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Finding Structure in Belgrade’s Beautiful Chaos
Translating the City’s Rhythm and Freedom into the Typeface
The Design Elements
Refining SFT Ritam Sans Across Diverse Contexts
The Balance Between Professional and Personal
SFT Ritam Sans: Structure with a Human Touch
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SFT Ritam Sans: Capturing the Rhythm of Belgrade

SFT Ritam Sans was born from a challenge: to create a typeface that captures the pure character of Belgrade, without relying on direct visual references. The result is a font that balances structure with spontaneity, embodying warmth, energy, and a dynamic spirit that transcends its forms. This is the story of how those ideas came to life.

BY YULIA GONINA

October 2, 2024 ∙ 8 min. read

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Finding Structure in Belgrade’s Beautiful Chaos

When I first set foot in Belgrade, I had no idea how deeply this city would imprint itself on my creative process. It wasn’t my first time in Serbia, but it was the first time I truly experienced the essence of its capital — a place where contrasts coexist in an unexpected harmony. I had lived in Stockholm before, a city that shaped my previous typefaces, SFT Schrifted Sans and Serif, with its structured elegance and clarity. But Belgrade was different, in every sense of the word.

This city, with its blend of classical and Yugoslav modernist architecture, exudes a chaotic charm that takes time to embrace. At first glance, everything seems disordered, as if the city is still in the process of defining itself. Yet, beneath this apparent chaos lies an undeniable warmth, freedom, and a hidden structure unique to each neighborhood. It takes time to understand the rhythm and organization of the city, but once you do, you realize that every district has its own distinct character and flow.

SFT Ritam Sans inspiration: Modernist buildings of Belgrade

Modernism plays a key role in shaping Belgrade’s urban environment, with a range of designs from bold, angular structures to softer, rounded forms that define the city’s architectural character.

SFT Ritam Sans inspiration: 19th-century facades of Belgrade

An eclectic mix of ornate 19th-century facades blending with modern urban structures, showcasing Belgrade’s layered architectural history.

SFT Ritam Sans inspiration: The vibrant night life of Belgrade

Belgrade comes alive at night, with vibrant streets and cozy cafés lit by the warm glow of string lights, reflecting the city’s inviting atmosphere.

SFT Ritam Sans inspiration: Street art of Belgrade

Street art and murals breathe life into Belgrade’s walls, turning everyday streets into galleries that reflect the creativity and personality of the city.

SFT Ritam Sans inspiration: Hidden green corners and quiet residential streets of Belgrade

Hidden green corners and quiet residential streets offer a peaceful side of Belgrade, balancing the city’s energy with moments of calm and beauty.

It’s a place that invites you to relax, let go of preconceptions, and simply enjoy life. With its lively streets, music at every corner, and friendly people, Belgrade inspired me to create a typeface that, like the city itself, feels free, relaxed, and full of character.

Unlike my previous work, which drew direct inspiration from the architectural lines of Stockholm, this font is more about the emotional resonance of a place. It’s not just about shapes and structures; it’s about the atmosphere that lingers long after you’ve left. And it’s this essence that I sought to infuse into the design of SFT Ritam Sans.

Translating the City’s Rhythm and Freedom into the Typeface

Unlike Stockholm, where order and structure reign, Belgrade’s charm comes from its unfiltered spontaneity. Every neighborhood offers something different, from the lively streets of old Belgrade to the sprawling expanses of New Belgrade, separated by the Sava River. This fluidity — where the city doesn’t conform to a single identity — was precisely what drew me in. It felt like a place where boundaries dissolve, and creativity is given free rein to flourish in unexpected ways.

SFT Ritam Sans inspiration: the bold modernist structures of New Belgrade and the intimate streets of Old Belgrade

From the bold modernist structures of New Belgrade to the intimate streets of Old Belgrade, the city thrives on contrasts, offering spontaneity and warmth.

This fluidity inspired SFT Ritam Sans. Instead of directly referencing the city’s architecture, as I did with Schrifted Sans and Serif in Stockholm, this typeface aims to capture the rhythm and freedom I felt in Belgrade. It’s a typeface that embraces versatility, much like the city itself, able to adapt and thrive in different environments. Whether you’re wandering through an old café or standing in front of a sleek, modernist structure, Belgrade’s character remains warm, welcoming, and dynamic — exactly the qualities I wanted to reflect in SFT Ritam Sans.

This font was designed to carry that same sense of movement and openness. It’s a typeface that, just like the city, invites you to explore, adapt, and find your own rhythm within its forms.

