Sirba sets Norway’s first Latin–Norwegian dictionary, with a custom IPA extension

Sirba, a typeface designed by Nicolien van der Keur, conceived especially for complex text environments such as dictionaries, was used in the Latin–Norwegian dictionary published in 2015 by one of the countries largest publishing house, Cappelen Damm. This will be the first of three series, developed for different target groups. Tank Design, responsible for the design of the dictionary, used a customised version of Sirba IPA (phonetic alphabet) for this complex project.

One of the main challenges was to create a design that would ensure consistency throughout all the series and languages. Tank chose the font Sirba after a thorough research process: ‘Sirba was chosen for its aesthetic qualities as well as its performance in small sizes. It is complex yet friendly, and provides the necessary weights and contrasts for a dictionary environment. The main entry words are set in the special Black style improving legibility and helping the reader in finding the word in question.’