IBM Plex Family Specimen

TYPE DESIGNED BY MIKE ABBINK X BOLD MONDAY

IBM PLEX™ FAMILY BEATRICE C. S3844035

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esigned by Mike Abbink (IBM’s executive creative director) in collaboration with Bold Monday (an independent Dutch type foundry), the IBM Plex™ family was created for IBM and released in 2017 in order to cater to their design principles and brand identity.

Despite IBM’s long history without a custom typeface and its reliance on Helvetica, the IBM Plex™ family was introduced and went into production in over two years, resulting in cutting costs for the company in its heavy reliance on Helvetica due to licensing matters. The company also explained that as a “standard corporate typeface”, Helvetica was no longer delivering “the right story anymore for IBM”, as the company didn’t consider themselves as a “standard corporation”.

The typeface took more than two years worth of design work, which was used to communicate and convey IBM’s ideals as a company, alongside creating a look and feel that was more constant in their landscape. Serving as part of its name, the IBM Plex™ family was designed to be

versatile and flexible, particularly as it was intended to be used across all platforms related to the company, from advertising to developing code as well as blog posts and editorial articles. In total, the superfamily consists of four specific typefaces including IBM Plex™ Mono, IBM Plex™ Sans, IBM Plex™ Serif and IBM Plex™ Sans Condensed, free to use by the public as an open-source project via the Open Font License (OFL).

IBM’s reputation as a company that has reinvented itself through decades of technology was shown through the way they invested billions into Watson, an AI platform for business. Watson was emphasised to be a tool adding to humans’ ideas in terms of producing business ideas and was the main catalyst for the proposal of a new typeface that was to be used for their company. Their AI led to generating ideas and pondering on how a typeface could have character, personality and voice, which was the reason for their sudden creation and release of a typeface after their long history without one.

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MIKE ABBINK * BOLD MONDAY _____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _ Mike Abbink (typographer and graphic designer), primary type designer for IBM Plex™; IBM’s Executive Creative Director [↓]

SOURCE: magenta.as

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"Mankind and machine."* [↑] Plex Sans in Regular, 30pt.

"Mankind and machine." [↑] Plex Serif in Regular, 30pt.

"Mankind and machine." [↑] Plex Mono in Regular, 30pt.

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howcasing particular graphic design elements for the typeface, IBM uses a smoothly animated website to display their type specimen, illustrating their ideas and communicating the intended use of the superfamily. Alongside their catalyst for the creation of the typeface, the company also emphasised the different ways and contexts that their typefaces should be used in, reflected through their style guide for the typeface family.

IBM’s brand identity was a key component in the design of the typeface family, particularly the sans variation of the fonts included in the IBM Plex™ Family, where the initial idea was spawned from their iconic eight-bar logo. Abbink presented his ideas on how the nature of the typeface was based on the group’s questions prior to creating the typeface family “If the eight-bar logo spawned a typeface, what would that look like?”.

The distinctive features of the three-letter logo was a catalyst for the question, where it was observed that people would see the shapes as recognisable letters

from the eight-bar logo. In terms of the design of other typefaces within the family, the sans version of IBM Plex™ can be used in more contemporary contexts, which can particularly be seen on a website specialising in American social news aggregation, web content rating and discussions - Reddit, showcasing the typeface’s functionality in user interfaces. In particular, the infamous website utilises the typeface in place of link titles circa 2019, where the interface of the website changed and IBM Plex™ Sans became integrated as part of their brand identity.

IBM ultimately upholds their statements in creating something that is “half man, half machine”**, in both metaphorical and physical ways which have been a fundamental philosophy through their themes for IBM since the beginning of the new century through the typeface superfamily. * Quote via IBM PLex's Concept page. ** Quote by Todd Simmons, IBM's VP of brand experience and design.

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he IBM Plex™ superfamily is quite flexible in the contexts they can be used in - ranging from website design, coding and development, UI design - the list goes on. Besides from the extensive and various visual contexts of this typeface superfamily, IBM Plex™’s functionality is also quite notable.

