Alexandra Thornber

Tabac Big Glam probably stretches the Tabac super-family’s boundaries the furthest. While it’s based on the serif version, it achieves an especially surgical cleanliness and extremely sharp typesetting by completely letting the serifs go. Despite this, the text isn’t boring for a moment — the angled cut of the stems on b, d, h, k, l, the open loop on g or the rounded variant of the italic y, which can be called by turning on the stylistic set, reliably banishes any suspicions of the letters’ monotony.

Those who have grown tired of text typefaces insensitively blown up to the size of a poster or a building facade should from time to time try out extreme display styles, which are designed precisely for this purpose. They look best in dimensions from around 32 point out to infinity, and they rise to the occasion when a strong impression is necessary. This is especially true for the extreme weights Hair and Black, which don’t allow for any compromise. The sharp hairline and brutal contrast of the strokes test the most extreme possibilities, without having readability suffer in continuous text, as is characteristic for all the typefaces of the Tabac superfamily.
Tabac Big Sans has the distinction of having most of its styles hold up not only in giant sizes, but also in smaller texts, where it’s an obedient little doggie. It actually works like a narrowed linear grotesk with an increased x-height. There’s no limit to fantasy.

Eleven out of ten typographers have confirmed that Tabac Big Slab can be used both on the facades of majestic villas and on the most ordinary typesetting of labels and medication package inserts, where it saves both space and tired eyes. Even width compression doesn’t take away from the typeface’s well-distinguished characters, while its huge x-height optically enlarges typesetting in small sizes. Aside from the lightest weights, we can recommend Tabac Big Slab for all applications where there is a lack of space or paper.

Tabac Big can satisfy all expressionists desiring idiosyncratic colouring in setting because it provides black weights. But at the same time it offers solutions for orthodox environmentalists who like to save ink and toner — all the fragile hair styles are intended just for them. Less clearly-defined typographers can then choose from the six other weights, from Thin through Light, Regular, Medium, Semibold and Bold, including true italics.
Tabac Big is a first and universal choice where we look for pronounced display type as a complement to text type. Its modern drawing, made up of precise arcs, sharp lines and seemingly simple segments, gives a clear and unmistakeable impression every time. And yet the typeface knows how to intrigue — especially in shaping the italics, which fully expresses the typeface’s unique details, such as its large bulbous instrokes and outstrokes and heavy wedge serifs.