Stitches Meet Pixels in this Typeface Inspired by Norwegian Embroidery – PRINT Magazine

I love it when handcrafts, design, and technology come together to create something cozy and familiar, yet new. Hardanger, the new typeface by Agathe Millet, an independent designer and art director from Montpellier, is a perfect example. The story of Hardanger is also about how we derive aesthetic influence from our experiences, sometimes unconsciously, which settle somewhere in the creative recesses of our minds and come to bear in exciting ways as we go about our work as designers, makers, and creators.

I spoke to Millet about her process of creating Hardanger, and our conversation is below.

Can you talk about your inspiration for Hardanger?

Hardanger is inspired by a traditional Norwegian embroidery style, which alternates full and empty squares. This technique has a geometric aspect that I really like. I spent a semester in Oslo as part of my master’s degree in graphic design and it was during these months that I first saw this Norwegian embroidery. I started creating the Hardanger base on my return home as part of a school project.

At first, I hadn’t made the connection between the embroidery I’d discovered in Norway and the letters I’d made—it wasn’t until I reworked it two years later that I realized that much of my inspiration came from my exchange.

For Hardanger, did you start with an existing typeface as a baseline? How did you go about designing the letterforms? Did you have to teach yourself needlepoint?

Hardanger comes straight from my head. I built Hardanger on a 7-pixel grid, inspired by embroidery but also by 8-bit typography from video games. I set myself precise constraints, such as having “open” intersections so as not to weigh the typography down visually. I had to make compromises between building legible letters and preserving the aesthetics of the embroidery. In the regular version, each intersection is “empty” to match the Hardanger embroidery principle of embroidered full and empty squares. In italics, the font looks more like a cursive, reinforcing the traditional look. I wanted the whole typography to resemble a large embroidery: a decorative element. I added combinable ornaments to reinforce this idea.

I tried cross-stitching myself, but it was a failure! However, my mother used to do it and tried to teach me. She embroidered the Hardanger A and it was really nice to see the font come to life on fabric.

Is there a particular letterform in Hardanger that you love more than the others? Conversely, which letterform took the longest to get it just right?

Overall, I’m quite happy with all the letters, with a slight preference for A, D, and X! The biggest difficulty was the ø because of the pixel size and the aperture of the O, as well as managing the spacing between the letters. I kept my 7-pixel grid for this stage, too, and it was quite difficult to get a harmonious whole given the shape of the letters.

How did technology and traditional craft come together for you in the design of Hardanger?

When creating the letters, I also looked for references to pixel typography, which was generally very detailed (with a little pixel) and really looked like the letters you’d find on embroidery primers. My idea was to break with this very traditional look by bringing in a modern touch, and I made the connection with the 8-bit/retro style. I tried to find a balance between these two worlds, as the pixel was the basis of my research. I wanted it to be large to resemble 8-bit without falling too much into this category; it’s also this size that enabled me to create openings in my letters to make them lighter and more delicate. I find it interesting to confront two seemingly opposite concepts to create a rich and complex design.

Given our state of constant overstimulation, the volume of work being generated, and now, with AI, how can type designers design something that hasn’t been seen before? Does it matter?

I think most concepts have been done before, especially in the field of typography. The challenge is to take an idea that may have been seen before and take it in a different direction to create a unique result (this is partly why I mixed the world of embroidery and retro video games, even though I honestly think Hardanger resembles other existing typography). It’s important to be aware of this so as not to plagiarize and to be able to stand out. Sometimes, certain characters look the same from one typeface to another, but this is also due to the constraints of the letters.

I don’t think it’s a problem that there are so many typefaces already, it’s a bit like telling painters to stop making new paintings because there are already too many. Typography evolves with the times, and it’s cool to see new ones coming out. In my opinion, we’ll always find a way to create new shapes, or a very particular universe for a typeface.

What’s your next challenge— any exciting projects or creative explorations, type or otherwise, on the horizon?

After Hardanger and its playful, colorful universe, I’m going for a monospace typeface, this time inspired by the first Industrial Revolution. I’m still in the testing and research phase, playing with large serifs. I’m also working on another typeface, with more or less slanted italic versions.

Hardanger is available in regular, italic, and three alternate styles. Check out Millet’s other work on her portfolio site and on Instagram. Learn more about Norwegian embroidery.

Kim Tidwell is an Austin-based writer and creative strategist with a penchant for 17th-century Dutch painting, mid-century typefaces, and portraits from any era. She is currently working on her first novel.