Adelina Shaidullina: How did you and Krista decide to start a studio?

Alja Herlah: We had a great type design professor who brought us together. There’s a workshop series called Tipo Brda in Slovenia, which has been running since 1997, and our professor suggested we take over organising one of the workshops. We agreed, and from then on, we began discussing the idea of starting a type foundry more seriously. However, in 2016, when we first met, the timing wasn’t right — I had just returned from Berlin and was about to move to London to work for Dalton Maag. Then, in 2019, I came back to Ljubljana from London, and it finally felt like the right time. By 2020, we made it official.

Ballare by Dalton Maag. Design: Lukas Paltram, Alja Herlah

Calligraphy sketches Alja created during her internship at Dalton Maag

AS: Why did you call your studio a salon, not an atelier or foundry?

AH: Looking back now, I think it might not be the perfect word, but I still like the concept behind it. First, it has five unique letters, which is nice. Second, a salon is a space where people gather and talk — including about typography. That was part of the idea: a place for communication and debate around type. And we liked the association with a hair salon too. You come in with a vision and get something customised. That’s what we wanted to offer: a space where people, especially graphic designers, could come, express their opinion and order a typeface tailored to their needs.

AS: You live in Slovenia — do you feel that 35 years ago, people here were using Cyrillic?

AH: Now, there’s no trace of it, but my parents can read Cyrillic fluently, they learned it at school. Today, Cyrillic is completely absent here, but as soon as you go a bit south, to Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia, you see signs in Cyrillic. I like the idea that it was part of our history 35 years ago, but it’s become almost hidden because it had strong political connections with that era. In the past, it was rather politically charged to own books in Cyrillic; it was almost a statement. My parents had some at home, and they still do.

Cover of the Yugoslavian edition of the poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1977

AS: Almost all of your retail work seems connected to Slovenian arts and history. Is that intentional?

AH: Yes, though Krista and I came at it differently. Having lived abroad and then coming back to Ljubljana, I gained a real appreciation for Slovenia — the culture, the nature, its smallness. People who have lived here their whole lives sometimes don’t see it the same way. I wanted to explore Slovenian typography and traditions. Krista and I got the opportunity to dive into the museum’s archive in Ljubljana, and we also spent days exploring online archives. During the lockdowns, we had even more time to dive into local resources. All this influenced our direction, though I’m not sure in which way we’ll continue. We’ll see where it goes, it depends on the custom projects that are scheduling our timelines and having enough time for deeper research and study.

Wesna by Type Salon rooted in the letterings from the Slovenian posters from the interwar period

Posters from the Slovenian posters from the interwar period

Plecnik by Type Salon based on architectural lettering by Jože Plečnik

Lettering by Jože Plečnik

AS: What’s the contemporary Slovenian design scene like?

AH: It’s very small. It’s strongly influenced by bigger countries and design scenes, yet it still has its own character because the market is so small. Everything here is tailored to that compact space, which makes it easier to get clients and meet new people — everything feels very approachable. This smallness also has downsides, like limited access to bigger clients or projects. In terms of type design, we’re almost alone in the field. There are some designers who work on type, but they usually work on smaller custom projects rather than extensive type families. Without a strong Slovenian typographic tradition to lean on, we’re consistently influenced by larger foundries and styles from elsewhere.

AS: In the It’s Nice That interview, you said that as a student you thought that to be successful you have to design “nice.” What’s “nice”? And why is it not enough?

AH: It’s so interesting how the way of thinking changes once you enter the field.

As a student, you have endless ideas without limitations, whereas now I need to think of so many other ways that are connected to business. So, I not only have to do great design but also advertise my business and do sales. As a student, I wasn’t aware of how much work there is yet to come after you release a typeface.

Wooden letters from Praz italic designed by Alja during her masters

AS: You are often giving workshops and mentoring students. Do you tell them about all that business stuff you have to think about?

AH: No, maybe just at the end of the course, but during the course, I don’t want to limit them in any way. This also gives me an opportunity to learn from my students because I realised that my head is now getting very limited in a way, and I sometimes find myself only exporting one design approach or one way to go. So, it’s always nice to also get back this openness and new ideas.

AS: Speaking of limitations, let’s talk about Spektra. You’ve been saying that all the scripts that Spektra supports influenced its design — the shapes and even the number of styles. How exactly does this influence work?

