Bricolage Grotesque
Bricolage Grotesque is a collage of lots of different things: historical sources, technical decisions and personal feelings. It started as a fork of Mayenne Sans , an open-source single weight font designed by Jérémy Landes (Studio Triple). It evolved by reinforcing cues from French sources and British sources: the compressed weights lean more towards the anxious and wonky tones of Grotesque Nº9 and the regular weights have a bit more of Antique Olive's relaxed and confident attitude. The smaller optical sizes become more neutral and reflective of contemporary sans serifs, notably through the use of exaggerated ink traps. By blending iconic British and French designs with modern trends and tools, it aims to traverse a complex typographical and emotional landscape. At the same time, it’s so steeped in historical sources and references that it’s hard to call it anything but a re-interpretation of the same ideas but for a different purpose: trying to express visually what it feels like to move countries and rebuild, what it feels like to have a hybrid identity where you cannot be what you were and yet you can never truly be anybody else. To contribute, see github.com/ateliertriay/bricolage .
- Classification
- Sans
- Foundry
- License
- free
- Source
- Get this font ↗
01Style templates
Bricolage Grotesque for the heading, Manrope for the body.
02Suggested pairings
AaBbCc
0123456789
{(!@#$?&})
05Type scale
Waterfall · 64 → 16 pxDesign starts with a question.
Good letters carry the memory of the pen.
A soft serif with old-style warmth, drawn for display sizes and unhurried reading.
This typeface borrows the melting charm of phototype and rebuilds it, patiently, for the screen.
At text sizes the warmth settles into something quieter: open counters, a generous x-height, and forms that curve rather than cut. It reads like a well-worn paperback — familiar, unhurried, and slightly mischievous.
06Weights
7 styles07In context
Text settingsGood letters carry the memory of the pen.
The brief asked for warmth without nostalgia, and authority without sternness. Bricolage Grotesque answered both at once — a face that feels typeset by hand yet holds up at retinal resolutions. At this size it settles into an unhurried rhythm: generous spacing, open counters, and letterforms that carry tone before they announce themselves.
Small sizes are where display faces usually apologise for themselves. Bricolage Grotesque does not. Drop into text and the texture tightens into a competent, readable grey — open counters, a generous x-height, and forms that curve rather than cut. At text sizes the warmth settles into something quieter: familiar, unhurried, and slightly mischievous. It reads like a well-worn paperback, holding its voice across captions, footnotes, and long paragraphs without flattening into noise. Paired with a neutral grotesque for wayfinding and labels, it gives an identity system exactly one strong opinion — usually the right number — while the body keeps doing the quiet work underneath.
08Character set
Hover a glyph to inspect09About Bricolage Grotesque
Bricolage Grotesque is a collage of lots of different things: historical sources, technical decisions and personal feelings. It started as a fork of Mayenne Sans , an open-source single weight font designed by Jérémy Landes (Studio Triple). It evolved by reinforcing cues from French sources and British sources: the compressed weights lean more towards the anxious and wonky tones of Grotesque Nº9 and the regular weights have a bit more of Antique Olive's relaxed and confident attitude. The smaller optical sizes become more neutral and reflective of contemporary sans serifs, notably through the use of exaggerated ink traps. By blending iconic British and French designs with modern trends and tools, it aims to traverse a complex typographical and emotional landscape. At the same time, it’s so steeped in historical sources and references that it’s hard to call it anything but a re-interpretation of the same ideas but for a different purpose: trying to express visually what it feels like to move countries and rebuild, what it feels like to have a hybrid identity where you cannot be what you were and yet you can never truly be anybody else. To contribute, see github.com/ateliertriay/bricolage .