OZIK Soft
A friendly round font inspired by Nuform Type's original OZIK. It keeps the charm of its popular predecessor with rounded edges and welcoming curves, perfect for any friendly design need. It's like giving your words a warm hug on a chilly design day.
Making
OZIK Soft
NUFORM SKETCHBOOK: OZIK SOFT
Rounding OZIK seemed simple, but it's a bit of a tangled journey. No concrete plan, just dove in and hoped for the best. Creating OZIK Soft was like that – a series of attempts to give OZIK a fresh, rounded feel. Here's a glimpse of the twists and turns, and how I unraveled them to create OZIK Soft.
OZIK Soft lineage
(left) OZIK medium
(middle) First pass of OZIK Soft medium
(right) Final version of OZIK Soft medium
OZIK's DNA: circles and sharpness. How to round its memorable features without losing the geometric charm? The first attempt (middle) was spot-on, until it wasn't. While subtle, the curvature of the outerer edge made it appear narrower. After a few more rounds, I arrived at the final version, making significant adjustments to letter width, diagonal strokes, and straightening the vertical legs.
↑ Transforming OZIK's favorite lowercase letters into their softer version.
Delineate to Deviate
(1) OZIK Black and Regular
(2) First iteration of OZIK Soft Black and Regular
(3) final version of OZIK Soft Black and Regular
It became clear that certain letterforms from the original OZIK suite, both uppercase and lowercase, wouldn't translate effectively. Despite my initial hesitation, I chose to diverge on specific letterforms to ensure that OZIK Soft would have its own distinctive identity... just imagine them as step brothers.
↑ Know who works out? Updated letterforms from OZIK to OZIK Soft.
Archology
(above) VAG Rounded Black
(below) OZIK Soft Medium
While developing OZIK Soft, I drew inspiration from VAG Rounded. Several elements of VAG Rounded appealed to me, including its balanced proportions, inviting visual warmth, and distinctive rounded terminals. In particular, the rounded terminals of VAG Rounded played a significant role in shaping the design direction for OZIK Soft.
Impressively illegible
OZIK Soft Regular SS01 and
OZIK Soft Regular SS021
Recognizing that 'a,' 'e,' and 'g' may lose legibility at reduced sizes, we've incorporated stylistic alternates to enhance readability.
↑ above: OZIK Black below: OZIK Soft Black
Numeric alignment, adjusted to accentuate its circular form – behold the '4' transformed into its own bouncy fortress.
Despite my optimism that OZIK Soft would be ready long ago, it's a timeless reminder that seemingly 'simple' tasks often enjoy a game of hard-to-get. Here's to hoping OZIK Soft finds its cozy spot in your type library!!