Lydia

Lydia is a calligraphic sans-serif typeface, re-drawn and re-developed by Benjamin Critton Art Dept. over the course of several years beginning in the Spring of 2010. It is a bold, condensed iteration of Warren Chappell’s Lydian, drawn on behalf of New York’s American Type Founders (ATF) in 1938 and successively updated and expanded in 1940 & 1946.

Lydia Bold Condensed was initially drawn for a poster announcing the arrival of visiting typography critic Matthew Carter, who swung through the city of New Haven one spring day while on his way to the premises of the MacArthur Foundation.

Lydia is concurrently fluid and sharp, intended to appear wrought simultaneously by both pen and machine. It follows respectfully in the footsteps of Chappell’s Canon, Edwin Shaar’s Valiant (MT, 1940) and Tom Carnase’s Honda (ITC, 1970).

Lydia is available in one weight — Bold — with corresponding Italics. It is available for licensing in both Standard (‘STD’) and Professional (‘PRO’) variants, the latter containing a range of additional OpenType features.