It is a treat to find a typeface that tastes as good as it looks. The Noeler family, designed in 2025 by Michael Rafailyk, a new novelty family that looks as eatable as it is settable – and its five iterations underscore this. Noeler Pasta is much like the comfort food from which its name derives: slivers of spaghetti that coalesce into letters so naturally that the uppercase-only alphabet is a feast for the eye. Pasta comes only in black and white, but add a splash of color to some of the strands, and what emerges is Noeler Candy, reminiscent of the old Good n’ Plenty of sugar-coated licorice, and with the addition of green, the face materializes into the sprig of a Noeler Firtree.
You might very well ask how such an eccentric, hand-drawn face with such a noisy confetti-like concoction of color and shape actually works. The answer lies in more ways than we could imagine. Given its bespoke hand-lettered quality, any of these options makes for a vibrant logo or eye-catching headline. When multiple words are conjoined, the face is perfectly legible even with its tremulous vibrating quality. The multiple forms that comprise each letter project a shimmy and shake.
It is surprising what a talented typographic designer can do with an assortment of odd forms, such as Noeler, but with a clear eye and a deft hand, this typeface offers many more possibilities than conceivable. Although it is only the first of the new year, for its clever conceptual twist, wit, and functionality, Noeler Candy might very well become the sweetest font family of the year. I look forward to seeing the as yet unseen results of its users.
| Font of the Month: Noeler | |
|---|---|
| Designer: Michael Rafailyk | Foundry: Michael Rafailyk |
Steven Heller is nothing short of a legend in the design community. Award-winning graphic designer, author and editor of hundreds of books (yes, 100s!) and one of the world’s foremost authorities on graphic design history; and arguably its best design commentator. Follow Steven on the must-read The Daily Heller and read his latest book, Growing Up Underground: A Memoir of Counterculture New York.
