Masinahikan : Masinahikan Dene

The Masinahikan (meaning “book” in Cree) font series originated as an experiment in adding caligraphic elements to the syllabics orthography. Originally, my idea was to incorporate the feeling of Ethiopic calligraphy; however the early results were not encouraging. I then turned to the characters in the 15th century typefaces, especially in the forms of the serifs. In the end, evolution took its course and I think the letters ended up looking unique. The finals (consonant symbols without a following vowel) follow the Kā-ayisawēyaki model: they appear mid-line instead of top-line.

Masinahikan comes in three weights: regular, semi-bold, and bold. The bold face is primarily for emphasis or headings. The semi-bold weight should be used with small point sizes (8 pt, perhaps 10pt) whereas the regular weight is appropriate for larger font sizes (11 pt and higher).

The Masinahikan Dene font has been designed for use with the E-A orthographies. It includes all the rules necessary for correct diacritic placement, including ᒢᕍ ligatures and base-line finals.

This PDF file shows further examples of Masinahikan in various languages and font sizes.