Herakles
First released by the Haas Foundry in 1899 as Herkules; this is a wonderfully eccentric display face that captures the decorative energy of the Art Nouveau era. It enjoyed a revival in the 1970s as part of Letraset’s dry transfer sheets but is otherwise an underappreciated typographic gem.
Its most distinctive feature is an exaggerated weight distribution, with the majority all of the visual weight resting on the baseline. The result is a typeface that feels surprisingly solid and punchy, balanced by soft, rounded curves that keep it approachable and full of charm.
This revival stays as faithful to the original while bringing it in line with current design standards. The character set has been significantly expanded, making it more versatile than previous digitisations while preserving the quirks that give the design its identity.
Extended language support, including Vietnamese, has been added, along with a bevy of symbols and ornaments drawn to match. Herakles isn’t the kind of typeface you’d normally choose for body copy, although there's something appealing about the idea of filling a page with it. Where it shines is in display work. Set a single word in Herakles and it instantly feels like a logo.
Headlines, posters, packaging, and branding all benefit from its unmistakable silhouette and lively character. It has the rare ability to make even the simplest word feel expressive.
Herakles is available in a single style, and it doesn’t need anything more. A revival that understands what made the original so memorable: an unapologetically bold design with enough warmth and eccentricity to feel just as fresh today as it did more than a century ago.
Language Support
Abenaki, Afaan Oromo, Afar, Afrikaans, Albanian…
Abenaki, Afaan Oromo, Afar, Afrikaans, Albanian, Alsatian, Amis, Anuta, Aragonese, Aranese, Aromanian, Arrernte, Arvanitic (Latin), Asturian, Aymara, Bashkir (Latin), Basque, Bemba, Bikol, Bislama, Bosnian, Breton, Cape Verdean Creole, Catalan, Cebuano, Chamorro, Chavacano, Chickasaw, Cimbrian, Cofán, Corsican, Creek, Crimean Tatar, Croatian, Czech, Dawan, Delaware, Dholuo, Drehu, English, Estonian, Faroese, Fijian, Filipino, Finnish, Folkspraak, French, Frisian, Friulian, Gagauz, Galician, Genoese, German, Gooniyandi, Guadeloupean Creole, Gwich’in, Haitian Creole, Hän, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Hopi, Hotcąk, Hungarian, Ido, Ilocano, Indonesian, Interglossa, Interlingua, Irish, Istro-Romanian, Italian, Jamaican, Javanese, Jèrriais, Kala Lagaw Ya, Kapampangan, Kaqchikel, Karakalpak, Karelian, Kashubian, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, Kiribati, Kirundi, Klingon, Ladin, Latin, Latino sine Flexione, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lojban, Lombard, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, Makhuwa, Malay, Manx, Māori, Marquesan, Megleno-Romanian, Meriam, Mir, Mohawk, Moldovan, Montagnais, Montenegrin, Murrinh-Patha, Nagamese Creole, Ndebele, Neapolitan, Ngiyambaa, Niuean, Noongar, Norwegian, Novial, Occidental, Occitan, Oshiwambo, Ossetian, Palauan, Papiamento, Piedmontese, Polish, Portuguese, Potawatomi, Q’eqchi’, Quechua, Rarotongan, Romanian, Romansh, Rotokas, Sami (Lule Sami), Sami (Southern Sami), Samoan, Sango, Saramaccan, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian, Seri, Seychellois Creole, Shawnee, Shona, Sicilian, Silesian, Slovak, Slovenian, Slovio, Somali, Sorbian, Sotho, Spanish, Sranan, Sundanese, Swahili, Swazi, Swedish, Tagalog, Tahitian, Tetum, Tok Pisin, Tokelauan, Tongan, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Turkish, Turkmen, Tuvaluan, Tzotzil, Uzbek, Venetian, Vepsian, Vietnamese, Volapük, Võro, Wallisian, Walloon, Waray-Waray, Warlpiri, Wayuu, Wik-Mungkan, Wiradjuri, Xhosa, Yapese, Yindjibarndi, Zapotec, Zulu, Zuni
