Commercial Type is delighted to announce the release of the latest typeface by Paul Barnes: Dala Moa.
Dala Moa is a sans serif stencil typeface for display, sharing the proportions of its cousin Dala Floda. It takes the same inspiration – the erosion of letters on stones – but takes the idea one step further with the removal of serifs, revealing basic underlying structures.
The forms and proportions of the romans come directly from Dala Floda, which is based on the romans of the Renaissance. The italic of Dala Moa departs, however, and has a closer connection to the more upright humanist tradition. The lighter weights show the influence of Jan Tschichold’s stencil experiments of the 1930s, and in particular his lesser-known display face Saskia released by Schelter & Giesecke. Swashes ordinarily transform a typeface with exuberant, sweeping curves, but in the case of Dala Moa the swashes simply replace triangular forms with round balls, adding softness rather than drama.
Dala Moa is available in 8 weights, from Thin to Fat, all with italics. Romans include small caps and italics include swash forms. The complete family is available for use in print, on the web, and in mobile apps.
