Description:

Honeysticks began in Aotearoa New Zealand with a simple goal: to make safer crayons for kids – using 100% natural beeswax and nothing nasty. Backed by NZTE, they’ve since become the #2 crayon brand in the world, second only to petroleum-based giant Crayola. Led by our overarching brand idea “A World of Pure Creation”, Honeysticks have positioned themselves as cheerful champions of creative play. To embody their imaginative and instinctive approach to self-expression, we created Type Bee: a custom typeface that effortlessly bottles the joys of being on your own creative buzz.

Like a kid with a crayon, Type Bee never quite goes where you expect it to. A family of nine different weights with a hive of whimsical alternates, Type Bee balances its functionality with proudly unconventional flourishes: exaggerated x-heights, circular bowls and hive-shaped curvature. It feels robust, radiant and always ready for mischief.

To best capture the spirit of Type Bee, we needed a specimen book that could showcase the vibrancy and versatility of the typeface, while seizing every opportunity for moments of play. Structured like a children’s picturebook, the Type Bee specimen is designed to both demonstrate and delight in equal measure. Each page invites the reader to engage with Type Bee like a child might – with peek-a-boo details, die-cuts, foldouts, hidden messages, and tactile surprises throughout.

The book’s craft is as bold and joyful as the type it contains. Just like the crayons themselves, this book has been proudly made in Aotearoa New Zealand, both printed and bound locally. The cover uses 2500um board wrapped in Cialiux Giallo 1543, a vivid Beeswax Yellow, and finished with silk-screened 045 Dunkelbraun ink. A tactile cloth texture immediately engages the senses. Inside, 288 pages are printed on IQ Sun Yellow 160gsm stock, with every spread set in the iconic Honeysticks Beeswax Yellow - evoking a solid slab of beeswax. All paper stocks are sustainably sourced and only one ink colour is used throughout, keeping the production simple and upholding Honeysticks’ commitment to sustainability.

The result is a type specimen that never colours within the lines. It’s not only a showcase of pure creativity, but a celebration of it – emboldening other designers, dreamers and dabblers to follow their own curiosity wherever it leads.