To me making the bowl open isn't mainly a stylistic decision - it comes from the belief that the closed bowl is unnatural and can even sometimes cause a hiccup in reading.

hhp

the belief that the closed bowl is unnatural

The whole damn lowercase g is unnatural, I believe! :-)

> The whole damn lowercase g is unnatural

Or maybe it just needs more complex friends.
In Armenian for example we have half a dozen
characters of that complexity so none of them
feel lonely. :-)

> Every open bowl g I've ever seen has caused a hiccup for me

Maybe because you're too type-aware? We know
that type designers can't really read anymore. ;-)

Anyway I certainly agree that virtually all
open "g"s are poorly designed - because it's
a rare form it's harder to pull it off; the
closed form being established is easier
to get away with making it poorly.

BTW:
- The hiccup I believe can happen with the
closed form is especially when "g" is doubled:
the peculiar pattern repeated can be jarring.
- Have you read anything set in Patria?

hhp

HF&J's new release Ideal Sans is similar to Satyr in its absence of straight edges (the end result is quite different, of course!)

http://www.typography.com/fonts/font_overview.php?productLineID=100042

Nina has set a few books in it* but I think they're all in German. Do you have #13 of Typo magazine? My article in that issue was set in Patria. There are a few other things (including a previous issue of a provincial newspaper) but nothing highly accessible. Maybe I should send you a PDF? If so please email me (no pressure) at hpapazian at gmail dot com.

* Example: http://www.ninastoessinger.com/?l=e&s=typography

hhp

Satyr: great name. Earlier on someone was saying the caps were tame in relation to the lowercase. It reminded me that Octavian is a typeface where the caps are wide – being based on inscriptional lettering – and that the narrow lowercase has a different feel.

Differentiating the cases has become a very conscious decision in the making of this design, I've actually exaggerated the differences, the serif treatment are different, the upper case has none of the lower case contrast weirdness.

About my open g: It stays that way. I've come to think that the s and g, the two loners of the lower case, should resemble one another. That solves a lot of problems, and looks pretty. Harder to read? Not if you're used to it, no way. I think reading Fraktur is frustratingly time-consuming (and my mind often refuses to accept that the "k" is not a "t"), but I'm one hundred per cent certain no-one thought so 150 years ago.

I'm working on the spacing now, and will post a new pdf with Latin Extended-A support and small caps in a few days.

> the s and g, the two loners of the lower case, should resemble one another.

Exactly!

hhp

Italics. See pdf. Can an italic meant for text sizes have such a deranged 'X'?

I was just wondering if this would see action again!

Love the descenders of /p/q/.

That thickening at the joins works wonderfully at the bottom of /V/W/! /v/ is fantastic.

I wonder if top terminal of /s/ could be a touch less soft (maybe look to /f/ for a model).

I don't like the /h/m/n/.

/K/'s arm seems a little weak - is it stretching too far over, or does it need a little more black?

The /Z/, which seems to switch contrast strategy midgame, is no less daring than the /X/. Give us some words with those glyphs to judge.

Question mark seems too soft. At-sign may be too generic--could some contrast or quirkiness be introduced into its loop?

/A/ crossbar seems too high to me still.

So satisfying to see this come out.

hhp