AH: We knew from the very beginning that we will have many scripts and really focused on balancing them. So Arabic shapes tend to be a bit more open, whereas Latin might be more closed. Within Latin, you might expect certain letters to be more angular, but we leaned towards rounder forms, aligning with the rounded quality often found in Arabic. They influenced each other constantly. Our primary focus was on counter shapes, ensuring they stayed consistent. Normally, the inner spaces of lighter weights are larger, while the inner spaces of heavier weights are smaller. But we kept them identical in various styles. Technically, this meant some shapes wouldn’t be as angular as the ones that we are used to, especially in the joints of diagonals. We softened those to create harmony across the entire family. We also defined the heavier style based on how much Arabic script could “hold”, as the stress is focused on horizontals.

Spektra by Type Salon

AS: You also mentioned that Spectra is influenced by 90s hip-hop. What kind of 90s hip-hop specifically?

AH: The very local one. During the strict lockdowns we were asking ourselves a lot of questions — what’s happening, where are we? We felt very trapped, and we really wanted to express those feelings. During the design process, we listened to music to lift our spirits. Somehow, we found resonance with the lyrics in some 90s Slovenian hip-hop albums, particularly by Klemen Klemen, who is based close to where our studio was. We were joking, “Maybe we could meet him.” — Spektra could be on his next album cover" So, the design was influenced by the lockdowns, these barriers, and the political responses to the pandemic, and the music helped us release the stress we felt. This influence really seeped into the design, and we realised it pairs well with Slovenian hip-hop visuals.

AS: What typefaces do you recommend to combine Spektra with?

AH: I think it would work nicely with something a bit more plain or neutral, because you would need additional typeface for body text. If you wouldn’t need body text, then maybe Spektra alone in different weights could work! So I’d suggest something neutral, but I don’t want to be too restrictive. The current graphic design trends are very open, and you can really easily use very crazy typefaces together and get a really nice poster that is going to pop out.

Poster for JIRAFE music technology fair combining Spektra with Supergravity by Hungarumlaut. Designed by Michael Sallit

AS: Don’t you feel like Spektra has got a reputation as a typeface that is widely used in social projects and projects about inclusivity?

AH: Yes, and that’s really interesting, and I really like it. I hadn’t actually put that into words in my mind, but I totally agree and we really appreciate that. I saw some designs about global warming, Women’s Month and an initiative for neurodivergent children.

Spektra in Women’s History Month longread by Apple. Designed by Jelly

Spektra in the Climate Catastrophe Pack project

AS: Why do you think that happened?

AH: I’m not great with advertising strategies, so I wouldn’t have thought it could be possible to market Spektra as a font specifically for social projects. But this use really aligns with the purpose we focused on while designing Spektra. I guess we were just honest and transparent in our design, and we genuinely wanted to share the ideas we put into Spektra. These are things I really want to base my work on, and sincerity is one of them. When you do something with sincerity, it turns out authentic.

Spektra on the website of the Upsala Circus, an educational project for mentally atypical children. Designed by Studio MIP

Posters from a collaborative project between type.today and Type Salon, where we invited our friends to share their casual insecurities in their native languages. Design: Mikhail Lychkovsky, Mirko Ilić, Anastasia Gintsyak, Arsen Mollakaev

AS: What has been your favourite custom type project so far?

AH: So far I had the privilege of being able to choose which projects I want to work on. I am most excited about new challenges, collaborations with young collectives, or advertising products and services I can relate to. At the same time, I enjoy projects that offer me a challenge and the opportunity to learn new design approaches. Just recently finished a custom project that I really enjoyed. It was a collaboration with the Slovenian graphic design studio Ljudje, which means “people.” They’re very talented, and it was a great opportunity to work with them. This project pushed me out of my comfort zone, as I needed to create a lot of stylistic sets, which was challenging but fun. The resulting typeface is very playful and charismatic, and I think it will fit well within their branding.

Rosamunda, a custom typeface for GRAD exhibition in Museum of Architecture and Design. Designed by Alja Herlah

AS: Let’s talk about Dotless Type. Why did you decide to launch a separate brand for rather experimental typefaces instead of making it a Type Salon second storefront?

AH: From the beginning, Krista and I wanted to publish typefaces we had in our archives, but we never had the time because new projects kept coming up. We’re busy with workshops, graphic design projects, and teaching. Krista recently moved to a different area of Slovenia and is focused on other things. But recently, we received funding from the Ministry of Culture, which helped us kick things off. We also didn’t want to forget about great projects from workshops, student work, or our archives. So, we questioned the system of needing everything to be “perfect” or have fully developed character sets. We decided to release those typefaces, even if they only have a limited character set, a single weight, or one style. The idea was to showcase these projects as part of a foundry and give them an opportunity to be used. For posters or logos, you don’t always need a full family with multilingual support. So, we release them in “seasons.” We’ve done two seasons so far, and the third is coming soon. This also allows us to collaborate with Slovenian designers, and maybe some international designers will join us in the future.

