Although originally inspired by a wall lettering in a small chapel on Crete, Greece, the typeface changed considerably. Despite it's experimental character it works nicely in a text environment. Crete is perfect for display use where a feminine and elegant touch is desired.
The unusual serifs and terminals add to the graceful appearance in the Thin and provide a more robust feel in the Thick. Both weights are metrically interchangeable, so text will not reflow when mixed.
Crete Round has been added later and is more independent from the original styles with changed terminals and serifs to create two new fonts that deliver a more contemporary and functional appearance. Furthermore, the new styles proved to be surprisingly efficient for web use. They are available under the SIL Open Source License at Google Webfonts.
The accompanying Italics have several different lettershapes and therefore have, in some cases, their own widths. However, they sit comfortably next to the uprights. The names refer to the change in serif weight instead of increasing vertical stem widths.
Crete was selected as winner of the Granshan competition 2008 in the display type category.