Nomenclative rhyming aside, Craig Eliason’s beautifully odd Ambicase Fatface incorporates all of these criteria as well as any typeface I have seen. Building on Craig’s previously released Ambicase Modern, this heftier hybrid is loaded with all the OpenType pizzazz, intelligent swashiness, and headline-hugging attitude of its lighter weight, single-case sibling.

Organic swashes and blended shapes create unexpected partnerships, remixing the aesthetic of previous generations. In particular, the frill of Caslon italic swashes and the delicate forms of a lowercase Bodoni are evident in Craig’s consistently inventive constructions. The uniform case is perfectly suited to large display settings, with the stylistic swoops and swirls adding subtle – and more importantly, appropriate – playfulness as required.

If you’re intrigued by this style of compound type design, do yourself a favor and peruse Mr. Eliason’s entertaining and insightful essay on the making of Ambicase Modern in the first issue of Codex: The Journal of Typography.