Klint & Co is a high-end design company specializing in identity through design – and as such we work daily in the newest and most advanced digital media.

However, we have a special love for our roots in Danish Design and the classic design craftsmanship required by the art of inscriptions – both new inscriptions in a "modern tone" and, indeed, restoration of old inscriptions.

In this rather short presentation we give an introduction to our vision and methodology as well as selected projects over a course of more than 30 years working with design and restoration of inscriptions.

Our work covers both carved and casted inscriptions, plaques, grave stones, monuments and signs and in many ways they represent the true nature of our design philosophy.

All Western typefaces originally stem from the magnificent Capitalis Monumentalis – a typeface developed by the Romans 2.000 years ago solely for manually carved inscriptions.

Over time new typefaces evolved to fit non-carved purposes – such as hand-writing and later on printing, and simultaneously inscriptions developed to include casted bronze alphabets and nowadays computer-controlled sandblasted inscriptions – each with its own set of demands to the design of the typeface.

A similar aspect can be observed in typeface design for print where Gutenberg’s printing press – the equivalence of a rubber stamp – naturally made lines thicker when printed. The opposite of intaglio print where it is the engraving that contains the ink enabling extremely fine lines. But printing is quite different from carving.

What makes Capitalis Monumentalis so perfect is the fact that its design is intimately connected with its tools: the hand leading the brush as well as the following carving with the chisel.

Each brush stroke is apparent – the serifs end in points where the brush is naturally lifted from the background – at the same time leaving space for the chisel. It is impossible to carve deeply if there is no space in the design for the chisel and to maintain too thin lines.

Back in time the stone carver himself made the initial sketching of the inscription due to his knowledge about the nature of the stone. Today, however, most inscriptions are done by using digitally produced masks and machines, so the typeface must be designed for that purpose to ensure a beautiful result.

In the design of a typeface for inscription it is necessary to know the carving technique to be used. In general a lapidary design is a three dimensional design where the letters have depth and this usually calls for opening up notches in certain characters as well as avoiding acute angles of less than 90 degrees to ensure that sufficient material is left after carving. This is obviously critical for very deep carvings where too thin notches may be at risk breaking off.

Furthermore, as each stone is unique and reacts differently to carving, the typeface must be designed to fit its stone individually to ensure a high quality inscription – either as adjustments of the lapidary features of an existing typeface or a completely new typeface made for that inscription only. Obviously, such technical aspects are always done in close cooperation with the masonry responsible for the carving of that particular stone.

Our work with design of inscriptions goes back more than thirty years and covers both carved and casted inscriptions, plaques, grave stones, monuments and signs, new designs and restoration of old, existing inscription.

In the cases below we showcase a select few of our inscriptions over time.