Wim Crouwel New Alphabet Author:Kees Broos, Max Bruinsma Released in 1967, Wim Crouwel's New Alphabet was a typeface inspired by the limitations of the data displays of the period. Since it uses only horizontal and vertical strokes, with 45-degree corners--Crouwels wanted to adapt typography to the new technologies, rather than vice versa--New Alphabet contains several characters that are impossible t... more »o decipher without contextual inference. Consequently, the typeface was widely deemed to be too extreme at the time, and Crouwel himself qualified it as largely a theoretical exercise--"over the top and never meant to be really used." Despite its initial controversy, which even extended to the newspapers, New Alphabet has since attained the status of a design classic, being perhaps most famously used on the cover of Joy Division's legendary single "Atmosphere" and the group's compilation Substance. In this volume, author Paolo Palma examines the history and legacy of Crouwel's typeface.« less