Sàigòn Slab: A midcentury Vietnamese Typeface
Type Design
Sàigòn Slab is a Vietnamese display typeface shaped by the graphic language of Sài Gòn music covers and printed songbooks from the 1950s through the 1970s. The design draws on bold slab forms, compact proportions, and crisp angles often seen in lettering from that period. These qualities gave titles a strong presence on small covers and inexpensive prints. The typeface keeps that direct visual impact and adapts it for contemporary use. Full Vietnamese diacritic support is built into the system so tone marks sit naturally with the letterforms and remain clear at display sizes.
The Process
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The Process ❋
The project began with collecting and studying midcentury Vietnamese songbooks and cover designs. I looked closely at how lettering was constructed in those prints, paying attention to the way strokes tapered, how diagonals met corners, and how titles filled tight spaces on the page. To better understand stroke contrast, I rewrote several letterforms using different tools, including a flat calligraphy brush and a fountain pen. This helped me observe how thick and thin strokes form through hand movement. Early sketches explored structure and proportion before moving into Glyphs. Each character was then drawn and refined with careful attention to spacing and overall balance. The diacritics were positioned so tone marks sit comfortably with the letterforms and remain clear at display sizes. The typeface was refined as a display design intended for headlines, posters, and signage.
Final Results
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Final Results ❋
Sàigòn Slab closes the distance between archive and present-day practice. It takes visual cues from a specific moment in Vietnamese print culture and reworks them into a typeface that feels usable now, without losing the character of its source. What began as a close reading of old song covers became a study of memory, form, and translation across time. The final typeface carries traces of that history in its weight, rhythm, and details, while opening up new space for Vietnamese lettering to be seen, used, and continued in contemporary design.
Art directed by and special thanks to Dermot Mac Cormack
@ Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University