Sans Normal Tide 13 is a bold, very wide, high contrast, upright, normal x-height font.
Keywords: posters, headlines, logos, packaging, signage, retro, playful, sturdy, poster-like, quirky, attention, nostalgia, distinctiveness, headline impact, brand voice, soft-cornered, bulbous, ink-trap-like, gapped joins, display.
A heavy, soft-edged display sans with broad proportions and pronounced contrast between thick vertical masses and slimmer connecting strokes. Letterforms are built from rounded, almost capsule-like strokes with frequent notches and tiny gaps at joins, creating an ink-trap-like, cut-in feel rather than continuous curves. Counters are generous and often teardrop or oval, and terminals tend to be blunt with rounded corners. Overall rhythm is bouncy and irregular in a controlled way, with several letters showing distinctive carved-in apertures and separated stroke segments that read clearly at large sizes.
Best suited to large-scale uses where its carved joins and bulbous counters can be appreciated: posters, editorial headlines, branding marks, packaging, and signage. It can work for short bursts of text or taglines, but the strong internal detailing is most effective when given size and breathing room.
The tone is retro and playful, evoking mid‑century signage and chunky headline typography. The deliberate cut-ins and gapped connections add a whimsical, slightly mechanical character that feels lively and attention-grabbing without becoming ornate.
The design appears intended to deliver a bold, memorable display voice by combining wide, rounded construction with deliberate cut-ins at joins and terminals. This creates a distinctive texture reminiscent of vintage lettering and print shapes, prioritizing character and impact over neutrality.
In text settings the internal notches and tight joins become a defining texture, adding sparkle but also making the face more image-like than neutral. The numerals match the letterforms’ rounded, carved construction, and the overall silhouette stays compact and weighty even where strokes thin out.