Buy It
Buy It
TWEN: Confidence at Display

Family

Designer

Michael Cina

2021

Twen began as a working tool. Around 2010, Cina was looking for a condensed sans for a project and started drawing one with proportions he had been carrying since seeing the typography in TWEN magazine.

Family Size

1 Style: Roman

Features

11 stylistic sets, case-sensitive forms, multiple figure styles, fractions and ordinals, superior and inferior figures, oldstyle figures, symbols, arrows, ligatures, character alternates

Character sets

Latin Extended. ~425 glyphs per weight. 295 languages.

Licensing

Desktop/Print, Web, Content, App/Game, Logo/Wordmark, Core Media, All Media. Custom License Available.

Formats

OTF, WOFF2, Variable (based on license type)

 
Regular
Shuffle
TWEN/AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
1234567890!@#$%
 
Shuffle
TWEN/AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
1234567890!@#$%

Over the following years the typeface kept developing and expanded through use. New characters were drawn when projects called for them and existing forms were refined under the pressure of use. One weight, deeply considered, with the kind of detail that only emerges when a typeface gets used over time.

Twen

Twen is built to work as a complete tool in one cut, not as the anchor of a family.

 
Regular
Size
200
Leading
0.90
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

Rhythm and confidence in a display.

 
Regular

Rhythm and confidence in a display.

 
Regular
Size
200
Leading
0.90
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

NON-UNIFORM—BY DESIGN

 
Regular

NON-UNIFORM—BY DESIGN

 
Regular
Size
200
Leading
0.90
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

562 glyphs built through use

 
Regular

562 glyphs built through use

Value

01

Most condensed typefaces calibrate their strokes for uniformity. Twen varies them across the alphabet to create motion without breaking typographic color. Letters carry voice, not just width.

Value

01

Most condensed typefaces calibrate their strokes for uniformity. Twen varies them across the alphabet to create motion without breaking typographic color. Letters carry voice, not just width.

Value

02

Twen is one restrained weight. A fully resolved display cut is more useful than a family drawn at obligation.

Value

02

Twen is one restrained weight. A fully resolved display cut is more useful than a family drawn at obligation.

Value

03

Twen developed through use-case projects over more than a decade. Characters were drawn when work called for them. Forms were refined under the pressure of actual setting.

Value

03

Twen developed through use-case projects over more than a decade. Characters were drawn when work called for them. Forms were refined under the pressure of actual setting.
 
Regular
Size
200
Leading
0.90
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

Condensed, not compressed.

 
Regular

Condensed, not compressed.

 
Regular
Size
200
Leading
0.90
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

The lineage became clear after the fact.

 
Regular

The lineage became clear after the fact.

 
Regular
Size
200
Leading
0.90
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

A working instrument, not a family.

 
Regular

A working instrument, not a family.

 
Regular
Size
72
Leading
1.00
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

Twen is a single-weight condensed sans built around non-uniform stroke rhythm, drawn for editorial, branding, and display work where typography needs to carry confidence at scale and rhythm in running headlines.

 
Regular

Twen is a single-weight condensed sans built around non-uniform stroke rhythm, drawn for editorial, branding, and display work where typography needs to carry confidence at scale and rhythm in running headlines.

 
Regular
Size
28
Leading
1.15
Tracking
0.000em
OT Features
No features available

Twen is a condensed sans-serif in a single weight, built around non-uniform stroke rhythm without losing typographic color at working sizes. Condensed type is often calibrated for the same evenness that governs a book face. Twen takes the position that a condensed sans is its own instrument. At display sizes the rhythm becomes a visible asset. Twen is built as a complete and resolved tool in one cut rather than the anchor of a family. The glyph set carries 562 characters with multilingual Latin support, drawn under the pressure of years of use. Twen belongs in editorial mastheads, headline systems, identity work, and any setting where a condensed sans needs to carry voice as well as function.

 
Regular

Twen is a condensed sans-serif in a single weight, built around non-uniform stroke rhythm without losing typographic color at working sizes. Condensed type is often calibrated for the same evenness that governs a book face. Twen takes the position that a condensed sans is its own instrument. At display sizes the rhythm becomes a visible asset. Twen is built as a complete and resolved tool in one cut rather than the anchor of a family. The glyph set carries 562 characters with multilingual Latin support, drawn under the pressure of years of use. Twen belongs in editorial mastheads, headline systems, identity work, and any setting where a condensed sans needs to carry voice as well as function.

