Hal Taylor’s ITC Outpost was not the result of a detailed design brief, nor was there a methodical development of key concepts or characters. “Outpost just seemed to emerge all at once during a brief sketching session,” says Taylor. “I guess what I was thinking of was an antiquated Western perception of some sort of Middle Eastern hand lettering – a ‘mysterious East’ sort of thing.”

ITC Outpost’s sense of the exotic has an almost Art Nouveau quality, with its sensuous curves and sweeping strokes. The open bowls and opposing weight bias in many of the characters add to the design’s striking personality. A suite of alternate and swash letters enables the setting of distinctive display copy.

An accomplished designer, Taylor has spent most of his career in the lettering and typographic arts. He began as a photo-lettering typographer, setting headlines and creating custom lettering, and now works in the publishing industry.