Although Daria Petrova’s Zangezi Sans first appeared on the Future Fonts platform in 2018, most of its developmental releases happened in 2019. I appreciate the energy and idiosyncrasy of these letters, which I have been using for display text in presentations and screen-based designs during the dark months of 2020. An off-kilter typeface feels right for these twisted times.
Zangezi Sans is the serif-free sister of Zangezi, a weird and perky typeface with wedge serifs and diagonal stress. Zangezi Sans doesn’t come across as just another naked sans or neutralized friend of a serif family. Varied stroke weight, fluid counters, and spiky tails give Zangezi Sans a nonbinary vibe. This typeface bridges the serif/sans divide with shapes that borrow from calligraphy, stone carving, and snakes in the grass. Zangezi is named after a poem by the Russian Futurist Velimir Khlebnikov; perhaps the typeface’s alluring K is an homage to him as well.
Petrova is offering free Zangezi licenses to folks who are committed to using it on a gravestone. So, go there. If not now, when?