Baybayin Neue is the Premier Font Family of an Ancient Filipino Script. This typeface follows the B17/B17+ Baybayin writing standards (Traditional/Reformed). This version consists of 8 font weights and 8 italic style variants, making it 16 font files in total. The Baybayin Neue typeface was designed by John Abila and was made possible with the support of all of the generous backers on Kickstarter.
Baybayin is the syllabic alphabet of the Tagalog people, the islanders who lived in Manila and neighbouring areas of Central Luzon. It was a pre-colonial writing system and was phased out for the Latin Alphabet we use today. In the past couple of decades, there has been a growing number of Filipinos and Scholars championing/advocating to bring Baybayin back. So much so that in 2018 the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture officially declared Baybayin as the national writing system of the Philippines.
The intent of this project was to give back and contribute to the Baybayin revival movement within the Filipino community. The ultimate dream for this font family is for it to be widely adopted in the Philippines and by the Filipino Diaspora; being used in transit systems, airports, museums, galleries, schools, local businesses, and more.
Project Mission: To design the premier standard font family of Baybayin and have it accessible for free to anyone around the world.
Project Vision: To raise awareness of the importance of preserving culture and inspire future generations to look into their heritage.
There have been Baybayin fonts that have been made in the past. What sets this apart from the rest is that this typeface takes a more utilitarian approach rather than a decorative one. Inspired by the swiss-german pioneers of type design, this typeface was tailor-made to pair nicely with most International Typographic Style font families (ITS).
This is important because the Philippines has deep roots in using the Latin alphabet and it is not realistic to expect people to switch primary writing systems. Making the Baybayin writing system realistically the most practical in a bilingual setting. So this is why it was important from the start for this typeface to pair well with most contemporary ITS typefaces and with as many different font weights/thicknesses. The concept was that the more utilitarian/versatile the typeface is, the easier it would be for people to apply it in today's context. Think of it as the swiss-army knife of Baybayin typefaces in a sense.
