{"id":542962,"date":"2026-03-17T19:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/542962\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T19:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:38:10","slug":"kimera-foundry-on-having-its-typeface-front-the-oscar-winning-film-sentimental-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/542962\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimera foundry on having its typeface front the Oscar-winning film, Sentimental Value"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kimera foundry is an independent outfit that puts one process at the forefront of everything it does: research. Founded by designer Michael Clasen<\/a>, every project at Kimera begins with an investigation into \u201chow historical ideas can be translated into contemporary typefaces that meet the requirements of today\u2019s technology\u201d. Each of the Munich-based foundry\u2019s carefully considered typefaces \u2013 from the early-70s-infused, ink-trap-heavy Apparat<\/a> and the warm, modernist Melange Grotesk<\/a> \u2013 to bespoke projects like the logo for London\u2019s Athene run club<\/a>, are an indication of this dedication to context and craft.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one typeface that\u2019s particularly close to Michael\u2019s heart it\u2019s Waldenburg, named after his small hometown in southwest Germany. He views it as a \u201cquiet love letter\u201d to his place of origin. A sans serif designed with both analogue and digital applications in mind, it balances a humanist core with a mathematically precise construction, and it\u2019s defined by its long, elegant x-height. \u201cConceptually it combines the early rationalism of Akzidenz Grotesk with the calligraphic warmth associated with Univers,\u201d says Michael, \u201caiming to balance structural clarity with a slightly more human tone.\u201d It\u2019s flexible too. After a long process of iteration, it exists, as Michael describes it, as a \u201csuperfamily\u201d with a sizeable 24 cuts.<\/p>\n

Waldenburg recently got a whole new audience of cinefiles appreciating its elongated forms when it was used to promote Joachim Trier\u2019s cinematic masterpiece (and now Best international feature Oscar-winner) Sentimental Value. It was applied in its brilliant geometric poster (which sees the faces of each key character spliced into boxes decreasingly in size, contained within each other) and various other promotional material. \u201cAfter spending years developing a typeface, seeing it take on a life outside the studio is always incredibly rewarding \u2013 especially when it becomes part of something as visible and culturally present as a film campaign,\u201d says Michael. The closely constructed simplicity and tight kerning of Waldenburg suits the tone of the Scandinavian feature perfectly, giving its often claustrophobic themes \u2013 inter-generational familial trauma and the emotional resonance of architecture \u2013 the sophisticated typographic treatment they deserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always fascinating to watch a typeface move from the slow and often solitary process of drawing letters into a broader cultural context where it then truly comes alive,\u201d ends Michael. \u201cIt\u2019s rare for a typeface of an independent type foundry to become part of something that\u2019s so culturally significant, and we couldn\u2019t be more proud to see Waldenburg used in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n