KTF Roman is an extended version of the original KTF Metro Roman, developed as part of the Kyiv Metro Fonts bundle. The family includes Roman, Outline, Shadow, BlackWhite, and Color styles. KTF Metro Roman was created in the summer of 2023 during a workshop with Kyiv Type Foundry students and became a springboard for its further development. The design is based on Kyivmetropojekt’s unique archive of technical drawings, provided by metro historian Oleh Totsky*, as well as photographs of the original metal letters installed in the Kyiv Metro’s Red Line stations during their construction in the 1960s.
The author of these letters remains unknown, though they were most likely drawn by an architect**. This project is dedicated to the craft of anonymous architects whose lettering for buildings quietly shaped the city’s visual landscape.
The initial style translated the letters into flat graphic forms without conveying the physical volume of the metal originals. Yevgen Anfalov and Anna Kovalenko later revealed their spatial character, expanding the design into a full type family through a series of three-dimensional interpretations.
The Outline style emphasises structural outline strokes, revealing the construction of each letterform. BlackWhite conveys dimensionality through an imagined play of light, dividing each letter into illuminated and shadowed planes. The Shadow style presents solid letterforms casting sharp shadows, recalling the visual effect of raised metal signage. By using vibrant colour contrasts, the Color style creates a patchwork-like play of surfaces, transforming the original forms into something entirely new.
KTF Roman reinterprets the cast metal lettering of the Kyiv Metro as a contemporary display family. Its Outline, Shadow, BlackWhite, and Color styles expand its expressive range, while an extensive ligature set introduces joined constructions inspired by the engraved lettering of memorial plaques, tombstones, and architectural inscriptions. The family supports both timeless tschicholdian design gestures and expressive, celebratory applications.
*Oleh Totsky is a Ukrainian researcher and photographer known for his in-depth documentation of the Kyiv Metro. His work focuses on stations, tunnels, and technical infrastructure areas that are typically inaccessible to the public.
**In Totsky’s findings, an interesting detail emerges: archival documents include technical drawings of metal letters used in metro signage, outlining their construction, proportions, and dimensions. Alongside this, a 1963 copy of a drawing from Lenmetroproekt (a Soviet research, design, and engineering institute responsible for metro planning and construction) specifies cast letterforms at a fixed height of 18.5 cm, further illustrating how Cyrillic signage was standardized.