“In 1999, the Japanese architect Masahiro Nakamura digitised the official Swiss norm SN 640 869 Bodenpfeile und Bodenschriften (‘arrows and typefaces for the ground’) in the context of his research on the use of ‘official type’ in the public sphere. Lineto published a basic early version as LL Asphalt in 1999, and after suggesting formal variations and extensions to the font, Cornel Windlin proposed it for the exhibition graphics and catalogue design of Hypermental – Delusional Reality, curator Bice Curiger’s opulent thematic group show at Kunsthaus Zürich in 2000.
The extremely condensed letter-shapes, constructed so as to appear regular to the eye of a car driver at a certain speed, seemed a perfect example for artistic creations that assume their true shape only in the mind of the viewer. Unfortunately, Cornel’s project for Hypermental did not materialise at the time, but a rudimentary version of Masahiro’s LL Asphalt was later featured in the British compendium Type 1: Digital Typeface Design (Laurence King, 2002), where it was offered to readers as a complimentary font on the accompanying CD.” – Lineto

Revisited and expanded by Weichi He as LL Pirelli (Lineto, 2021).