The extensive support also reaches to multiple nonlatin scripts, which include languages such as Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Cyrillic, Devanagiri, Korean and Thai, with different variations of some of the many non-latin scripts. This variation in versions increases the flexibility of the superfamily in different contexts, such as the Thai versions, with one being looped and the other being a regular version of the Asiatic language.

In terms of functionality, IBM Plex™ supports over 100 languages along with extended latin versions, which covers the need for communication in international circumstances. This could be extremely beneficial towards the global company in thinking about language support and communication which also assists their image and brand identity in reaching different people of various cultures and backgrounds.

IBM's decision in language support via IBM Plex Sans specifically caters to their international audience, which ultimately further demonstrates the type family's flexibility.

As of now, IBM Plex Sans and its seven scripts are the only variations within the type family to support non-latin scripts due to the extensive time put into research and adjustments in design for each alphabet and glyphs.

Despite their extensive support in languages, the complex nature of well known East-Asian languages are still in development, such as Japanese (scheduled for release in early 2021) and both Traditional and Simplified Chinese (scale of project has currently lead to a staggered release date for 2022), whereas Korean language support was released on 8 June 2020. Other language support is coming for mathematics in 2021, along with Kannada and Tamil - also in 2022.

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สวัสดี ! สวั ส ดี ! ______________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

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ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΆ

Ακούσατε! 안녕하세요! 한글

Привет!

12 КИРИЛЛИЦА

‫ִעב ִרית‬

!‫םולש‬ हिंदी

नमस्ते

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Ακούσατε! 안녕하세요! 한글

Привет!

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नमस्ते

IBM PLEX™ MONO V

ia IBM’s Design Language page, IBM outlines a style guide for their particular uses for colour in typography, alongside specific font styles for certain uses. An example here would be using primary blue for primary links and highlights, neutral colour is used for body text, whereas secondary actions and icons use gray 100 and other colours are reserved for code snippets, alerts, warnings and vice versa.

IBM Plex™ Mono is specifically tailored and appeals to developers, which links back to the origins of the typeface as branding for IBM. This can be particularly seen in the way the ‘zero’ is formatted with a dot in the middle '0' to properly differentiate

itself from the letter ‘o’, often seen as a common convention within software development and coding, with an alternate using a diagonal line across the 0.

Seen in different settings, many developers choose to use IBM Plex™ Mono in both its italic and regular variations as a chosen typeface in programming, from discussions spanning in its use in this coding since the release of the said typeface.

The mono-spaced member of the superfamily was created based on the older generation of technology - the IBM Selectric Typewriter (1961) where IBM brought interchangeable typefaces, which was also taken into consideration when designing the superfamily in IBM Plex™ Family.

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/* ibm-plex-mono-regular - latin */

@font-face { font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono'; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; src: url('../fonts/ibm-plex-mono-v6-latin-regular.eot'); /* IE9 Compat Modes */ src: local('IBM Plex Mono'), local('IBMPlexMono'), url('../fonts/ibm-plex-mono-v6-latin-regular.eot?#iefix') format('embedded-opentype'), /* IE6-IE8 */ url('../fonts/ibm-plex-mono-v6-latin-regular.woff2') format('woff2'), /* Super Modern Browsers */ url('../fonts/ibm-plex-mono-v6-latin-regular.woff') format('woff'), /* Modern Browsers */ url('../fonts/ibm-plex-mono-v6-latin-regular.ttf') format('truetype'), /* Safari, Android, iOS */ url('../fonts/ibm-plex-mono-v6-latin-regular.svg#IBMPlexMono') format('svg'); /* Legacy iOS */ }

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[↓] CSS code snippet for a website prototype [Beatrice Chui] in IBM Plex Mono, Regular Italic. #rmnGenieWrappingDiv .back-icon[data-v-3fcf4d54] { display: block; cursor: pointer;

}

#rmnGenieWrappingDiv .bbb-loading-dots[data-v-4b8d7254] { width: 50px; height: 12px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-around; margin: auto;

