Canarina is a font inspired by the Canary Islands, that aims to recreate traces of their history and character. Canarina takes it’s name from a plant called Canarina canariensis, a leafy vine with red bell-shaped flowers, which is one of the symbols of the islands.

As a matter of fact, the Canary Islands don’t have a strong typographic tradition. Most of the metal types that were used to print books locally were imported from Europe, so they’re not qualitatively different from the ones used on Spanish (and other European) presses at the time. The inspiration for Canarina comes instead from other graphic arts of the XXth century, and in particular the works of Eduardo Millares Sall (creator of the Cho-Juaá character) and César Manrique (an informalist painter and abstract sculptor). The shapes of their plastic works got reflected in the wide angles of the letters. Its overall design also presents a strong vernacular look.

Canarina is a fingerprint, a phonolitic stone, the leaf of a succulent plant, the silhouette of a volcanic rock against the sky, a feeling that’s hard to translate. To know what you can do with this typeface, please visit our FAQ page.