Shadow Wage 14 is a regular weight, normal width, medium contrast, upright, normal x-height font.
Keywords: posters, headlines, logos, packaging, album covers, retro, industrial, noir, theatrical, mysterious, dimensional effect, signage feel, display impact, retro styling, stencil-like, cutout, notched, angular, blocky.
A compact, blocky display face built from simplified geometric forms with frequent cut-ins and missing sections that read like stencil breaks and carved notches. Many strokes include a secondary, offset interior element that behaves like a built-in shadow, producing layered contours and small slits of negative space throughout each glyph. Curves are rounded but interrupted by sharp wedges and clipped terminals, creating a rhythmic alternation of heavy masses and crisp voids. Overall spacing feels steady and the silhouettes stay bold, while the internal cutouts and offsets add motion and texture across words.
Best suited to short, high-impact settings such as posters, headlines, event graphics, branding marks, and packaging where the shadowed cutout detail can be appreciated. It can also work for retro-inspired editorial openers or entertainment-oriented titles, especially when set large or with generous tracking.
The font projects a retro show-card energy with a darker, slightly secretive edge, as if cut from painted signage or theatrical title cards. Its shadowed, hollowed detailing gives it a dramatic presence that can feel industrial and noir-adjacent rather than friendly or neutral.
The design appears intended to combine a bold, readable silhouette with built-in dimensionality via an offset shadow and strategic cutouts, mimicking carved, stenciled, or inlaid lettering. The goal seems to be a distinctive display texture that adds drama without relying on external effects.
In text, the consistent internal offsets create a strong pattern, so the face reads best when given room to breathe; at smaller sizes the cut-ins and shadow elements may visually merge. The distinctive notches and wedge cuts provide character but also make similarly shaped forms feel closer together, reinforcing its display-first role.