Lyyra fonts

Typeface Review

Lyyra

Reviewed by Ruxandra Duru on January 19, 2021

I’ve never understood why people cut the crusts off of sandwiches. I guess it’s just my aversion to wasting food. I’ll admit, however, the neatness of those unnaturally sharp edges sparks a certain satisfaction. Lyyra’s vertically sliced stroke endings do just that.

The resulting straight-to-the-point look is softened by warmer details, notably Lyyra’s unusual petal-shaped counters, which mysteriously manage not to get in the way of legibility.

This detail’s diagonality echoes again and again throughout the typeface, including in its quirky diamond dots, creating textured paragraphs that gently flicker.

The variety of voices the Lyyra family offers also surprises me. Lighter styles have a cool elegance and clarity to them. Bolder ones, particularly delectable in monumental sizes, are juicy and impactful. The italics are strikingly slanted and give off vibes that respectively range from copperplate calligraphy to gleaming fast cars. As for its width options, Lyyra grows more and more eccentric and architectural the wider it gets.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lyyra splashed on the spread of a thoughtfully designed magazine in the near future. I myself cannot wait to find a use for it. But before I do that, let me make myself a sandwich. I might, just this once, chop off the crusts.

Ruxandra Duru enjoys experimenting with color, writing, and investigating. She is the author of Typographica’s 2013 census, Type Foundries Today. She also designs book covers and occasionally illustrates and draws letters.

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