Balta: A Conceptual Font Inspired by Ancient Baltic Jewelry

A Unique Design by Migle Vasiliauskaite

Balta stands out as a conceptual font that serves as both a design inspiration and a creative tool for developing patterns and symbols. Drawing from symbols and patterns found on ancient Baltic jewelry, this font brings historical artifacts into the modern world through typography. With its unique properties and innovative features, Balta offers a fresh perspective on the possibilities of font design.

One of the primary features of Balta is its special kerning, which allows different letter combinations to form new letters-hybrids. This creates intriguing pattern designs that can be customized and adapted to suit various design ideas. When writing with spaces between glyphs, the font produces separated symbols, while writing without spaces combines the same or different symbols into new hybrid forms. The result is a font that offers endless possibilities for symbol combinations and pattern variations.

The realization of Balta involved extensive research into different types of ancient Baltic jewelry. Vasiliauskaite carefully selected a variety of symbols and signs that would be distinct yet harmonious when interacting with each other. The font was then produced in .ttf format, with a total of 100 glyphs.

Designing Balta presented its own set of challenges. The most difficult part of the process was choosing symbols that had distinct forms but still connected well with each other. Additionally, kerning the font required finding the perfect connection point between each symbol, which proved to be both challenging and inspiring. Despite these challenges, the font's versatility and potential for unexpected shapes and forms made the process truly rewarding.

The Balta project began in 2011 in Milan, Italy, and continues to evolve in Vilnius, Lithuania. Vasiliauskaite constantly seeks new ideas for improvement and expansion, ensuring that Balta remains a dynamic and innovative font for designers worldwide.

Recognized for its excellence, Balta was awarded the Iron A' Design Award in 2014 in the Graphics, Illustration, and Visual Communication Design category. This prestigious award is given to well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements. Balta's integration of industry best practices and competent technical characteristics contribute to a better world through its fulfillment and positive impact.

With Balta, Migle Vasiliauskaite has created a truly unique and inspiring font that bridges the gap between ancient history and contemporary design. This conceptual font offers endless possibilities for designers to explore and create captivating patterns and symbols that resonate in today's visual landscape.