About

Welcome to the Library of Narrative Types. In here, you are in a space that invites you to think about typography in unexpected ways. You will find stories about how letters are entangled with the experience of everyday life. You may also read stories about the history of letters, researched and re-imagined. You will see drawings that are the manifestations of thoughts, thought through the movements of pencil and paintbrush. You will also see images that are like the footprints left after the steps taken on the path called the “design process”. You will find typefaces that follow conventions and others that were made through experiment. You will certainly come across typefaces that tell stories.

The Library of Narrative Types is a design-research endeavor by Nóra Békés that looks at the visual storytelling potential of typefaces, and stories that can be told about typography. The project combines three disciplines: type design, visual research through drawing, conceptual research through (fiction) writing. These three disciplines feed into each other mutually and constitute both the design process and the creative output. The Library of Narrative Types will exist as a continuously growing online platform, where the products of this working method will be published. These may be essays, short stories, series of drawings and other visual experiments, printed matter and ultimately typefaces encompassing this rich design process. Nóra Békés will invite fellow makers of different disciplines to collaborate or to contribute items to the Library, making it into a space for shared creative processes.

The first volumes in the Library, created during Békés’ pregnancy and first year of motherhood, contemplate the topics of memory, transition, trauma and care. Essays explore the relationship between typography and personal life-changing events: motherhood and illness. The drawing series seeks to find a visual system that can capture pre-verbal communication. A variable typeface attempts to capture early speech development. Another font, inspired by a long-lost typewriter demonstrates the reconstructive power of memory. A series of poems by Mark Mullee reflect on the ideas that made this typeface. Display structures by Hedvig Koertz respond spatially to the form and tactility of the exhibited material. This body of work was created with the generous support of the Creative Industries Fund NL, in the framework of the Talent Development Grant Scheme.

Nóra Békés

Nóra Békés is a graphic designer and type designer who is mostly interested in the storytelling capacities of the disciplines she practices. This interest in visual and textual narrativity creates a leitmotif in her autonomous and commissioned work alike. In her self-initiated projects, Nóra likes to explore and question social and historical conventions about how we think about and relate to class, gender, labor, and our more-than-human environment.

Since her graduation in 2018, Nóra has run a one-woman studio, while embracing a fruitful network of collaborators, friends, co-dependencies, and inspirations. Her practice is currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Collaborations

I welcome the opportunity to explore potential collaborations. Whether you're interested in commissioned projects for graphic design, type design, illustration, or writing, or you would like to develop a project together, I’m curious to hear your ideas and work together. I can create bespoke typefaces or tailor my existing designs to meet your specific needs. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to discuss how we can collaborate!

Contact

Library of Narrative Types
libraryofnarrativetypes[at]gmail.com
Nóra Békés
norabekes@gmail.com

KvK number: 72204613
VAT number: NL002526478B26

Website design: Nóra Békés & Bence Husi

Licences/ E.U.L.A

Introduction

This End User License Agreement, from now on referred to as the “Agreement”  is a legal contract between Nóra Békés, operating under trade names Studio Nóra Békés and Library of Narrative Types, registered under the address Korte Water 282, 1069GT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from now on referred to as “Nóra Békés” and you, the license buyer, from now on referred to as “You”. The Agreement governs the terms of use of the font software and the design of the typeface(s) that it contains, delivered with this Agreement, from now on referred to as “Fonts”. By downloading, accessing, installing or using the Fonts, You are agreeing to the terms of this Agreement.

Upon receipt of full payment of the applicable license fees, Nóra Békés grants you the limited, non-exclusive, non-transferrable right to use the Fonts in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. All rights not granted to you by this Agreement are expressly reserved by Nóra Békés.

You, as a license buyer, are the end user of the Fonts, on whose behalf the layouts or images are created by using the Fonts by yourself or a third party. In case of a design work commissioned to a third party (eg. graphic designer, typographer, web designer, UX/UI designer, advertising agency), the license buyer must be the commissioner. A designer, studio or agency may purchase the Fonts themselves if the intended use of the Fonts is self-initiated, self-commissioned or personal work, or if the Fonts are used by a third party on their behalf.

You, as the license buyer, may be the Licensed User of the Fonts, and/or you may designate a person or multiple people other than you as licensed user(s). Licensed users may be contractors, co-workers, collaborators, employees or direct family members of yours. Licensed users may exclusively use the fonts for the work performed on your behalf. Each licensed user must be aware of and comply with the terms of this Agreement.

Commercial License

The type of license you purchased is indicated on the purchase receipt, which serves as the proof of the license. Please preserve your receipt alongside with this Agreement for future reference.