Norekk by Gabriel Klančar. Released on Dotless Type

Oh Mein Gott by Sava Kosmač. Released on Dotless Type

AS: Do you get requests from graphic designers asking for expanded character sets in certain typefaces?

AH: Not yet, but we’re open to it. We could also promote this service more, as it’s not a problem to add characters. For now, the existing character sets have been sufficient, especially for our expressive display typefaces.

AS: Why launch a separate website and not just put the fresh typefaces on Future Fonts?

AH: That’s a very good question. When we started, we did send an email to Future Fonts, but we didn’t get a response. So, I guess it was easier to go our own way. It also fit with the idea of starting locally and then maybe expanding later. Because it’s not just about our typefaces; it’s also about being involved in their development. We know what’s produced in our workshops, and we wanted to give the opportunity to the local workshops’ participants who may never try with Future Fonts.

Alica by Type Salon. Released on Dotless Type

Autostil by Zoran Pungerčar. Released on Dotless Type

AS: So you help the workshop participants finish their typefaces?

AH: Yes! It’s always nice to see people interested in type design. Sometimes it feels like we’re the only ones, so it’s great to see others share that passion.

AS: Do you recommend your students pursue type design as their main occupation?

AH: Not really, because I’m not sure if it’s for everyone. And now, with so many master’s courses in type design, there are plenty of new designers. But I want them to have a foundational knowledge of basic calligraphy and type design. It’s so useful, no matter what you focus on — whether illustration, comics, or animation. Knowing about type design, not just typography but the design and calligraphy aspects, is always helpful. We work with typefaces constantly, so even if you’re not going to be a typeface designer, it’s good to have this knowledge.

AS: You once led a protest poster typography workshop for kids. How was it? What did the kids wish for?

AH: It was interesting because, when protesting, you can either protest against something or wish for something. We tried to phrase it as wishes rather than things they were against. They mainly wished for dinosaurs to live, to have more free time, or for the coronavirus to go away, as it was during the lockdowns. Their wishes were very kind-hearted and even inspired our own, sometimes limited, ideas. So, protest posters are a wonderful medium for expression and lettering practice.

Posters created by children on the Type Salon workshop

AS: What do you think protest poster typography for adults looks like today?

AH: I really love crafts and appreciate any kind of handmade work, especially when it’s personal — expressing thoughts, emotions, or current situations. Putting that onto a poster is amazing, and it can be done so simply, by hand. It’s great to see well-designed posters, especially when they’re handwritten and use creative ligatures. Protest typography is often about what you have at home — maybe some cutouts from books or magazines, scissors, or thick markers. You don’t need fancy tools. A simple marker and paper can create something powerful.

AS: I feel like protest typography is mostly bold sans serifs.

AH: Definitely. It’s hard to imagine a protest poster in a serif font. Narrow sans serifs with rounded corners tend to work well because they’re quicker to draw and fit the message onto a small format. When we were designing posters for protests in Slovenia, we actually followed Spektra’s style, with uniform stroke widths and narrow characters to fit a lot of text. Also, many handwritten protest poster typefaces turn out to be variable or frame-responsive. Sometimes you start out with a more extended style, but then you reach the edge of the paper.

A “variable font” on a poster from a 2018 anti-climate change protest. Image courtesy: The Guardian

AS: Representation of what is lacking in contemporary typography?

AH: That’s a tough question. It’s hard to answer because I feel like so much already exists. There are so many typefaces, foundries, researchers, and even PhD studies on type design. I never really considered if anything might be missing; when something new appears, it always surprises me! I really enjoy seeing new multiscript type families supporting scripts that haven’t been digitised before. I love these kinds of initiatives. I just don’t have such a broad enough perspective to say, “This is still missing.” But I think we should focus more on representing communities that don’t yet have digitised scripts. It’s still incredible to think that, in 2024, almost 2025, there are still scripts not represented in digital typography.

The World’s Writing Systems website, featuring all known writing systems. The site is created by the Missing Scripts project focused on digitising scripts. In October, we talked to the participants of the project about their work

AS: Would you like to take some time off from work in the future to digitise a typeface that hasn’t been digitised yet?

AH: Yes, I’d love to be part of that kind of project. Maybe I should manifest it! I think it’s always inspiring to study, research, meet new people, and explore new ideas — stepping outside your comfort zone or usual environment. It helps with both personal growth and general progress.

Alja Herlah

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