Balkan - A dual-literacy typeface

A typeface with a dual personality, an original concept conceived by Marija Juza & Nikola Djurek from online foundry Typonline.

Balkan is a new typeface system that consists of Latin and Cyrillic scripts. The use of Latin and Cyrillic typifies the former Yugoslavian countries, today Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. The Balkan typeface system is a series of fonts that decodes Latin and Cyrillic; it demystifies, depoliticizes, and reconciles them for the sake of education, tolerance and, above all, communication. Though Balkan is a “font” in the usual sense, it is also capable of translating Croatian Latin into Serbian Cyrillic and vice versa. One could therefore think of it as educational software capable of reconciling discrete scripts.

Its fascinating to see typography being used in a somewhat unorthodox manner but still for its core purpose, communication. You can see from the image above showing samples of the characters how the typeface has been designed to display Croatian Latin and Serbian Cyrillic in an effort to provide a multi-cultural typeface.

Balkan also received the type directors club certificate of excellence in type design. You can read more about Balkin over at Typonline