A “Commercial License” permits the Licensed Users to download and use the full version of the Fonts, according to the chosen license type: a. Desktop License, b. Web License.

a. Desktop License

Desktop licenses are attributed per user. Each licensed user may install the font on maximum two devices of their own.

A Desktop License permits you to install the font on your computer and use it to create typographic layouts and/or incorporate it in static or moving images, using desktop publishing and image creating programs (such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Microsoft Word, GIMP, Blender, Scribus, etc.).

You may import the outlines of a limited set of glyphs from the Fonts into image creating programs, and modify or distort them as a graphic image.

You may embed outlines of the Fonts in documents such as PDF, distributed online or created for print, as long as the Fonts can not be extracted from the documents.

b. Website license

Website licenses are attributed per webpage (a homepage and any number of sub-pages available via the same main URL), according to the monthly number of visitors.

The default license options do not cover licensing for use and/or embedding in mobile applications, web applications, software game or e-books. If you wish to purchase a license for one of these uses, you need a special license agreement. For this, please get in touch with Nóra Békés via norabekes@gmail.com.

Trial Font License

A Trial Font license permits you to use Trial versions of the Fonts ("Trial Fonts") for preview and evaluation purposes. Trial Fonts may have a reduced character set, fewer or no OpenType features, limited support, and are available only in OTF (OpenType CFF) format.

You may use the Trial Fonts in the sketching phase of an assignment for a commercial client in order to present your concept. You may use the Trial Fonts in student projects, given that they are not performed as a commission by a third party.

You may post this work on social media, on the condition that you credit both Studio Nóra Békés and the name of the typeface within the post.

General restrictions

•You must take all reasonable precautions to ensure the Fonts are not accessible to unlicensed third parties. You may not upload or store the Fonts on online storage platforms or servers where they would be accessible to unlicensed third parties.

• You may not decompile, modify, reverse-engineer, reformat, alter, edit, or create derivative works of the Fonts or engage any third party to do so without prior written permission from Nóra Békés;

• You may not distribute, share, rent, lend, gift, sell, sublicense the Fonts or any copy thereof to any unlicensed third party;

• You may not transfer this Agreement or any of your rights hereunder to any third party.

• You may not use the Fonts in any explicitly political or religious context, or any context relating to cryptocurrency or the sale of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), without the prior written consent of Studio Nóra Békés;

• You may not use the Fonts in any violent, hateful or discriminatory context, or any context that is promoting the war industry or fossil fuels;

• You may not embed the Fonts, or the outlines hereof in software or other works distributed electronically without the express written permission by Nóra Békés and a corresponding upgraded license agreement.

• You may not use the fonts in any application in which an unlicensed third party could use them to create or custumize their own designs or create documents or images, such as online print-on-demand services without the express written permission by Nóra Békés and a corresponding upgraded license agreement.

Term

This Agreement is effective until terminated. The Agreement will be terminated automatically and without notice from Nóra Békés in case You breach any of its terms. In case of termination You are required to uninstall and delete all copies of the Fonts, alongside with all the files and documents that were delivered alongside the Fonts at purchase. You can terminate the Agreement any time and without giving notice to Nóra Békés by deleting all copies of the Fonts and documents delivered alongside with these. Changes on this Agreement may only be done by a bilateral written agreement.

Warranty and Liability

The Fonts sold by Nóra Békés are sold “as-is”. Nóra Békés will do her best to communicate the necessary information regarding the character set, language coverage, and any known technical restrictions of the Font at the moment they are offered for sale.

Nóra Békés warrants to have all the rights necessary to enter this Agreement, and that the font software does not breach the intellectual property rights of a third party.

Nóra Békés makes no warranties, express or implied, as to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or otherwise. Nóra Békés does not warrant the performance and result You may obtain by using the Fonts and accepts no liability thereto.

Nóra Békés shall in no event be liable to You or any other third party for any direct, indirect, consequential or incidental damages arising out of the use or inability to use the Fonts, even if notified in advance.

Under no circumstances shall Nóra Békés’ liability exceed the cost of the license you purchased. Nóra Békés shall have no responsibility for claims or damage which results from accident, misuse, misapplication or breach of this Agreement.

Should you encounter any issues, problems or lacks in the functionality of the Fonts that are not specified in the description of the Fonts at the moment of purchase, you may end the Agreement, delete the Fonts from all your devices and get your purchase reimbursed.

Legal

This Agreement governed by Dutch law. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the agreements made between You and Nóra Békés regarding the terms and conditions of the use of the Fonts, and supersedes any prior discussions and negotiations, whether verbal or in writing. In case part of the Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, this will not affect the validity of the rest of the document.