We are after something wider, sharper, maybe with a sense of Old English spirit. We aren’t worried about what is in fashion — we never have been — we want our read to be interesting, not vogue boring.

We want our book covers and art catalogues to have a marked unevenness, a tension with subtleties that start to pierce your eyes with the sharpness of a Baroque knife but end with terminals like the middle-aged spread of a Dutch comedian.

We need these subtleties, they are the spirit of the time mixed with the spirit of our time. Warm? Sure, but not an attack of the friendlies. Even in the bold, where it has more prominence, it keeps a low contrast grounding. And what of the figures you say? Oh, the figures. They are less restrained than the letters, a youthful experiment. Indeed, a beautiful collection of letters.

This is what we want, but can not have. No. Not yet.

Duncan Forbes is one half of the design duo The International Office in Wellington, New Zealand.