Rigorous and original, Category is a brand new font from VJ Type foundry

Type Foundry VJ Type was launched four years ago with just seven display typefaces, and since then has impressed us with its continuous growth. Five other fonts have been released since its launch, and most recently comes Category, a new playful yet sleek typeface that is versatile in all the right ways. “At this point, we felt confident enough to work on a text font,” says Violaine and Jérémy, founders of VJ Type. “This is where Category comes from, the will to complete the catalogue with a text font.” In typical VJ Type fashion, the font couldn’t “go all the way serious” despite being designed to use in a wide array of settings. The font’s balance between legibility and usefulness with style and quirk is its unique selling point. “This specific balance makes it super easy to use for any kind of content: long texts, body copy, titles, logotypes, packaging,” the duo tells us.

As part of designing specimens for the new font, VJ Type worked with illustrator Johanna Noack for a fantastic collaboration filled with colour and beautiful demonstrations of Category in action. “We are more and more willing to use specimens as an opportunity to collaborate with artists we love,” Violaine and Jérémy explain. “We began this cycle of collaborations with French photographer Paul Rousteau for our Dahlia typeface and are hoping to systematise this process for every new release.” The duo tapped Johanna to work with them on illustrating objects that could be found in a typical graphic design studio. “It was a way for us to make her draw our daily life which was the concept we based the Category specimen on,” says the pair.

As for what Violaine and Jérémy love the most about Category, it seems to come down to its eccentric nature. “This font is a sensible and mocking expression of our working process,” they say. “We started with the will of drawing a useful, legible, balanced, elegant text font and this inevitable moment happened when we felt the urge to add stronger stylistic details.” And so Category was born, venturing not too far over the line of where design becomes too complicated or decorated, settling neatly as a universal type. “We love decors in every possible way so we had to refrain ourselves from adding details,” says the designers. “We had to cut and re-cut many details before reaching the right balance.” It is, ultimately, the perfect way to mix business with pleasure.

Now, the duo have their sights set on a few new projects coming down the pipeline. Expect to see a whimsical deck of cards for David Blaine, 100 per cent hand-drawn by Jérémy. Additionally, with the foundry now 10 years strong, its slew of collaborations continues to grow. Expect to see chinaware and menus for the Venice-Simplon Orient Express Train, luggage tags for the British Pullman, and work with Robert Rurans for Le Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord’s next season.