly returning to space travel. “The openness of the circular strokes combined with its more technical, crafted aspects made a voice in my head scream space rocket,” says Phil “As a self-confessed space geek, the personality of this font presented a great opportunity to honour one of my boyhood heroes.”

Fontsmith contacted astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s management team to ensure that there were no intellectual property issues that needed to be addressed. Not only was the octogenarian space traveler happy to lend his name to the typeface, he asked if he could use it for the talks and presentations he does. He has even gone so far as to tweet about the typeface.

FS Aldrin is avaialbe in six weights and has a suite of 268 icons – 30 of which are Buzz specials featuring rockets, shuttles and lunar modules, as well as a picture of the astronaut himself.

“I wanted to add a fresh interpretation to the rounded font canon and give FS Emeric a sibling, one with a softer, more amiable character while retaining the family’s astuteness and crispness,” says Phil. "Every curve and transition has been crafted by hand, and that’s what gives FS Aldrin its unique strength. Unlike the majority of new rounded fonts there are no scripts at work here.”