The word Cardium comes from the Greek word for heart. Used alone, it denotes the heart’s protective region. It also refers to the Cardium Formation, an oil and natural gas area of Canada, and it denotes Cardium Pottery, a signature of the Neoloithic era. In 1758 the common cockle, an edible clam, was given the binomial Cardium edule by Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy.

In 2021, Cardium is a hard-working 54-font modern geometric sans from Yellow Design Studio. It’s versatile, clean, legible, and slightly dissident. It’s an artistic type with a tough outer layer, precisely in the Cardium tradition of hard shale relinquishing oil, the soft clam’s protective shell, and the heart’s muscular walls. The fat capital C hooks tightly, leaving just a small entrypoint for invaders; the fat italic has a firm bounce, resilient when dropped from heights; the fine italic is delicate yet hints at metallic strength.

Cardium suggests a steelworker or miner hopping on the bus after a tough shift, putting on a surprisingly delicate pair of spectacles, and opening up a book by Robert Musil—a hardworking font with a touch of style and plenty of reserve smarts. That’s Cardium. Functional and hardworking with just the right amount of warmth and cool to inspire trust and evoke competence.