Roli is a script typeface designed for Swiss illustrator Roland Burkart, known for his personal storytelling and artistic perseverance. After a life-changing accident left him paralysed from the chest down, Roland turned to illustration. His first major release, Twister/Wirbelsturm—a comic published by Edition Moderne—was the ideal opportunity for a digital typeface to replace the physically demanding task of drawing.

The result is a quirky script with a personal touch. Since its release, Roli has been used in much of his work, as well as his weekly comic series published in Zürcher Tages-Anzeiger.

Roland drew each character multiple times in his signature brush style. After digitising and refining the nodes, we created a randomisation feature that generates subtle variations in letterforms, mimicking the natural inconsistencies of handwriting. This Flow feature, enabled by OpenType, allows for control over these variations.

Roli also includes discretionary ligatures for underlining and crossing out, reflecting Roland’s natural corrections.