Lange & Söhne, Nguyen, a LA-based art director with a strong graphic design background, quickly pegged the values of the brand: “Their brand identity speaks to their heritage. I’ve noticed with certain watches that typefaces can sometimes seem like an afterthought or an element just grandfathered in.” This visual strength is also clear to those who aren’t familiar with the watches of Lange and what they represent. “The text has been treated with the same level of intention as the rest of the watch and so it integrates seamlessly within the style and philosophy of the brand. The strength of this text is immediately apparent to Julie Kraulis, a visual artist with a strong pedigree of illustrating watches.

That heavy text, in capitals, with sharp lines and serifs, has a decidedly historic, Germanic look, though one that thankfully falls short of full-on gothic. All that is hinted at in their choice of typeface. Lange & Söhne is a brand with a long, storied, and fragmented past. Factual, literal stuff, but the font Lange have chosen speaks to their identity, and speaks to it in a very interesting way. Lange & Söhne indicates the brand, and the second line speaks to their home (the I/SA is shorthand for ‘in Sachsen’ or Saxony). Lange & Söhne, written in that characteristic curve, which gently follows the line of a round case – surmounting the words Glashütte I/SA – has multiple meanings. The heaviness of this meaning is exacerbated when text is used as logo: think NASA, Coca-Cola or even Facebook.Īnd so A. Capitalise the ‘a’ and write it in Avenir, a font designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1988, and the meaning instantly morphs to that of the sleekly designed products of the Cupertino giant. Typically, that arrangement of letters evokes the fruit. It’s something designers and branding specialists know only too well: the sub-textual information communicated through the subtle language of serif, weight and kerning. The choice of font or type is a more complicated matter than merely the arrangement of letters used and the order in which they appear. Lange & Söhne – part 3, the tone of type Felix Scholz

Tide logo font