Distressed Pulav 2 is a very bold, very narrow, high contrast, upright, tall x-height font visually similar to 'ATF Alternate Gothic' and 'ATF Headline Gothic' by ATF Collection, 'Cairoli Now' by Italiantype, 'Neue Helvetica' by Linotype, and 'Maleo' by Tokotype (names referenced only for comparison).
Keywords: posters, headlines, packaging, band merch, event promo, gritty, industrial, vintage, rugged, loud, impact, retro feel, tactile print, rugged branding, compact headlines, condensed, heavyweight, textured, roughened, poster-like.
A condensed, heavyweight display face with tall lowercase proportions and compact counters. Strokes are mostly straight-sided with squared terminals and slightly rounded corners, producing a sturdy, blocky silhouette. The most defining feature is the distressed texture: irregular bite marks, speckling, and worn interior patches appear across the strokes, as if from aged letterpress ink or stenciled paint. Spacing is tight and the rhythm is dense, with subtle width variation between glyphs while maintaining a consistent vertical, upright stance.
Best suited to short-to-medium display text where its texture can do the stylistic work: posters, gig and festival graphics, editorial headlines, packaging labels, and apparel graphics. It can also support branding for rugged or retro-leaning concepts, especially when paired with a cleaner secondary text face for body copy.
The overall tone feels gritty and workmanlike, with a vintage, blue-collar edge. The worn texture adds a sense of history and physicality—like signage exposed to weather, rough printing, or stamped labeling—making the voice feel bold, assertive, and slightly rebellious.
The design appears intended to deliver maximum impact in a compact width while projecting a distressed, analog-printed feel. It aims to combine strong, condensed signage letterforms with a deliberately worn surface to evoke heritage, grit, and tactile production.
Despite the heavy texture, the letterforms stay fairly geometric and disciplined, which helps maintain recognizability in headlines. The distress pattern is strong and consistent enough to read as an intentional surface treatment rather than random noise, and it becomes a key part of the font’s color and texture on the page.