Ivers
PROJECT TYPE
Bespoke Typeface Creation
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator, Indesign, & Fontself
DELIVERABLES
Ivers typeface
Elegant and composed, Ivers is a serif typeface found in a 1915 advertisement for the piano company Ivers & Pond, discovered in an old music book in an antique shop.
The type first appeared in a small, printed promotion nestled among music sheets. The original design in the advertisement conveyed an understated elegance—tall, narrow proportions paired with soft, melodic curves. Originating in the refined world of piano craftsmanship, Ivers reflects an era where artistry and precision were deeply intertwined. Ivers preserves this sense of harmony, balancing historical nuance with modern clarity and aims to echo the flow of musical notation within its curves. Its majuscule and minuscule sets create a versatile typographic system, equally suited for display work and concise text settings.
Reviving the composure and charm of its era, Ivers bridges the visual language of 1915 with the needs of modern design –capturing the timeless connection between music, craftsmanship, and typography.
fINDING IVERS
For this project, we were tasked with searching for a typeface or lettering style that had not yet been digitized. While exploring antique shops, I stumbled upon a box of old music composition books. Inside one worn book, I discovered an advertisement for Ivers & Pond.
The ad contained only eleven characters and an ampersand. From this limited set, I began carefully sketching patterns, identifying recurring forms, and studying the distinct characteristics of the letterforms. Using these observations, I developed additional characters to complete the full majuscule and minuscule alphabet.
The goal of this project was consistency—honoring the original lettering while thoughtfully extending it. Through this process, I aimed to resurrect a typeface that might have otherwise been forgotten, allowing it to exist again in a contemporary, usable form.
