Tip: Using FF Headz

FF Headz is the first typeface by designer and illustrator Florian Zietz. The concept for FF Headz is similar to the effect found in some children’s books, where pages are split into sections that can be grouped in unusual and humorous combinations. For example, a crocodile head from one page might be paired with an elephant body from another page to form a new creature, the “crocophant.”


During a rainy afternoon in Denmark, Zietz began to design rough drafts of heads with his eleven-year-old niece, Sophie, and his nephew Jakob (age nine). The creative team used a Euro coin as a template. With just a circle as the basic shape, they created hundreds of heads in a couple of days. These heads were later used as a basis for digitizing the font.

Every “complete” head in FF Headz is made up of four individual characters (upper part of the head, eyes and nose, mouth, and chin). The number of combinations that can be created is “ten to the fourth power (ten thousand),” says Zietz. A few of these variations can be seen below.

All variants of each of the four components can be found on the four keyboard rows: the upper parts of a head are placed on the number keys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0; eyes and noses can be found on e, r, t, u, i, E, R, T, U, I; mouths are on s, d, f, g, h, S, D, F, G and H; and chins lay on x, c, v, b, n, X, C, V, B and N. Have fun!