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I've had a peek at your question guidelines, it looks like my question is on-topic. I really have no idea how to even research this problem, as my butchery of typography terminology will now demonstrate:

I'm looking for a fat, stubby sans serif typeface. This is roughly the shape of, for example, my desired letter 'b':

b

I just screencapped an existing 'b', drew on it, and blew it up in MS paint, so it looks pretty terrible. But it has aspects I'm looking for:

  • a short, wide ascender (though this one is pretty extreme):

    enter image description here

  • a circular count and bowl:

    enter image description here

  • a wider ascender than stem:

    enter image description here

I'm pretty new to type, so I don't even know how to look for a typeface like this. So far, scrolling through sites like Font Squirrel is overwhelming, and search queries like "fat stubby sans serif" are (unsurprisingly) not very helpful. How can I find a typeface like this? It'd be wonderful if someone could link me a specific font, but more valuable is help with the process of finding a typeface with criteria like mine.

I don't even know if such a search is even feasible - do people with these problems need to hire a designer for typeface design? As far as I know, that's an extremely nontrivial task!

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    it's evocative of Bahaus, but the thicker ascender is unique. Where did you screen cap the b from? Were there other letters? Was it part of a logo (if so, it may never have been a actual font in the first place)?
    – DA01
    Oct 14, 2015 at 4:07
  • It is indeed part of a logo - I don't think it was ever a font. The worst part is that there are no more letters! The problem I'm having is filling out the rest of the logo around the letter 'b'.
    – kdbanman
    Oct 14, 2015 at 4:18
  • If the problem is too vague or open-ended, let me know and I'm happy to close the question.
    – kdbanman
    Oct 14, 2015 at 4:19
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    Well, I think the answer to 'is this is a font' is likely "no, it's not" as odds are it was drawn that way for that particular logo. As for how to find fonts like this, myfonts.com/WhatTheFont is a common place to start. Other than that, though, it helps to just have experience to know what to search for on font sites. Asking here is a good place as well--just as you have done.
    – DA01
    Oct 14, 2015 at 4:37
  • DA01 is most likely correct that this character is actually not from a font but actually a custom drawn logotype. Even with today's technology, there is no easy way of reverse-searching a font. The process truly does consist of sitting at a computer and scrolling through samples on foundry sites. Can you find out who created this character? Perhaps they created a set of matching glyphs but it isn't on the web. Building a font from scratch isn't too difficult for someone with vector-drawing experience, but custom fonts are not cheap.
    – paulmz
    Oct 14, 2015 at 16:26

1 Answer 1

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Some search terms you can use are Bauhaus, like DA01 mentioned, or geometric. However to find very specific characteristics, those terms will only take you so far.

You can upload a sample to WhatTheFont, The Font Matcherator or try Identifont.

You can browse related categories at DaFontor Fontsquirrel

If you don't find an exact match you have 3 options:

  1. Use the closest font even if it's not an exact match
  2. Draw/redraw/trace the characters you need
  3. Find a type designer- and a big budget! ;)
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  • Great response. Geometric sans serif is a surprisingly powerful search term. Option 1 is the most likely. Thanks!
    – kdbanman
    Oct 14, 2015 at 15:23
  • With the sites you linked and the search term "geometric" I was able to find several examples that worked. I found this article where I can learn other words like "geometric". Can you suggest any other/better resources?
    – kdbanman
    Oct 15, 2015 at 15:20

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