Bricolage Grotesque is a new open-source variable font designed by Mathieu Triay to express his hybrid cultural identity as a Frenchman living in England. The typeface draws inspiration from French sources like Antique Olive and British styles like Stephenson Blake Grotesques.
By using variable font technology, Triay created a “design space” that navigates between French and British influences across axes of width, weight, and optical size. The result is a typeface that can convey different feelings as it moves between styles.
Triay started with Mayenne Sans as a base and modified it to emphasize different historical cues. He also drew new masters at different widths, weights, and sizes to ensure quality at all visual levels. The process allowed Triay to synthesize his experiences moving between cultures into a visual form.
The typeface supports many languages and is free to use and modify via an open-source license. Triay sees it as a “Frankenstein’s monster,” bringing together diverse influences. He hopes others will experiment with breaking it apart and rebuilding it.
