I’ve kept an eye out for a while now for a pairing that brings out the most interesting qualities of Axel Bertram & Andreas Frohloff’s FF Videtur. Coming across Eduardo Manso’s Ciutadella and testing the two together revealed a nice compatibility. The compositions of both Ciutadella and FF Videtur hold to a strict structure, but in different ways, one geometric, the other observant of a coarse modular grid. Either is capable of taking a cool or warm tone depending on use.
Ciutadella’s characteristics such as its low-waisted capitals and casual M, along with its unassuming lowercase tend to warm the page. FF Videtur, begun from a bitmap-based face for maximum legibility on televisions screens, has generous apertures and modest serifs that all but disappear at text sizes. Together, the two oppose each other just enough to create an overall cozy relationship.
Ciutadella’s default single-story a, &, and t have alternates accessed through OpenType Stylistic Sets. FF Videtur’s overall low contrast gives it a special ability of functioning at both text and display sizes.
