Plain Textis a printed publication for exploratory type design, edited and designed by Lucas Descroix and Benjamin Dumond, and published by type foundryPlain Form. The second issue launched in July 2025. From fiction to theory, from mystical analyses to visual works, Plain Text aims at exploring typographic imaginaries, moving beyond a strictly historical and technical framework, with a taste for the unknown and the dormant potential of writing. This second issue includes contributions by Hervé Aracil,Tim Brookes (Endangered Alphabets),Aliona Ciobanu,Lucas Descroix,Benjamin Dumond,Mardi Forestier,Inscript festival,Elenor Kopka,Marcus Leis Allion,Pierre Pané-Farré(withHAW Hamburg students),Simon RenaudandAlec Vivier-Reynaud. The texts of this black-and-white, bilingual publication are all set in the unreleased duoBasically Seriffor the English andBasically Sansfor the French. Additional information is set inBaskemo, alsoSerifandSans, an automatically monospaced-and-skelefont’edcompanion to Basically. A number of display typefaces designed by Lucas Descroix and/or Benjamin Dumond are used throughout, for the title of each contribution as well as various emphasis moments. These include:Michaux,Grandmaster,Disc,Jester(in several styles),Ready ActiveandCloudedand an early version of the upcomingFerro. Some unreleased display typefaces, either old or future, are also used but not shown here in the pictures. The fiction work by Mardi Forestier is set inExposureby Federico Parra Barrios. Imagined together with the author, the layout is an attempt at using an experimental typeface to underline and augment narration, its variations manifesting the idea of breath. • English and French• 80 pages, 210×297mm• offset print on Munken Print White• 1000 copies, July 2025• ISBN 978–2–9597254–1–8 This second issue ofPlain Textwas kindly supported byCommercial Type,CSTM Fonts,Dinamo,Future Fonts,XYZ Type, and205TF. Title is set in Disc Heavy, while subheads use Michaux Light. Left page shows works from Aliona Ciobanu (image in the center is a collaboration with designerStefaniia Bodnia). Right page shows the work of Alec Vivier-Reynaud (featuring mushroom-printedABC Camera). Title is set in a early version of Ferro Fraktur IV. Images show works fromBettina Comte,Rüdiger SchlömerandJonathan Mak. Title set in Jester Fool (squeezed, tracked and slightly blurred). Title set in Ready Active Regular (condensed and thinned). Title set in Grandmaster Thin. The right page shows both designs and inspirations from Simon Renaud. Left page shows designs and inspirations from Simon Renaud. Right page’s title is set in generously stretched Exposure. A piece of fiction by Mardi Forestier, making use of Federico Parra Barrios’s typeface Exposure to manifest breath. Title on the right page is set in heavily warped Jester Judgment (in black) and Jester Sun (in white). Left page features Ohno’s Swear. Right page features Bureau Brut’s Totentanz. Title set in Michaux Bold, for a conversation with French professor Hervé Aracil. Left page shows student projects from HAW Hamburg, done under the direction of Pierre Pané-Farré (here the collective typefaceOctagon VariableandA Type of Image by Fabian Stenzel). Right page’s title is set in Ready Clouded Bold.
Plain Text embodies experimental-intellectual authority with typographic anarchism — a publication that treats type design as both scholarly discourse and creative rebellion. The eclectic mix of unreleased, warped, and experimental typefaces creates a sense of typographic laboratory meets underground zine, positioning the brand as the insider's guide to the cutting edge of type culture.
The systematic pairing of Basically Serif (English) with Basically Sans (French) creates linguistic hierarchy while maintaining visual cohesion through shared DNA. The explosion of display faces — from Ferro's blackletter brutality to Exposure's breathing variations — demonstrates how experimental typography can serve narrative function. Each typeface choice reflects the publication's mission to explore "typographic imaginaries," with warped letterforms, stretched characters, and unreleased specimens creating a living specimen book that's as much about typographic possibility as readability.
Rather than traditional pairing, this is typographic orchestration — each display face serves specific editorial moments while the Basically duo provides consistent reading rhythm. The contrast between experimental display faces and the reliable text faces creates productive tension between accessibility and experimentation, allowing radical typographic exploration without sacrificing comprehension.