Kaleb Dean

Ligature Valley

Arts EN ↓ 3 episodes

Ligature Valley is a long-form type design critique show for designers who want to think deeper than the algorithm. Each episode breaks down new and notable typefaces—retail fonts, brand commissions, and experimental releases—through a structured rubric that scores originality, craft, usability, and cultural impact. Listen for free wherever you get your podcasts—or subscribe at ligaturevalley.com for full video versions, extended commentary, and all the visuals you’d expect from a show about type design. Ad-free, thoughtful, and designed to last.

Author

Kaleb Dean

Episodes

GT Era: Grilli Type's Gorgeous Grotesque That Doesn't Say Much 02.07.2026 19:47

Grilli Type's new release, GT Era, nails craft and functionality — but stalls out on cultural impact. This week I score GT Era across originality, craft, functionality, and cultural impact, and dig into why a typeface can be technically excellent and still read as a commercial move rather than a cultural one. Final score: 75/100. Free audio here — subscribe for the full video walkthrough at ligatu...

PP Kyoto: Pangram Pangram's Bilingual Slab Serif Bridging Latin and Japanese Type 02.07.2026 21:22

Pangram Pangram's PP Kyoto set out to bridge Latin slab serifs with the calligraphic spirit of hiragana and katakana — nine weights, full bilingual character support, and a genuinely unusual bet for a type foundry. This week I score Kyoto across originality, craft, functionality, and cultural impact, and make the case for why its niche cultural upside might matter more than its shot at mainstream...

Pilot, Ligature Valley 30.06.2026 9:47

Ligature Valley is a long-form type design critique show for designers who want to think deeper than the algorithm. Each episode breaks down new and notable typefaces—retail fonts, brand commissions, and experimental releases—through a structured rubric that scores originality, craft, usability, and cultural impact. Every typeface reviewed gets scored out of 25, across four core categories, which...