Launch Recite Me assistive technology
A specimen of the “Moscow Sans” typeface in bold, shown in white against a black background. The image displays the full Latin and Cyrillic alphabets in uppercase and lowercase, alongside numerals and a set of arrows.

A2SWHK and Margaret Calvert create new typeface to improve Moscow's transport

—
Date
31 March 2015

Somewhat lazily I’ve included an image in this post that concisely explains exactly what Moscow Sans is, who’s created it and why – which pretty much negates this whole piece of text. But in truth it was the best example of the typeface in use that I could find, hence its inclusion with the images below. Anyway, rather than repeating the sentiments of this text I’ll just say how excited I am to see Margaret Calvert lending her expertise to this project and reiterate a widely-held view that Henrik Kubel and Scott Williams are some of the finest typographic designers working today. Enjoy!

The blue and gold onion domes of an Orthodox church rise above a city skyline. Each dome is topped with a golden cross and sits upon red and white decorative masonry.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

A block of text describes the “Moscow Sans” custom font and pictograms created for the Moscow Department of Transport. It credits the design to A2-Type, Scott Williams and Henrik Kubel, with consultancy from Margaret Calvert and Ilya Ruderman.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

A typographic specimen showing uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers in a bold black sans-serif font. Thin blue and red lines cut through several characters, marking specific points of the letterforms.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

A grid of white pictograms on black squares. The icons represent various public services and locations, including transport, accessibility, religious sites and hospitals.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

Twelve colourful circles arranged in two rows of six. Each circle contains a white number from “1” to “12”.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

A collage of four photographs showing the interior of a Moscow metro station. People walk through arched marble corridors past illuminated signage and digital displays, including a sign that reads “Kuznetsky Most”.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

A person in silhouette points to a large, circular backlit map in a station. The map is titled “Kuznetsky Most” and shows a detailed street layout with various exits.
Above

A2SWHK: Moscow Sans

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

James Cartwright

—

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.