Digital Type Meet Physical Space

The Danish type designers e-Types have opened a "brick and mortar" shop in Copenhagen, Denmark where they are selling their digital fonts within a physical space. Along with posters, t-shirts, and other type decorated accessories, the danish foundry is selling their font families on preloaded usb sticks.

From the idealistic aesthetic standpoint of a typophile the store is a beautiful and playful idea. Yet I can not help but notice the environmental and fiscal short comings, which drain the idea of any rationality. The waste created by the usb sticks, as well as the material that was consumed in the creation of the store itself seems unnecessary for a store that is selling digital based typefaces. Is not the beauty of web-based stores, the ability for them to cut down on physical waste?

The store also seems to reach only a very niche market, which in turn does not scream huge profit margins. Yet, e-Type only plans to keep the store open for the course of one year and I can't argue with my internal urge to take an impromptu trip to Denmark.