Fare Typeface
Description
Fare (meaning ‘home’ in Tahitian) is a variable humanist typeface completed for Le Musée de Tahiti et des Îles | Te Fare Iamanaha (‘Museum of Tahiti and the Islands’). This multifaceted typeface is designed for the museum’s exhibitions, wayfinding and marketing materials. Its features represent the museum’s artifacts and architecture, blending the spirit of Polynesian culture with the complexity of French colonialism.
Fare is first and foremost a text-face, used to write long paragraphs and informational pieces. After further process, it was decided to include small precise details and features. At text-size these details disappear and become unnoticeable — but when up-scaled, these details shine through turning it into a display-face. These features are found in its sans, semi-sans, and serif versions, as well as everywhere in between as it is variable from sans to serif.
Throughout the design process, I had many discussions with instructors whether its characteristics were out of appropriation or appreciation of Tahitian and Southern Polynesian culture. In the end the typeface tows a fine line of appreciation, just like the museum's architecture and the artifacts within. Like the museum, this typeface tells a story of the islands long natural history, cultural richness, and its colonial tensions — creating a design that is truly bespoke for this cultural institution.
Fare is variable from sans to serif and thin to heavy, with a matching italic that is also variable from thin to heavy.
It includes special glyphs and alternates like navigational arrows specifically for museum wayfinding.