Michael Cina

 
Regular
Michael Cina’s work exists at the intersection of design, typography, branding, strategy, and art. This uncommon mix allows him to see differently and direct ideas with purpose. Decades of moving fluidly between disciplines have shaped an approach that blends instinct with strategy, intuition with clarity, and expression with systems thinking. An internationally recognized Creative Director and Artist, Michael leads the multi-disciplinary studio Cina Associates. His work spans global brands including Disney, Apple, American Express, ESPN, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. Across his career, he has synthesized typography, branding, illustration, motion, web, music, photography, and type design into cohesive systems that perform across platforms and cultures. His work has been widely published, recognized with Emmy and Grammy honors, and he is a frequent speaker at global design conferences, sharing a point of view rooted in authorship, clarity, and long-term brand thinking.
 
Regular
I drew Twen in 2010 for a project that needed a condensed sans and I couldn't find what I wanted. The proportions I reached for had been with me for a long time, from looking at TWEN magazine and the packaging work coming out of that era of German design. I drew from memory rather than from the source material directly. I found out later that the lettering I had been carrying around was Schmalfette, drawn by Walter Haettenschweiler in 1954. Twen was not a revival of Schmalfette and still isn't. By the time I knew the connection, the typeface had its own logic. But the parallel is part of the story. The decision that made Twen what it is was not calibrating the strokes for uniformity. Most condensed typefaces do that. They aim for even typographic color, which means the rhythm comes from the regularity of the strokes. Twen varies the strokes across the alphabet. A word set in Twen has internal motion. That is not a side effect. It is the design. The typeface developed through real use. I drew new characters when projects called for them and corrected forms when they failed in setting. That is not how most typefaces are made, and I think it shows in how Twen holds. It has been through enough pressure to know what it can do. One weight. That is the position. A fully resolved weight is more useful than a family built at obligation.
 
Regular
I drew Twen in 2010 for a project that needed a condensed sans and I couldn't find what I wanted. The proportions I reached for had been with me for a long time, from looking at TWEN magazine and the packaging work coming out of that era of German design. I drew from memory rather than from the source material directly. I found out later that the lettering I had been carrying around was Schmalfette, drawn by Walter Haettenschweiler in 1954. Twen was not a revival of Schmalfette and still isn't. By the time I knew the connection, the typeface had its own logic. But the parallel is part of the story. The decision that made Twen what it is was not calibrating the strokes for uniformity. Most condensed typefaces do that. They aim for even typographic color, which means the rhythm comes from the regularity of the strokes. Twen varies the strokes across the alphabet. A word set in Twen has internal motion. That is not a side effect. It is the design. The typeface developed through real use. I drew new characters when projects called for them and corrected forms when they failed in setting. That is not how most typefaces are made, and I think it shows in how Twen holds. It has been through enough pressure to know what it can do. One weight. That is the position. A fully resolved weight is more useful than a family built at obligation.

Michael Cina

2021

Family

TWEN

Designers

Michael Cina

Release

2021

Family Size

1 Style: Roman

Features

11 stylistic sets, case-sensitive forms, multiple figure styles, fractions and ordinals, superior and inferior figures, oldstyle figures, symbols, arrows, ligatures, character alternates

Character Set

Latin Extended. ~425 glyphs per weight. 295 languages.

Formats

OTF, WOFF2, Variable (based on license type)

Licensing

Desktop/Print, Web, Content, App/Game, Logo/Wordmark, Core Media, All Media. Custom License Available.

