Burgues Script Font

Publisher: Sudtipos

Burgues Script is an ode to the late 19th century American calligrapher Louis Madarasz, whose famous pen has actually inspired schools of penmanship for over 100 years. His talent has actually triggered some people to call him "the most experienced penman the world has ever known."

I use the word 'ode' in a colloquially enthusiastic way. If I was a real poet, my words would be about things I prefer but can not achieve, things of utter appeal that make me indulge humility, or people of huge talent who look down at me from the clouds of genius.
However I don't write poems. My work includes letters drawn to mesh, that end up being an aspect of somebody's visual poetry. I am the poet's assistant, so to speak. Every now and then, the assistant continues on what the subject of the poem will be. And sometimes, the poet succumbs to the determination. I hope you, visual poet, find my determination justified in this case.

The two main sources for Burgues were the calligraphy examples revealed in Zaner Bloser's The Secret of the Ability of Madarasz: His Approach and Penmanship Work Of Arts, and C. W. Jones's Lessons in Advanced Engraver's Script Penmanship by L. Madarasz.

These 2 references were the foundation for the idea I was trying to work with. I did have to alter much of the letters in order to have the ability to produce digital calligraphy that can flow flexibly and used the user a range of options, while keeping its attractive appearance. To this end, numerous ligatures and swashes were made, along with full flourished sets of letters for usage at the starts or endings of words and sentences. All of this has been tied together with OpenType and checked thoroughly within today's basic style and desktop publishing software.

After working with digital scripts for so long, at one point I thought that Burgues Script would become a little bit of a chore to complete. I likewise thought that, like with a lot of other scripts, the process would regularize itself after a while and be reduced to a mechanical routine. Remarkably, and luckily for me, this did not happen. The previous holds as numerous surprises as the future. Madarasz's technique of penmanship was remarkable and difficult to translate into the rigorous, mathematically oriented language of the computer. It seems that the very high contrast of the kinds, paired with the required circulation and connection of such lettering, will always be tough work for any visual artist to produce, even with the aide of a powerful maker. I can only envision what steady nerves and discipline Madarasz must have needed to have the ability to produce completely flourished and sublimely connected words and sentences on an impulse. When I think of Madarasz producing a thrived calligraphic logotype in a couple of seconds, and try to reconcile that with the timelines of my or my coworkers' work in identity and packaging style, the mind reels. Such blinding talent from over a hundred years ago.

Burgues is the Spanish word for Bourgeois.

In the end, I hope Burgues Script will serve you well when a flourished word or sentence is needed for a style job. Among the marvels of the computer age is the ability to aesthetically create the past, serving both today and the future. With Burgues, you have a piece of "the most skillful penman the world has actually ever known," at your service.

Burgues received essential awards such as a Certificate of Excellence TDC2 2008 and a Certificate of Quality at the Bienal Tipos Latinos 2008.