Jenai Kershaw 🪩

Balto, Type Specimen

I turned a typeface into a person, gave each font in Balto’s arsenal a chapter or period of life. So what started as a Traditional type specimen is now a novel about time.

Yes, I’m a copywriter, but I’ve always loved type. So taking a typography class in ad school —filled with only art directors and designers —was an exciting challenge.

Meet Balto, the Great American Font.

I chose Balto by Tal Leming of Type Supply for my typeface. I designed my book like a classic Penguin* paperback.
In the 1940’s, these paperbacks were instrumental in introducing middle-class America to the works of Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce and more.

*Penguin Press currently uses Balto Light for their brand identity