Supported Languages

Acheron, Achinese, Acholi, Afar, Afrikaans, Alekano, Algonquin, Amahuaca, Amarakaeri, Amis, Anaang, Andaandi, Anuta, Ao Naga, Aragonese, Arbëreshë Albanian, Arvanitika Albanian, Asháninka, Ashéninka Perené, Asu (Tanzania), Balinese, Banjar, Bari, Basque, Batak Dairi, Batak Karo, Batak Mandailing, Batak Simalungun, Batak Toba, Bemba (Zambia), Bena (Tanzania), Bikol, Bislama, Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo, Bosnian, Breton, Buginese, Candoshi-Shapra, Caquinte, Caribbean Hindustani, Cashibo-Cacataibo, Catalan, Cebuano, Central Aymara, Central Kurdish, Chachi, Chamorro, Chavacano, Chiga, Chiltepec Chinantec, Chokwe, Chuukese, Cimbrian, Cofán, Congo Swahili, Cook Islands Māori, Cornish, Corsican, Creek, Crimean Tatar, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dehu, Eastern Arrernte, Eastern Oromo, English, Ese Ejja, Faroese, Fijian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Friulian, Gagauz, Galician, Ganda, Garifuna, Ga’anda, German, Gheg Albanian, Gilbertese, Gooniyandi, Gourmanchéma, Guadeloupean Creole French, Gusii, Haitian, Hani, Hiligaynon, Ho-Chunk, Hopi, Huastec, Hungarian, Icelandic, Ido, Iloko, Inari Sami, Indonesian, Interglossa, Interlingua, Interlingue, Irish, Istro Romanian, Italian, Ixcatlán Mazatec, Jamaican Creole English, Javanese, Jola-Fonyi, K'iche', Kabuverdianu, Kalaallisut, Kalenjin, Kaonde, Karelian, Kashubian, Kekchí, Kenzi/Mattokki, Khasi, Kimbundu, Kinyarwanda, Kituba (DRC), Klingon, Kongo, Konzo, Kuanyama, Kven Finnish, Kölsch, Ladin, Ladino, Latgalian, Ligurian, Lithuanian, Lojban, Lombard, Low German, Lower Sorbian, Luba-Lulua, Lule Sami, Luo (Kenya and Tanzania), Luxembourgish, Macedo-Romanian, Makhuwa, Makhuwa-Meetto, Makonde, Makwe, Malagasy, Malaysian, Maltese, Mandinka, Mankanya, Manx, Maore Comorian, Maori, Mapudungun, Marshallese, Matsés, Mauritian Creole, Meriam Mir, Meru, Minangkabau, Mohawk, Montenegrin, Murrinh-Patha, Mwani, Mískito, Naga Pidgin, Ndonga, Neapolitan, Ngazidja Comorian, Niuean, Nobiin, Nomatsiguenga, North Ndebele, Northern Kurdish, Northern Qiandong Miao, Northern Sami, Northern Uzbek, Northwestern Ojibwa, Norwegian, Novial, Nyanja, Nyankole, Occitan, Ojitlán Chinantec, Orma, Oroqen, Palauan, Paluan, Pampanga, Papantla Totonac, Papiamento, Pedi, Picard, Pichis Ashéninka, Piemontese, Pijin, Pintupi-Luritja, Pipil, Pohnpeian, Polish, Portuguese, Potawatomi, Purepecha, Quechua, Romanian, Romansh, Rotokas, Rundi, Rwa, Samburu, Samoan, Sango, Sangu (Tanzania), Saramaccan, Sardinian, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Sena, Seri, Seselwa Creole French, Shambala, Shawnee, Shipibo-Conibo, Shona, Sicilian, Silesian, Slovak, Slovenian, Soga, Somali, Soninke, South Ndebele, Southern Aymara, Southern Qiandong Miao, Southern Sami, Southern Sotho, Spanish, Sranan Tongo, Standard Estonian, Standard Latvian, Standard Malay, Sundanese, Swahili, Swati, Swedish, Swiss German, Tagalog, Tahitian, Taita, Tedim Chin, Tetum, Tetun Dili, Tiv, Tok Pisin, Tokelau, Toki Pona, Tonga (Tonga Islands), Tonga (Zambia), Tosk Albanian, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Turkish, Turkmen, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Uab Meto, Ume Sami, Upper Guinea Crioulo, Upper Sorbian, Venetian, Veps, Volapük, Võro, Walloon, Wangaaybuwan-Ngiyambaa, Waray (Philippines), Warlpiri, Wayuu, Welsh, West Central Oromo, Western Abnaki, Western Frisian, Wik-Mungkan, Wiradjuri, Wolof, Xhosa, Yanesha', Yao, Yapese, Yindjibarndi, Yucateco, Zapotec, Zulu, Záparo