Can a typeface communicate the unique character of a city? This is the question the University of Minnesota Design Institute proposed when it began the project "Typeface: Twin Cities" and commissioned six teams of talented typographers to create a custom font for Minneapolis and St. Paul. "Typeface: Twin Cities" was an experiment to further understand the relationship between typography and urban identity that sought not to brand the cities themselves but to engage the public's awareness and appreciation of design and typography throughout the metro area.

What began as an attempt to...