Kuschelfraktur is a unique, eye-catching take on the theme of blackletter that replaces the broad nib with a brush pen and achieves stroke modulation through stencil-like gaps.  It combines the texture and dignity of blackletter with the human warmth of informal handwriting.

Kuschelfraktur offers five separate sets of capital letters and several additional customization option via stylistic alternates. The degree of ornamentation in the blackletter capitals can be increased (SS02) or decreased (SS07), while SS04 and SS05 offer two simpler approaches to capital letters that bridge from blackletter to Roman letters (Antiqua). The default single-storey «a» can be replaced with a two-storey version in SS01, and SS08 offers a single-storey capital «A» for the simple capitals. Finally, SS03 restores some of the more unique letter shapes of the Fraktur style of blackletter. The old-style figures can be replaced with lining and/or tabular figures. All these stylistic sets are accessible via OpenType from the main font, Kuschelfraktur, whereas the spin-off fonts (Traditional, Verziert, Text, Schlicht, Antiqua) offer convenient access to those sets even in environments without OpenType support.

This project started with a simple idea — what would Comic Sans have looked like if it had been a blackletter? I started doodling the first letters as a practical joke under the working title «Komik Ohne». However, I liked the results so much that I had no choice but to take it seriously. The end result now bears little resemblance to Comic Sans, but feel free to use it for job applications, scientific presentations, monument inscriptions, etc. — wherever you would use Comic Sans! 😉

I am grateful to the helpful souls on the TypeDrawers and Typographie.info forums for encouragement and constructive feedback, and to the Glyphs team for their fantastic type editor. Kuschelfraktur is dedicated to my son Marius.