TL;DR
Nexa Slab is Fontfabric’s major 2026 update to its slab-serif companion to Nexa (originally designed by Founder & CEO Svet Simov in 2013). Designers Ani Dimitrova and Ivelina Martinova reworked the full Latin character set, refined core characters, and polished spacing and optical balance across all weights, plus added small caps and expanded symbols. The new version keeps Nexa’s circular, geometric DNA but adds square, unbracketed slab serifs for more display presence. The family spans 27 styles with full Cyrillic support, including distinct Bulgarian forms, and pairs well with Nexa Sans for building typographic hierarchy.
A Reliable Geometric Companion
From the very beginning, Fontfabric has been finding inspiration in the intersection of pure geometry and letterform. That pursuit gave rise to Nexa – a clean, circle-based sans-serif that became our best-selling typeface. Originally designed in 2013 by Svet Simov, our Founder and CEO, it has earned its rightful place in airports, brand campaigns, and editorial layouts across the globe.
But as Nexa grew, so did the questions around it. What happens when you need the same geometric DNA in a setting that demands a little more presence, when the words need to stand their ground?
Enter Nexa Slab. Intended as a deliberate companion to Nexa, Svet drew inspiration for this font family from the same foundational vocabulary – precise square proportions, low stroke contrast, friendly rounded counters, while reaching into the rich tradition of classic geometric slab serifs: Rockwell, Lubalin Graph, Memphis. The new family quickly found its place among its relatives.
But still something was missing. Fast forward to the beginning of 2026, when the idea of an update started brewing among the team. The result, carefully crafted by Ani Dimitrova (Senior Typeface Designer) and Ivelina Martinova (Typeface Designer), is something that feels simultaneously familiar and distinct. Let’s see how the updated Latin glyphs and the Cyrillic forms came to life.
The Weight of an Update
Releasing a significant update to an established typeface carries its own particular tension. The challenge is not simply technical, it’s more about honoring the expectations of thousands of people who have built work around the existing version, while still pushing the design forward in ways that matter.
“Releasing a sequel to the initial bundle has always been on the cards since it’s one of our oldest and most successful products. I’ve received many requests for slight changes throughout the years, and it feels great to finally address a significant part of them.” – Svet Simov
For Nexa Slab, that tension manifested in a comprehensive review of every Latin glyph in the family. We asked Ivelina exactly what had changed. “As part of the update, we expanded the character set, improved proportions, refined details, and polished the overall style to achieve greater consistency across weights. As part of the redesign process, we also revisited several key structural characters in the family. One of the most significant changes was the redesign of the letter K, whose structure influences a number of related forms across both the Latin and Cyrillic scripts. Refining this letter allowed us to improve the consistency of the underlying skeleton across the system.
We also refined several core characters such as A, M, X, Z, S, and Q, adjusting their proportions, angles, and rhythm to achieve better visual balance and a more cohesive relationship within the family.
Subtle refinements to spacing, stroke consistency, and optical balance were made across all weights – the kind of changes that a user may never consciously notice, but that make the difference between typography that settles comfortably on the page and typography that quietly irritates. Newly drawn Latin glyphs, a full set of small capitals, and an expanded symbol library round out the Latin update.”
Lesson learned – never underestimate the scope of a font update.
The Design Process
Every proportion, every curve tension, every junction must have to be reconsidered in light of the added horizontal weight. The goal was to maintain the overall rhythm that makes Nexa immediately legible at small sizes while ensuring the slab variant carries enough authority to hold its own at display scale.
“Our goal wasn’t to create something entirely new, but rather to refine the original design. The concept behind the updated version was to preserve the character of the typeface while improving the balance and details of the letterforms, resulting in a more even texture in text.” – Ani Dimitrova
Nexa Slab retains the circle as its underlying skeleton – visible in the open counters of the ‘o’, the generous bowls of ‘b’ and ‘d’, the even tension of rounded letters. Where the sans-serif version uses clean, terminal-free strokes, Nexa Slab introduces square, unbracketed serifs that reinforce the geometric premise rather than contradict it.
Built with Versatility in Mind
True versatility in type design means performing well across contexts that have nothing in common. Nexa Slab was deliberately built as a typeface that a designer should be able to reach for in editorial layouts, brand identity systems, packaging, wayfinding, and extended reading environments without ever feeling like they are asking the font to do something it was not made for.
The Nexa Slab Font Family is a well-balanced collection of 27 styles. In addition to Upright, it delivers three more distinct style directions – Nexa Slab, Nexa Slab Italic, and Nexa Slab Oblique. It’s a well-rounded typographic system that provides an easy shift from formal to dynamic without leaving the family.
