Octagon Variable in use

“Optical illusions were a very present theme within the typographical landscape of the nineteenth century. The three-dimensional letter becomes omnipresent in print but also in public signage. There, three-dimensional letterforms were made from materials like metal, bricks or clay. Octagon – a contrasted sans serif wood type design by Edwin Allen and first shown in 1838 in George Nesbitt’s First Premium Wood Types, Cut By Machinery – has possibly its source in the replication of such dimensional store fronts. It is an early skeuomorph. Unremittingly, three-dimensional letters explored multiple forms and started to cast shadows in all imaginable directions and move within the third dimension.” — Pierre Pané-Farré Octagon Variable is a reimagination of the original source as variable font in which the already present spatial illusions are pushed further. It was collaboratively redrawn with students at the design department of the Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg in 2022 as part of a first year type design introduction class under the guidance of Prof. Pierre Pané-Farré and Simon Thiefes. Made available under the SIL Open Font License as variable font and static instances as well.