Masqualero™

Eye-catching and subdued, aggressive and warm, dark and bright – The Masqualero™ typeface is dual-natured and complex. It’s a design with a strong presence – and a bit of attitude. Like the legendary jazz song of the same name, Masqualero is haunting and sophisticated.

Masqualero is a tribute to Miles Davis in that is is as enigmatic and complex as the musician and his “Masqualero” composition from 1967. “I approached drawing the letters as if they were marble sculptures,” says Jim Ford about his typeface. “Many sharp, black, modern sculptures filling a large park. All of them created with the same qualities – the flair of Miles' electric funk and rock sounds, the sparkly smooth finish of the design, serifs like trumpet bells and the sweet lyricism, tone and clarity of Miles’ horn.” 

Ford is a Monotype Studio designer, who has created commercial and custom fonts in a wide range of expressions. Ford’s bespoke typefaces include work for advertising agencies, corporations, publishers, software and hardware manufacturers, video games, and a variety of imaging devices. His original typefaces, range from traditional text faces to innovative display designs.

With six weights and italics, as well as a Stencil and Groove display design, the Masqualero family has a sculptural quality, as if each letter were carved, polished and tailor-made for the finer things. It’s also a typeface of extremes – the lightest and heaviest weights are pushed as far as they can go while still maintaining design balance. “I see Masqualero as a luxurious typeface for exquisite typography,” says Ford. “I wouldn’t use it to sell toys or hot dogs. Masqualero sells diamonds, boats, real estate and champagne.”

A book or album cover set in the Masqualero design projects a message that what’s inside is worth spending time with. Like jazz, the Masqualero typeface takes basic building blocks and slips them into something special. Readers will notice – and immediately recognize – that they’re seeing something that’s a cut above, something that radiates quality. The Masqualero family is a versatile solution for a deep and broad range of applications. In headlines, the heavier weights can be dark and handsome, while the lighter weights will be charming and friendly in long form copy. Thanks to its many variations, both print and interactive designers will find the Masqualero suite of typefaces expanding their creative options and seting the perfect tone to catch and hold readers attention.

The Masqualero family is available as OpenType Pro fonts, providing for the automatic insertion of small caps, ligatures and alternate characters. Pro fonts also offer an extended character set supporting most Central European and many Eastern European languages.

Try pairing the Masqualero collection with the Antique Olive™, Neue Kabel®, Neue Frutiger®, Quire Sans™, or Trade Gothic® type families.