LL Champion presents a contemporary take on the angular slab serif typefaces that have long been ubiquitous on US sports jerseys. While many versions of these varsity typefaces have the appeal of improvised and eclectic DIY lettering, Weichi He treated the genre to an R&D process more commonly applied to complex and refined body typefaces.

After research into the history of the varsity style, including turn-of-the-century wood types, an optimal range of three weights and two widths was determined with the help of extrapolation. The proportions of individual letters were fine-tuned, before a strictly systematic approach allowed to create a coherent glyph set that underscores the mechanical construction of these monolinear lettershapes. They owe much to geometry, but as good as nothing to the eye. And, of course, you will not find a single curve in the entire glyph set.

A novelty to the genre, LL Champion is a duplexed typeface with a fixed box width for the three weights within each style. While duplexed fonts are often useful in digital projects to prevent text reflow upon a change of weight, the feature also fortifies the mechanical construction of LL Champion. Another novelty is the Carved version, which evokes a 3-D impression fitting for the angular and block-like lettershapes. A number of carefully selected alternates bring back playful options found in the many historical interpretation of this genre.

The tightly-knit family is complemented by LL Champion Sans, which comes in the same weights and proportions as the Slab Serif. Champion Sans also offers a Shadow version, which can be used independently or as a layered font with a colour fill. Throughout all versions and combinations, Weichi’s systematic approach guarantees coherence and easy applicability, making this a competitive design tool in any corner of the professional field.