Slab Contrasted Onro 9 is a very bold, very narrow, medium contrast, upright, normal x-height font visually similar to 'Playbill' by Bitstream, 'Churchward Tua' by BluHead Studio, 'Playbill EF' by Elsner+Flake, 'Playbill' by Linotype, 'Playbill SB' and 'Playbill SH' by Scangraphic Digital Type Collection, 'Playbill' by URW Type Foundry, and 'French Clarendon Expanded' by Wooden Type Fonts (names referenced only for comparison).
Keywords: posters, headlines, signage, packaging, logos, industrial, circus, vintage, assertive, playful, attention, display impact, retro flavor, space-saving, blocky, condensed, slabbed, notched, high-impact.
A condensed, all-caps-friendly slab serif with very heavy verticals and compact proportions. The serifs read as squared blocks with frequent mid-stem notches or “cut-ins,” creating a stepped, poster-like silhouette and a strong vertical rhythm. Counters are tight and mostly vertical-oval, with simplified inner shapes that keep the letters sturdy at large sizes. The lowercase follows the same narrow construction, with single-storey forms and minimal curvature, and the numerals are tall, bold, and similarly slabbed for consistent color.
Best suited for high-impact display work such as posters, event titles, signage, packaging callouts, and bold wordmarks. It will hold up well in short phrases where the condensed width helps fit copy while maintaining a strong, graphic presence.
The overall tone is loud and theatrical, evoking showbills, vintage Western/circus signage, and industrial labeling. Its blunt slabs and notched joins feel confident and a little mischievous, prioritizing punch and personality over quiet neutrality.
The design appears intended as a condensed, attention-grabbing slab serif that adds ornament through notched stem/serif shaping rather than delicate curves. It aims to deliver a distinctive, retro-leaning display voice with strong consistency across caps, lowercase, and figures.
Spacing appears tight and the heavy slabs create a dark typographic color, especially in longer lines. The distinctive notched detailing is a key identifier and becomes more prominent as size increases, giving headlines a stamped or carved look.