Expanding into Cyrillic
One of the defining commitments of Fontfabric since its founding has been the promotion of high-quality Cyrillic typefaces, and in particular, the development of Bulgarian Cyrillic – a form of the script with its own distinct letterforms that differs meaningfully from the Russian standard.
On top of supporting more than 150 Latin languages, the extended Cyrillic support of Nexa Slab now covers not only the major Cyrillic-script languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian) but includes the localized Bulgarian forms that the foundry considers a cornerstone of its identity. The Cyrillic glyphs were drawn with the same attention to geometric structure and counter clarity that defines the Latin letters, ensuring that documents mixing both scripts maintain visual consistency throughout.
In Search of Inspiration: An Interview with the Designers
We sat with Ani and Ivelina to learn more about the whole process of creating Nexa Slab.
Can you introduce yourself?
A: I’m a type designer and I was part of the team that worked on Nexa Slab — a project focused on refining an existing typeface and adapting it to contemporary standards of readability and usability.
I: Hi, I’m Iva, a typeface designer at Fontfabric. I specialize in creating and developing contemporary typeface families that balance functionality, visual harmony, and a distinctive character. My work focuses on building versatile typographic systems that perform reliably across a wide range of contexts — from branding and editorial design to digital environments — while maintaining consistency, clarity, and a strong visual identity.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the font creation process?
A: One of the biggest challenges was improving the typeface without losing its original identity. It was also important to ensure that all styles remained consistent with each other.
I: One of the main challenges was preserving the geometric sans-serif DNA of Nexa while introducing slab-serif characteristics. We aimed to maintain the recognizable Nexa identity while giving the typeface a stronger, more robust presence and ensuring high readability.
Achieving this balance required careful work on proportions, spacing, optical balance, and overall rhythm. The goal was to ensure that the design remained consistent with the rest of the family while developing its own distinct and confident personality.
How do you envision Nexa Slab being used by designers in the creative industry? What would be the best implication for Nexa Slab in terms of usability?
A: I see Nexa Slab as a versatile slab serif, suitable for both headlines and branding, as well as for longer texts. Thanks to its improved readability and more even rhythm, the typeface can be confidently used across web, editorial design, posters, and visual identities. One of its strengths is the balance between character and functionality.
I: Nexa Slab is particularly well suited for branding, editorial design, posters, and digital interfaces where a strong and confident typographic voice is essential. Its geometric structure and solid presence make it especially effective for headlines, visual identities, and clear and impactful communication.
It can also be paired with Nexa Sans to create dynamic typographic systems, enabling designers to build clear typographic hierarchy and distinctive visual expression while maintaining consistency across a project.
Did other fonts inspire you in the design process of Nexa Slab?
A: We were guided more by the Nexa family as a whole and its internal logic rather than by specific other typefaces. We focused on optimizing the existing forms and proportions instead of introducing external influences.
I: While the design is primarily driven by the internal logic of the Nexa system, we were naturally aware of the broader tradition of geometric slab typefaces that emphasize clarity, structure, and strong visual presence. However, our main objective was to reinterpret these principles through the established visual language of Nexa and integrate them seamlessly into the superfamily.
If Nexa Slab were a person, what qualities would they possess?
A: I’d say Nexa Slab is a confident, grounded, and modern person — with a clear presence, but without being aggressive. It has character, while remaining approachable and practical.
I: Nexa Slab would be a confident and distinctive personality — modern, reliable, and highly recognizable. It would feel structured and rational, yet expressive, with a clear voice and a strong contemporary presence.
And lastly, do you have any set of characters that you favor most?
A: I especially like the letterforms of the Bulgarian Cyrillic, such as “в”, “з”, “ц”, and “щ”.
I: I particularly enjoy working on characters such as a, c, g, к , s and A, C, K M, S, R , X, as they clearly reveal the balance between geometry and expression in the design. These forms demonstrate how the slab construction interacts with Nexa’s proportions and play a key role in defining the overall character of the typeface.
A Never-ending Story
“Work on Nexa will likely never stop — by now it has a life of its own, and we will continue developing it in the years to come.” – Svet Simov
What Nexa Slab represents, is a typeface that has grown alongside the practice of type design itself. Its geometric origins remain intact. Its expanded language support reflects the foundry’s ongoing commitment to multilingual typographic quality. And its variable architecture positions it squarely in the future of how type is used and distributed. It may be a companion to Nexa, but Nexa Slab has long since established its own identity.