The Design Elements

As a neo-grotesque typeface, SFT Ritam Sans is grounded in clean lines and rational structure, yet it incorporates humanistic details that give it warmth and approachability. These details were critical to the design, allowing the font to balance between being structured and relaxed, much like the city that inspired it.

SFT Ritam Sans combines playful elements, like the soft curves of the lowercase ‘a’ and its lively tail, with subtle stroke contrast and slightly open apertures. The typeface balances structure with a welcoming feel, especially through the inclusion of true italics, which add a crafted, human touch to its professional foundation.

1. One of the most defining features is the playful shape of the lowercase ‘a.’ Its soft, curved form, complete with a lively tail, embodies movement and freedom, as if the letter is gently leaning forward, ready to guide the eye to the next character. This characteristic is echoed throughout the typeface in small but meaningful ways, especially in the dynamic true italics, where each letter takes on a more hand-drawn, cursive quality.

2. The typeface also includes a slight contrast in stroke thickness, particularly visible in heavier weights. This contrast, though subtle, adds texture and depth.

3. The apertures of the letters are slightly open and inviting, while the ends of the strokes are cut perpendicularly to the stroke’s movement. These cuts create a sense of openness, resulting in a more informal and approachable feel while still maintaining a solid, professional foundation.

4. Perhaps the most significant feature is the inclusion of two kinds of italics: the more common slanted style and the true italics. The true italics were especially important to me, as they add an additional layer of human touch. Unlike the slanted italics, the true italics have reshaped letters that give the typeface a sense of motion and craftsmanship.

These dynamic elements — whether it’s the soft curves, the playful cuts, or the energetic italics — all come together to form a typeface that feels alive. It’s a font with personality, but one that never overwhelms. It’s confident yet unpretentious, where every small detail speaks of a deeper character.

Refining SFT Ritam Sans Across Diverse Contexts

Designing SFT Ritam Sans was not a straightforward task. Translating the essence of a city like Belgrade — its energy, contradictions, and emotional resonance — into a typeface required subtlety. The challenge was to convey the city’s atmosphere, not through obvious forms but through the spirit that those forms evoked.

To tackle this, I immersed myself in the city, taking countless photographs of Belgrade’s streets, architecture, and the small details that resonated with me. I focused not just on the iconic landmarks but on the textures of everyday life — the graffiti on the walls, the weathered façades, the vibrant street cafés. These images became my backdrop as I sketched the typeface, constantly comparing my early drafts against these visual touchpoints to see if they captured the same feeling.

Throughout the design process, I superimposed the typeface onto a range of photographs from Belgrade’s diverse environments, ensuring it resonated with the city’s varied textures and character — from modernist buildings to lively streets and intimate interiors.

It was a process of trial and refinement. I would superimpose the early sketches of the font onto these photographs, testing how the typeface interacted with different environments. Could it fit into the modernist geometry of New Belgrade as comfortably as it did on the organic textures of the older parts of the city? The typeface had to feel at home in both worlds.

The result was a typeface with an adaptable, dynamic quality. SFT Ritam Sans feels comfortable in diverse settings — just like the city that inspired it.

The Balance Between Professional and Personal

SFT Ritam Sans works particularly well in environments where a personal touch is essential. It adds a friendly tone to modern corporate branding, helping companies connect more easily with their audience. At the same time, it suits smaller, creative projects, like local businesses that want to convey individuality and warmth. From a tech startup looking for a fresh, dynamic identity to a contemporary insurance firm seeking a more approachable image, SFT Ritam Sans can adapt to different needs.

The range of weights and styles allows SFT Ritam Sans to serve everything from impactful headlines and logos to flowing body text in long-form content. The true italics add an extra dimension, giving designers more room to add emphasis and personality. In heavier weights, the typeface commands attention, while the lighter styles lend a soft and refined presence.

Beneath its rational exterior, Stockholm’s streets offer glimpses of romanticism through architectural details that inspire SFT Schrifted Serif.

This typeface brings a modern, approachable feel to corporate design, seamlessly balancing bold headlines with refined body text. Its flexibility makes it an excellent choice for projects that demand both professionalism and a personal touch.

SFT Ritam Sans: Structure with a Human Touch

Inspired by the rich, dynamic spirit of Belgrade, this font carries a sense of warmth and openness. It’s designed to feel at home in a variety of environments, whether used for bold statements or gentle communication, always adding a human touch without losing its structure.

For designers seeking a typeface that bridges professionalism with approachability, SFT Ritam Sans offers a blend of rationality and warmth. In every curve, every cut, there’s an invitation to experience the rhythm of Belgrade — a city that, like this font, never stands still.

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