We are confident Meutas is a font we’ll be seeing a lot of very soon. This is the brilliant common object, the indispensable tool we take a closer look at and realize we are holding a work of art. Meutas can be broadly applied across a sprawling range of commercial, technical, and private mediums. It is ideal when the message is king and the font needs to support that by being clean, effective, and subtle. Meutas is ideal in that respect: simplicity and balance hum in a perfect union of Humanist and Geometric forms. Meutas consciously displays this balance, and its subtle power resides in avoiding visual excess. This is illustrative of designer Bagas Ardiatma’s personal philosophy: beauty resides in balance, the middle, in avoiding extremes.

A lifelong commitment is behind Meutas. Mr. Ardiatma earned his degree in graphic design—it is his calling. He enjoys all aspects of design and is a lifelong learner. He began his professional career in 2015, and his prolific output already reflects the wisdom and professionalism of a senior designer. He got his start by participating in design contests with his Trustha Studio, and began selling original logos shortly thereafter. The longer he works in design the more he loves it, and he’s constantly driven to try new things. His current areas of interest and expertise are logos and typefaces.

He designed his first font at the end of 2017 after intensifying his study of calligraphy and hand lettering. As his work proceeded, he became more determined to explore varied typefaces including scripts, handwritten, display, sans serif, and serif. Sans serif is his current favorite because it requires a trained eye and patience, qualities that Mr. Ardiatma humbly and effectively exercises from a foundation of tightly disciplined passion. At the same time, Mr. Ardiatma recognizes he has a lot to learn, always a good indicator of someone that already knows a lot.

In the mid-term, he is looking for ways to further integrate his interests in fonts and logos. And what logos they are. Like his font and philosophy, they are defined by balance and precision. They are concise and orderly, like a distinguished stamp that hits the bullseye on every page it graces. Have a look at some of them here. To note, Mr. Ardiatma mentioned some logo designers that he looks up to; however, after reviewing his logo portfolio we would respectfully suggest that it should perhaps be the other way around.

Mr. Ardiatma works mainly at night, but also at any hour when required. Although he works best in solitude and silence, he brings his collected observations with him, and everything he treasures from people, animals, nature, and his city inspires him. He is a reserved, incredibly focused designer: he takes such pleasure in his craft that he can work for days on end without leaving his home studio. When he needs a jolt of inspiration, a little punk rock does the trick, although he finds inspiration in all types of music.

When formulating ideas, Mr. Ardiatma first imagines a concept which he then “pours into a sketch,” a phrasing we especially liked, as we could envision ideas transforming into objects in real time. After that, he executes the sketch on GlyphsApp and goes from there. If necessary, he returns to the sketch and further builds out the idea. This formative period is almost always a nocturnal endeavor. And each time he completes a project, Mr. Ardiatma begins planning on how to perform even better the next time.

And that’s how we get Meutas, a type of font born to be everywhere: web, print, advertising, text and headers, posters, trade manuals, business documents and electronic communications. Meutas gets to do that, precisely because an idea was so carefully made real, with patience and artful restraint. Bagas Ardiatma’s methods are well reflected in its sensible perfection. So consider it for your next project, and let’s watch Mr. Ardiatma become one of those people that when you ask what they’ve done, they state the typographic equivalent of “I invented the hammer” or “I invented sidewalks.” Meutas is that kind of font, an everywhere typeface deserving of respect, just like Mr. Bagas Ardiatma, the modest and skilled designer who created it.

Meutas comes with 10 weights and a matching oblique for 20 styles overall. A selection of alternative glyphs provide additional attractive options.