Hilario, The Yarza Twins' latest typeface is inspired by goats' eyes and Eastern Europe

Date
4 May 2018

Eva and Marta Yarza AKA, The Yarza Twins have become known for their playful approach to design, having previously branded an abandoned bread factory and the small Galician town of Oia. Despite becoming somewhat accustomed to their unusual projects and inspirations, when we enquired about their latest typeface, Hilario, we weren’t expecting their response…

“The idea started with the eyes of goats,” Eva and Marta tell It’s Nice That, “we love that London is full of urban farms, where we saw that goats’ pupils are not circular but oval, and that was pretty amazing to see.” From here, the pair transformed the “eye” into an “o” which in turn inspired a whole set of letterforms.

Hilario, the resulting typeface is an extended bold Neue Grotesk most suitable for logos or headlines. “Once the typeface was completed, we realised we wanted to give the project a cool vibe,” the pair explain. Having always been attracted to Eastern European (namely Post-Russian) photography, Eva and Marta began delving into this world which ultimately influenced the typeface’s aesthetic. “Once we started working on it, the type took us completely to that vibe and we wanted to reflect that through the design the book and the photography,” they add.

With the ability to be translated to most (if not all) European Latin alphabets, Eva and Marta also designed a specimen to launch Hilario. Featuring a host of idiosyncratic (when it comes to presenting a typeface) designs, the specimen includes a series of poems written by the twins over the past ten years.

“We started writing them in Madrid when we were questioning the meaning on art and politics,” they explain, “they were born in the heat of the Occupy Movements in Madrid – known as 15M.” The inclusion of these writings, add another dimension to the specimen, elevating it beyond pure presentation into something that has weight. Ultimately, “the font is quite trendy,” the duo remark, “we think it has a lot of possibilities to create an iconic brand that wants to stand out from the crowd.”

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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Hilario: The Yarza Twins

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About the Author

Ruby Boddington

Ruby joined the It’s Nice That team as an editorial assistant in September 2017 after graduating from the Graphic Communication Design course at Central Saint Martins. In April 2018, she became a staff writer and in August 2019, she was made associate editor.

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