In developing Bliss, forms were chosen for their simplicity, legibility and 'Englishness' (where forms are typically softer, more flowing and generous in their curves). The lowercase forms demonstrate some of these ideas, for example, the l is clearly different in form to a capital I and a number 1; the roman two-bowled g is traditionally found in English sans serif designs. A great deal of the character of Bliss is found in the lowercase letters. Influenced by Hans Eduard Meier's reasoning of 'dynamic structure', the resulting letters have a more natural feel and flow to them.

In contrast to the nineteenth century tradition of grotesque sans serifs, in which the proportions of the capitals tend to be even, the proportions of Bliss have been influenced by the Roman square capital resulting in a varied width to their forms. The horizontal top strokes of E F T and Z have oblique cuts that are balanced by the same detail in the rounded lower strokes of C J Q and S. These terminal details are expanded in the lowercase.

The compliment italic of Bliss follows a more flowing structure reminiscent of its written ancestor. Beyond this structural difference the four key lowercase characters have been drawn in sympathy with the rest of Bliss. The sloped forms of a and e are retained so not to make the type too soft, whereas cursive forms of f and g are included to maintain the rhythm and flow.

Click here for additional information about the Bliss typeface.

Bliss is also available for Greek and Cyrillic languages.