Fourteen segments. In one font.
Before there were pixels
Decades ago electronic devices like digital clocks and car stereos displayed information through simple segment based LCD screens. There was no such thing as pixels.
Everything was limited and tailored to its specific needs. While seven-segment displays are still around and kickin’, their alphanumeric successor was widely replaced by far more flexible yet still energy efficient dot matrix screens.
From childhood on I am a huge fan of how glyphs on fourteen-segment LCD’s used to look. So I thought why not making a font out of it and bring this beautiful way of displaying things back to life? — So, this is FM1.
It’s all about the matrix
FM1 is based on the display of an old Becker Mexico 2000 car stereo. A wide body and curved elements make the matrix so unique. Gaps enable diagonal segments to extend into the outer frame, reaching almost cap height.
If you’re looking at existing LCD type fonts, most of them are very straight-lined. Some of them restrict themself to a proper matrix while others are a bit more "wild" putting their segments all over the place, just to be able to display weird looking lowercase-ish characters...
FM1 is different. Fourteen segments. No more, no less. And no big fuss about it.
It’s not the first in its class, but it’s surely a very charming and realistic approach to it.
And it has arrows, too!
FM1 features a set of contextual alternates that enable you to create arrows and triangle shapes. Just start with a section sign (§) and complete one of the codes below. Now you’ve got yourself pointing on something. The magic of OpenType. It’s that simple!
FM1 is free for personal use.
If you want to use it for any commercial purpose, please get in contact with us.
Please read our License Agreement before installing and using this font software.
So, you seem to be all set. Have fun with FM1!
Show us what awesome stuff you’ve made with it and spread the word if you want. :3