Character Type – Bauer Media Group
Character Type – Bauer Media Group
Character Type – Bauer Media Group
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Bauer Media Group

Over its nearly 150 year history Bauer Media Group has gone through a transformation from being a German publishing house to an internationally operating media group. Its worldwide operations cover 600 magazines, more than 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations in 17 countries. In 2023 the branding agency Mutabor conducted a global brand redesign for Bauer Media Group. Character Type had the privilege to design the custom fonts including a variable font.

Bauer Media
Mutabor
Six styles: Regular + Italic, Medium + Italic Bold + Italic
Variable Font
Type Design and Type Direction: Henning Skibbe
Type Design: Oleksandr Parkhomovskyy
In partnership with Mutabor
Art Direction – Jonas Möllenbeck, Melissa Mlynek
Image Credits: Character Type, Mutabor, Bauer Media Group

Brand Design

The custom typeface family is an integral part of the brand design. It reflects the brand values and communicates in a friendly way with customers and employees alike.

Design Elements

Character Type – Bauer Media Group
Character Type – Bauer Media Group

The Play Button
The old logo used a triangle as an abstract representation of a page of paper. Just as many publishing houses Bauer Media Group has gone through a transformation process from print to media of all kinds. The triangle stayed on board but as play button representing all sorts of digital media.

This essential part of the brand was adapted into the custom typefaces in quiet not gimmicky way.

Character Type – Bauer Media Group

From Light to Black the basic design elements change. The triangular play buttons in G and g become more prominent in the Bold weight.

Character Type – Bauer Media Group

Since the bolder styles are used in larger size these features stand out and make the typefaces unique.

Character Type – Bauer Media Group
Character Type – Bauer Media Group

The rounded stroke meeting points caused some headaches in the variable font production. Now that they work they are a reference to the rounded play button from the logo.

Acute angles were also rounded, again pointing to the design language of the logo.

Other custom type projects

Character Type – Bauer Media Group

Schwäbisch Hall

Character Type – Bauer Media Group

OTTO

Character Type – Bauer Media Group

Süddeutsche Zeitung