Typeface Review

Omnes

Reviewed by Armin Vit on July 11, 2007

I can’t remember when I first fell in love with Omnes. Maybe it was around that time when I was comparing its quirky boldness to that of my other love, Cooper Black. Regardless of time specificity, it has been on my mind for a couple of years and with almost every new project I start I turn on Omnes to see if there is a glimmer of hope that I will be able to use it.

I think, actually, it wasn’t until this past year — when Joshua Darden released the droolingly sweet expanded set containing a range of thins a luscious Black, plus italics for all! — that I went head over heels. The italics truly stole my heart. If you can look at Omnes Black Italic and not feel joy, you have Yoohoo running through your veins and you should get that checked.

Omnes is chameleonesque. Last year we designed the identity for a non-profit organization devoted to fighting childhood obesity and we used Omnes for each kind of application and audience without missing a beat. Kids loved the Black Italic with a playful, thick, outer stroke, while adults responded positively to Omnes Light set in all uppercase, dignified and elegant. A few months later, the designer that sits next to me was in charge of designing an exhibit about fetishes for the Museum of Sex in New York. Omnes Black Italic is not only kid-friendly but unbelievably kinky, especially when set in hot magenta.

This is a perfectly rendered family that can evoke different feelings across its many members. If polygamy were legal, and if I weren’t betrothed already, I would marry them all in an instant. — Armin Vit

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