Four typefaces from CocijoType Foundry (Oaxaca, Mexico). Clockwise from top left: Calavera, designed by Oscar Yáñez, and Barrilito, Zipolite and Zipolite Rounded, designed by Elí Castellanos. Specimen designs by Diana Flores. “Calavera, which means ‘skull’ in Spanish, was inspired by Manuel Manilla, a Mexican printmaker, cartoonist and engraver in the late 1800s. Manilla was the first engraver to humanize and scoff at the skeletons that represent our ancestors, and his work challenged my thinking about Mexican traditions and culture. The design began with cutting letters from colored paper, similar to the way decorations are prepared for Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festivities.” “The display typeface Barrilito was inspired by Rudolf Koch’s Neuland and his beautiful engravings. The name means ‘little barrel,’ a nod to the blotted, fluffy letters, which I first engraved into linoleum and later refined on the computer. Ligatures are an important part of the typeface—there are some really nice connections between pairs of letters.” “The versatile Zipolite and Zipolite Rounded are intended for corporate and editorial applications for medium-length text. The name references the famous cosmopolitan beach in Oaxaca.”