Chinese Rocks

Chinese Rocks captures the raw precision of hand-cut lettering from 20th-century export crates—practical, unpretentious, and built to endure. Its condensed forms pack words in tightly without sacrificing clarity, just as a shipping clerk’s stencil had to fit “FRAGILE” or “HANDLE WITH CARE” onto narrow wooden slats or cardboard panels. Each letterform bears the subtle irregularities of real knife-cut edges, the kind that catch ink unevenly and leave a faint, human signature in the print.

This is a typeface with the discipline of industry and the soul of craft. Its shapes are informed by the needs of quick marking on rough materials—wood, cardboard, burlap—but its adaptability goes far beyond the loading dock. In expanded or bold styles, it shouts like a theatre marquee; in condensed italic, it snaps like a protest placard. The family’s multiple weights and widths let you keep a consistent voice while adjusting volume to suit the job, whether you’re branding a survival gear line, designing a historical game interface, or crafting packaging that hints at journeys across oceans.

Unlike generic “grunge” faces, Chinese Rocks isn’t about adding random scratches—it’s about preserving the functional imperfection of a working tool. That’s why it reads so well at a distance and still feels authentic up close. It’s lettering with a job to do, and it’s just as ready to stamp your message on a gig poster as it is to headline a film set in a time of dust, steam, and heavy cargo.

When you need typography that works hard, looks tough, and carries a trace of the hand that made it, Chinese Rocks delivers—no polish required.