Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Biwa & Biwa Display

Biwa is a straight-sided family of formally nuanced grotesk typefaces for text typesetting and display work for both print and screen.

Biwa type family by Ian Lynam

Wordshape has released the typeface family named Biwa and Biwa Display, the logical development of our bestselling typeface family Vaud, which is no longer commercially available. Biwa is here to fill that gap.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Biwa is a new straight-sided family of formally nuanced grotesk typefaces.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Biwa’s lighter weights feel subdued, cool in tone, and neutral, while the heavier weights are more robust and full of personality.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Developed over the past few years by Ian Lynam and James Todd, the 14-member Biwa family and the accompanying 14-member Biwa Display family are paeans to the immediate moment when phototype arrived on the global scene — partially smooth and partially machined.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Biwa and Biwa Display are neutral in tone, have enlarged x-heights, and look amazing on-screen and in print.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Each weight is designed to be highly readable in print and on-screen.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

The italic variations are true italics, having a single-storied italic a and have been designed for smooth, fluid reading and text-setting.

Lovingly spaced and kerned, the Biwa family works equally well for text typesetting and for display design work.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Languages supported include Western European, Central, and South European as well as Vietnamese.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

The entire family is comprised of a range of weights and a matching display family that features rounded terminals for large-scale display work.

Biwa and Biwa Display typeface family by Ian Lynam

Biwa is available from Wordshape, MyFonts, YouWorkForThem, and Creative Market.

You can also see Biwa in use in our project Italic Strategies.