}

#rmnGenieWrappingDiv .bbb-loading-dots div[data-v-4b8d7254] { border-radius: 50%; height: 8px; width: 8px;

}

#rmnGenieWrappingDiv .bbb-loading-dots .start-state[data-v-4b8d7254] { transform: scale(1);

background-color: #F3EAF9;

}

#rmnGenieWrappingDiv .bbb-loading-dots .finish-state[data-v-4b8d7254] { transform: scale(1.25); background-color: #741FA2;

}

#rmnGenieWrappingDiv .bbb-loading-dots .finish-state-dark-bg[data-v-4b8d7254] { transform: scale(1.25); background-color: #ffffff;

}

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° IBM ° ° $ © ₿ ∞ ←

™ ℮ ⅑ Ω↷

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vident in the design of IBM Plex™ Sans, the typeface reflects the logo in its bold characteristics and sharp features, where this is emphasised on IBM’s specimen type website for IBM Plex™. This continues off of the idea of creating a recognisable typeface, with the letters ‘I’, ‘B’ and ‘M’ being expressive of IBM’s brand identity through the letterforms alone, where slab serif type inspired the letterform for ‘I’. Alongside this, the vertical stroke and right angle were made to be a stark contrast to the curves of the letter ‘B’, whilst the third detail they included in ‘M’ is the sharp point at the last letterform’s intersection.

Plex Sans in particular is more appropriate for body text, alongside titles for a more contemporary look. This is particularly evident in the involvement of the typeface often being used as part of UI design, being a compadre to the digital era. On the other hand, Plex Serif is more appropriate for use in editorials and printed materials, illustrating how both of these typefaces are appropriate for application within body text. Plex Sans Condensed has the same functionality as IBM Plex Sans, with the choice of being more compacted, where in comparison Plex Mono could also be used as body text. Ultimately, however, IBM Plex Mono is most often used for coding, with the versatile family often being featured in visual design alongside being used for more practical purposes.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY. BIBLIOGRAPHY. BIBLIOGRAPHY. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Abbink, M. (n.d.). IBM Innovation Explanations: IBM Plex brings a new look to IBM. [online] www. ibm.com. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/ thought-leadership/innovation_explanations/ article/mike-abbink.html [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020a].

Abbink, M. (n.d.). Mike Abbink. [online] www. mikeabbink.com. Available at: https://www. mikeabbink.com/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020b]. beautifulwebtype.com. (n.d.). Complete Guide to IBM Plex Sans. [online] Available at: https:// beautifulwebtype.com/ibm-plex-sans/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Brewer, J. (2017). IBM’s bespoke corporate typeface aims to convey ideas of “man and machine.” [online] www.itsnicethat.com. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/ibm-plextypeface-graphic-design-141117 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

BUCK.TV (2019). IBM Design Language-Plex. [online] Vimeo. Available at: https://vimeo. com/344602201 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Budds, D. (2017). Why IBM Created Its Own Typeface After A Century Without One. [online] Fast Company. Available at: https://www.fastcompany. com/90150625/why-ibm-created-its-own-typefaceafter-a-century-without-one [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Czarnecki, L. (2017). Can IBM Plex topple Helvetica? : Type Magazine. [online] www. typemag.org. Available at: https://www. typemag.org/post/can-ibm-plex-topple-helvetica [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Fonts in Use. (n.d.). IBM Plex Mono in use. [online] Available at: https://fontsinuse.com/ typefaces/48061/ibm-plex-mono [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020a].

Fonts in Use. (n.d.). IBM Plex Sans in use. [online] Available at: https://fontsinuse.com/ typefaces/48059/ibm-plex-sans [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020b].

Fonts in Use. (n.d.). IBM Plex Serif in use.

The Type Directors Club. (n.d.). IBM Plex. [online]

[online] Available at: https://fontsinuse.com/

Available at: https://www.tdc.org/work/ibm-

typefaces/48060/ibm-plex-serif [Accessed 26

plex/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Oct. 2020c].

