Slab Contrasted Naba 9 is a regular weight, wide, high contrast, upright, normal x-height font.
Keywords: headlines, posters, magazine, branding, packaging, retro, editorial, quirky, industrial, playful, display impact, retro revival, distinctive texture, editorial voice, slab serif, ink-trap feel, notched, ball terminals, rounded bowls.
A bold-shouldered slab serif with pronounced thick–thin modulation and wide, open proportions. Stems and slabs are crisp and rectangular, while many joins show sharp, triangular notches that create an ink-trap-like, cut-out effect. Round letters feature large, smooth bowls with strong horizontal stress and occasional ball-like terminals, producing a distinctive rhythm between rigid serifs and sculpted curves. The lowercase keeps a compact, sturdy build with simple construction and consistent spacing that reads confidently at display sizes.
This font is best suited to headlines, subheads, posters, and branding where its notched detailing and slab presence can remain visible. It can also work for short editorial passages or pull quotes, especially when you want a vintage-meets-industrial texture without losing clarity.
The overall tone feels retro and editorial, with a slightly mischievous, engineered character. Its sharp notches and hefty slabs add a mechanical, print-era flavor, while the rounded counters and occasional bulb terminals keep it friendly and idiosyncratic rather than severe.
The design appears intended to modernize a classic slab-serif foundation by adding deliberate cut-ins at joins and terminals, creating extra sparkle and personality in print-like settings. It aims for strong display impact while keeping familiar serif structure for legibility in short text.
The contrast between straight, blocky serifs and highly rounded bowls is a defining feature, giving the design a punchy texture in paragraphs of sample text. Numerals and capitals carry the same cut-in detailing, helping headlines maintain a cohesive, branded look.