Distressed Teso 12 is a regular weight, very narrow, medium contrast, upright, very short x-height font.
Keywords: posters, packaging, headlines, album art, stickers, handmade, gritty, playful, casual, indie, handwritten realism, textured impact, casual expressiveness, poster punch, brushy, roughened, organic, jagged, dry-brush.
A condensed, handwritten display face with brush-pen construction and roughened, irregular edges. Strokes show visible pressure changes and occasional dry-brush breakup, producing textured terminals and slightly uneven contours. Letterforms are upright overall with lively, variable rhythm: narrow capitals, compact counters, and occasional flourish-like ascenders and descenders (notably in letters such as J, y, and g). Spacing appears naturally inconsistent in a way that reinforces the hand-drawn character, while numerals follow the same narrow, inked style with slightly wobbly curves and varied stroke endings.
Best suited to short-to-medium display text where texture and hand-rendered energy are desirable—posters, headlines, event promos, packaging, labels, and cover art. It can also work for punchy pull quotes or brand accents where a deliberately imperfect, tactile look supports the message.
The tone is informal and expressive, mixing a crafty, handmade warmth with a gritty, worn-ink feel. It reads energetic and slightly rebellious, like marker lettering on posters or packaging, conveying personality over polish.
The design appears intended to mimic quick, confident brush lettering with imperfect ink coverage, prioritizing authenticity and attitude over geometric consistency. Its condensed proportions and textured strokes suggest a goal of fitting bold, expressive phrases into tight spaces while keeping a visibly handcrafted finish.
Uppercase forms feel more angular and upright, while lowercase introduces more bounce and pen-like movement, creating a clear hierarchy for mixed-case settings. The texture is strong enough to be a defining feature, so the font’s character becomes more pronounced as size increases and the rough edges have room to show.