Wagner, A.A. (2019). How Mike Abbink Built IBM Design Genello, F. (2017). Hark Designers Explore IBM

to Celebrate Man and Machine. [online] Medium.

Plex & Other Typefaces | Blog. [online] Hark.

Available at: https://magenta.as/how-mike-

Available at: https://www.hark.bz/blog/post/

abbink-built-ibm-design-to-celebrate-man-and-

ibm-plex-care-typefaces/ [Accessed 26 Oct.

machine-b7c75d78450f [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

2020]. www.ibm.com. (n.d.). IBM Design Language – Type specs GitHub. (2020). IBM/plex. [online] Available at:

UI. [online] Available at: https://www.ibm.

https://github.com/IBM/plex [Accessed 26 Oct.

com/design/language/typography/type-specs-ui/

2020].

[Accessed 26 Oct. 2020a].

Google Fonts. (n.d.). Google Fonts. [online] Available at: https://fonts.google.com/

www.ibm.com. (n.d.). IBM Plex. [online] Available at: https://www.ibm.com/plex/.

specimen/IBM+Plex+Mono [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Tranquille, R.A. (2019). Designing a Typeface for google-webfonts-helper.herokuapp.com. (n.d.).

a Brand. [online] www.theseus.fi. Available

google webfonts helper. [online] Available at:

at: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/264690

https://google-webfonts-helper.herokuapp.com/

[Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

fonts/ibm-plex-mono?subsets=latin [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Clark, D. (2019). IBM Plex: A Typeface with a Story. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.

Gopal, K. (2018). My New Programming Font - IBM Plex Mono. [online] Kaushik Gopal’s blog. Available

com/@Uxtrending/ibm-plex-a-typeface-and-astory-e01b2e502aab [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

at: https://blog.jkl.gg/my-new-programmingfont/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Nia (2017). IBM Ditches Helvetica Typeface. Make Way For “IBM Plex.” [online] Eyerys. Available

Mills, H. (n.d.). FontPair helps you pair Google

at: https://www.eyerys.com/articles/news/ibm-

Fonts together. [online] FontPair. Available

ditches-helvetica-typeface-make-way-ibm-plex

at: https://fontpair.co/fonts/ibm-plex-sans

[Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

[Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

November 2017, D.C. 13 (2017). IBM ditches $1m annual Mountford, D. (2018). IBM’s new typeface – IBM Plex.

Helvetica bill with new font. [online] Creative

[online] AMP. Available at: https://amp.studio/

Bloq. Available at: https://www.creativebloq.

blog/design-news/2018/ibm-plex/ [Accessed 26

com/news/ibm-ditches-1m-annual-helvetica-bill-

Oct. 2020].

Pietrobono, A. (n.d.). PLEX TYPEFACE FILM. [online] Austin Pietrobono. Available at: http:// workbyaustin.com/plexfilm [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

Reibstein, R. (2018). IBM Plex. [online] Typographica. Available at: https:// typographica.org/typeface-reviews/ibm-plex/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].

_________________________ with-new-font [Accessed 26 Oct. 2020].‌

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IBM Plex™ is ultimately, an extremely versatile superfamily of typefaces with credit to the IBM Plex team which consists of 20 members internationally: Mike Abbink, Paul van der Lann, Pieter van Rosmalen, Barbara Bigosińska, Diana Ovezea, Edgar Walther, Jasper Terra, Aleksandra Samuļenkova, Marko Hrastovec, Pablo Gámez, Wael Morcos, Khajag Apelian, Erin McLaughlin, Yanek Iontef, Ben Mitchell, Mark Frömberg, Wujin Sim, Chorong Kim, Dohee Lee and XXIX. In essence, although the development of the IBM Plex family isn’t finalised in all language support, it shows how the constant evolvement of an identity within typemaking and typography continues as time goes on.

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“[IBM Plex™] is just as important as our name and logo. Plex is global, versatile and distinctly IBM.”

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