What makes Plex… Plex.
Distinctly IBM
![We explored many iterations before landing on the right solution.](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex_Sans_Process_Mobile_C4.png)
We explored many iterations before landing on the right solution.
Eight bars, eight weights
![](../assets/images/plexness/IBM-plex_plexness-g.jpg)
![](../assets/images/plexness/IBM-plex_plexness-6.jpg)
![[↑] Selectric “golf ball” catalog: Long before uploading fonts into a type manager, IBM printed physical catalogs for Selectric’s interchangeable type “golf balls.”](../assets/images/plexness/ibm-covers.jpg)
[↑] Selectric “golf ball” catalog: Long before uploading fonts into a type manager, IBM printed physical catalogs for Selectric’s interchangeable type “golf balls.”
![[↑] The unexpected and expressive tone of the Selectric typeface, <em>Italic 12</em> was a major influence in Plex Mono Italic.<br><br><br>](../assets/images/plexness/type.png)
![[↑] The unexpected and expressive tone of the Selectric typeface, <em>Italic 12</em> was a major influence in Plex Mono Italic.<br><br><br>](../assets/images/plexness/type-italic_mobile.png)
[↑] The unexpected and expressive tone of the Selectric typeface, Italic 12 was a major influence in Plex Mono Italic.
[↑] Each glyph in the entire Plex family has been TrueType hinted (i.e. optimized for on-screen legibility in small sizes).
![[↑] We studied copious joint styles, contrasts and transitions during our exploration of the lowercase “n.”<br /><br />](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex_Mono_Process_Mobile_C12.png)
[↑] We studied copious joint styles, contrasts and transitions during our exploration of the lowercase “n.”
![[↑] IBM Poster, design Paul Rand, 1985.](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex-plexness-serif_dots-C15.jpg)
[↑] IBM Poster, design Paul Rand, 1985.
[↑] Berthold Bodoni Pro.
![[↑] IBM Typeface Manual depicting Bodoni, design Karl Gerstner, 1990.](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex-plexness-bodoni_spread-C15.jpg)
[↑] IBM Typeface Manual depicting Bodoni, design Karl Gerstner, 1990.
![We thought the ball terminals of Bodoni Berthold were on-point.](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex_Serif_Influence_c_C17_01.gif)
We thought the ball terminals of Bodoni Berthold were on-point.
![We were also into Berthold Bodoni’s rectangular serifs.](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex_Serif_Influence_v_C17_02.gif)
We were also into Berthold Bodoni’s rectangular serifs.
And we thought the steep slant on Linotype Janson Italics were lovely.
![We explored Plex Serif fitting into different serif classifications from Didone, Transitional and Scotch before landing on our hybrid version.<br><br><br><br>](../assets/images/plexness/IBM_Plex_Serif_Process_Mobile_C18.png)
We explored Plex Serif fitting into different serif classifications from Didone, Transitional and Scotch before landing on our hybrid version.
The Plex Italics were engineered according to specific angles that work best with pixels to get the smoothest on-screen rendering.