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ABC Schengen is a multi-genre collection of typefaces inspired by the Eurozone’s visual language of cross-border, free-flowing logistics, manufacturing and construction. Planned, developed and built over six years by Seb McLauchlan with Luke Charsley.

SCHENGEN A, B, C
At the centre of ABC Schengen are three connected families: Schengen A, Schengen B and Schengen C. Soft Helvetica and boxy Eurostile hover in the background, not as direct quotes but as spirit animals that stretch across the system. Their shared width axis allows you to slide along and fine-tune the output as you desire: as the characters become wider, the aesthetic shifts and the Eurostile influence gets heavier, stretching Schengen A’s bubblewrap envelope around C’s steel shipping container, with B nestled comfortably in the middle.

These three families of Schengen have monospaced equivalents (also variably linked). Boxier than the proportional families, these weights are closer to vibey Signor Novarese than straight-talking Herr Miedinger, with alternate Eurostile “r” and “t” glyphs embracing his sci-fi fantasy.

CORE, LINE, ZONE
Beyond the core families, the system expands into Schengen Zone, Schengen Line and Schengen Core. These extra families carry the visual language of transport, signage and heavy infrastructure into more expressive territory. They’re simultaneously their own thing and still very much part of der Schengen-Raum.

Zone takes the boxy attitude of A, B, and C, chisels out some contrast and slaps on a set of no-nonsense serifs. Line sweeps up the debris, smooths out the geometry and carefully applies tension with soft and sharp moments. Core takes a sledgehammer to the base and builds a new housing development on half the footprint. These are designs chosen for thematic and aesthetic reasons, as with most things in the mid-2020s: it’s about the vibes. They are compatible, and we aren’t talking beziers here.

All families of ABC Schengen share the same structural dimensions, allowing them to be combined effortlessly.

LATIN, CYRILLIC, GREEK
By covering Latin, Cyrillic and Greek, ABC Schengen can speak and write all European languages that make communication between the many-tongued chain of transport possible