Acier is the second design by Cassandre (born Adolphe-Jean Mouron, 1901-1968) published by the Deberny & Peignot foundry in 1930.

This dual-color display typeface, designed in two series (Noir and Gris), Acier is, according to Jérôme Peignot, a “far relative of Bifur”. Like its predecessor, it is a capitals-only alphabet, maybe less spectacular and more pragmatic.
Was it an initiative from Cassandre or from Charles Peignot? It may well have been designed to take the most of the Futura trend, designed by Paul Renner and renamed Europe in France by Deberny & Peignot. Acier has been mainly aimed at publishing and newspaper use, so as to be closely used in conjunction with photographic illustrations. The specimen's commercial pitch was clearly stating: “[…] it has been designed under a double direction to come along with the tones of photosetting. Acier Noir, with its strong contrast, echoes the black and white effects of illustrations. Unlike Acier Gris, which echoes the soft greys of mono- or dualtones prints. This balanced addition is a typographic premiere.”
It is hard to determine if the sales met the expectations, but the typeface was rarely seen in action during the 1930s. It stayed in the shadow of Europe, whose sales long topped the foundry rankings.

Acier, as an “Antique”, is a self-assumed modernist typeface and mixes several influences: above all, functionalist decorative arts, design, and architecture, along with urban epigraphy. It is also emblematic of the various aspects of XIXth century display typography, which was creating unique bounds with its own reality by creating 3D alphabets and was fashionable at that time. Acier bears this link into the metal from which it took its name (NB: “Acier” means “Steel” in French), just as Jérôme Peignot notices: “Few typographic works achieved to provide the reality with a graphic response such as this one”.

Today, Acier respawns in a digital shape to the initiative of the Bureau des Affaires Typographiques.

Sébastien Morlighem