GT Maru Minisite

GT Maru Minisite
This website celebrates the introduction of our typeface GT Maru. It tells the story of our visits to Japan, where Thierry became interested in the ways Latin typography is used in public wayfinding. The experience of interacting with signage and typography as a non-Japanese speaker led us to many observations about our own background in Swiss design. The minisite explains how these explorations of visual communication led to the creation of GT Maru. On a more personal level, this project is a love letter to Japan, and an acknowledgement of the impact Japanese visual culture has on our own appreciation of design.

Grilli Type, Thierry Blancpain & Noël Leu [Switzerland]

Grilli Type is a Swiss type foundry and design studio, founded in 2009 by Thierry Blancpain and Noël Leu. Our international team of seven is based in both Switzerland and the US.

We lead with the traditions of Swiss modernist graphic design—minimalist, concept-driven precision—but we’re not stuck with any dogmas on how we implement this philosophy. We constantly search for new visual expressions of this conceptual approach. Our designs have a point of view, an expressive personality.

Most typefaces are designed by trained type designers. Our method is different: We are graphic designers, and approach typeface design from the user’s perspective. Typefaces are not only a tool, but have an individual personality that we showcase in our minisites.