Despite appearances, ITC Tetra is anything but square. The typeface grew out of a design study by Tomi Haaparanta. “I wanted to see how simple I could make a family of lettershapes and still maintain their legibility,” recalls Haaparanta. Another goal was to use the minimum amount of diagonal lines possible. “I started with sharp, true rectangles, but soon realized that they did not work,” he recalls. “I gradually softened the shapes to make them more accessible, and also corrected them optically.”
Even though the character shapes are distilled to their basics, ITC Tetra is not devoid of personality. The light weights tend toward modernity while the boldest is seasoned with a hint of constructivism. The end result is a design that is simple, direct, and commanding.
Haaparanta released his first commercial font in 1996, while working as an art director in Helsinki. After about two dozen more releases, he founded his own type studio, Suomi Type Foundry, early in 2004.
Even though it’s strictly a display type, ITC Tetra is remarkably versatile. The angular, decisive nature of the letterforms can be put to good use in a wide variety of applications.