The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) is Austria’s leading provider of labour-market related services. In the course of a redesign of its wayshowing system we were commissioned to develop a bespoke type for the AMS. Following our suggestion, the typeface was called AMS Laborat (la:bo:rat, lat. he/she/it works).

In close coordiation with the signage experts of d-licious – who also developed the pictograms that were included in the type – we designed a typeface tailored to the use in the wayshowing system. For the application on signs, we developed variants of the typeface that appear equally bold when set in white on dark background, as when set dark on a bright background.

Taking the criteria that were set for the signage as starting point, we expanded the type family into a versatile multi-purpose design. The resulting bespoke typeface is marked by high legibility and clarity. A total of eight different styles for various uses were created.

AMS Laborat will be introduced gradually to the various applications within the organisation of the AMS. In a new service center constructed in Graz, AMS Laborat was first used for the wayshowing system.