The Estimated typeface derives from a limited set of alphanumeric characters that accompanied the estimated sign (℮) at its introduction by the European Economic Community in July 1971.

While the symbol entered everyday use, the strange ornamental sans serif fell into obscurity. The uncredited schematic drawings approach blackletter capitals morphologically, but their naive execution leaves an uncanny impression. The numerals are simpler constructions, with rounded terminals drawing from industrial draft lettering. Alongside the obtuse ℮-mark and the alien-styled hexagon, the typeface appears less like the domain of gray bureaucracy, and more like the decals of an experimental Skunkworks project.

Estimated is a near-facsimile of the original source. Specifying side bearings and expanding the character set transports the alphabet out of its original bureaucratic context and into the digital realm.

Ideologically, the design springs from an era of post-war Modernism that championed the system of grids and neutral letterforms. Estimated’s uncomfortable astasis in the typographic format stems from its resistance to conform to this ordered aesthetic. Perhaps that is the clue to its enigmatic magnetism.