Reverse-contrast display typeface, in progress.

Origin

Gig poster for Tinks, Bella Quinlan, and Tom Lucey at The Fitzroy Pinnacle — lettered by hand in early Disco Cowboy forms, reverse-contrast block lettering on dark green.

It started as a sketch to promote a gig I was playing with friends. Reverse-contrast letterforms, blocky and western in structure. After the gig, the sketches kept going.

The flares came later: a diagonal connecting the stems of a capital N, flowing against the weight of everything around it. The cowboy is in the slab serifs. The disco is in the flare.

Development

James Edmondson's annotated critique of the Disco Cowboy alphabet, with handwritten notes in red marking specific letterforms and flagging conceptual issues.
Critique by James Edmondson, Oh No Type Co

The first digital cut came out of a lockdown type group: a handful of designers who had studied together at Old School New School of Lettering and Typography in Coburg, staying in touch through Veronica Grow's virtual meetups. Accountability to share something at each catch-up was enough to get the sketches into Glyphs.

The crit that shaped it most came from James Edmondson at Oh No Type Co, grabbed from an open calendar slot at 2am Melbourne time. The notes were detailed: weight distribution, colour consistency across the set, and a recurring observation that some characters were trying to do too much. The concept holds because of the tension, not despite it, but individual letters still have to work as letters. That crit recalibrated what done actually means.

Ampersand

Pencil sketches exploring the structural construction of the Disco Cowboy ampersand.
Further sketch development of the ampersand, including a filled study showing the resolved direction.

The sketches worked through weight distribution: how much curve before the glyph starts to tip. The resolved form holds its ground: upright, neither leaning in nor pulling back.

OUTLAW BOOGIE

Proof

Uppercase

Lowercase

Numerals

Punctuation

Uppercase

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Lowercase

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Numerals

0123456789

Punctuation

! @ # $ % & * ( ) . , : ; ? / \ — – -

Release

Coming July 2026.

Be first to know when Disco Cowboy drops.

FAQ

What is reverse contrast?
In a conventional typeface, thick strokes are vertical and thin strokes are horizontal. Reverse contrast flips this: the horizontals carry the weight and the verticals are thin. The effect is both graphic and legible, a deliberate subversion of the optical conventions most type takes for granted.
When is Disco Cowboy available?
July 2026. Sign up above to be first to know when it drops.
What will the licence include?
The same terms as Lonsdale: single user, commercial use included, up to 5 website domains and 5 app installs. One payment, lifetime updates. Full terms at tomlucey.com/licence.

Licence

  • Single user
  • Commercial use included: client work and personal projects
  • Up to 5 website domains
  • Up to 5 app installs
  • No subscription. One payment, lifetime updates.

Also in the catalogue

Lonsdale Bold — condensed display typeface drawn from Melbourne ghost signs, available now. View the full catalogue.

Credits