The Holistic Work of Slovene Architect Jože Plečnik Presented Through Letterforms

Jože Plečnik, the most renowned Slovene architect, is best known for his architectural works, but his influence on Slovene typography is somewhat less accentuated. Not only did Plečnik create the typography of numerous inscriptions on tombstones, monuments, and building façades, but he also did the graphic and typographic design of myriad diverse publications. Based on her detailed research into Plečnik’s life, works, and teaching principles, Alja Herlah has defined and designed a new typeface, which is not just a digitization of his sketches, but a reflection of current design trends with roots in the shapes of the architect’s letters.

Alja Herlah is a typeface and graphic designer based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She graduated with a Master’s Degree in Graphic Communications from the University of Ljubljana in 2016. During work on her master’s thesis, “Theory of the Stroke in Designing Multi-Script Typefaces,” Herlah developed an interest in designing Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, and Hebrew type families. She has worked as a font developer at Atlas Fonts, Berlin (2015–16), and Dalton Maag, London (2017–19). Since 2014, Herlah has been an active member of Tipo Brda, organizing type design and typography workshops in Slovenia. She currently works as a co-founder of the design studio Type Salon and as a teaching assistant at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana.