Brda originally designed by the Polish designer Franciszek Otto for the Powiat weekly newspaper. Powiat needed a new, dynamically drawn sans serif for its headlines, and Otto's Brda fit the bill. Combining traditional Grotesk letterforms with witty subtleties, like the notched-joint seen in the capital G, Brda displays a novel design that works best when set large. The typeface is named after the Brda river, which runs through Bydgoszcz, Poland, the city where Powiat is published. The Brda family includes three weights, each with a companion italic: Regular, Bold, and Extra Bold. The Brda family's Extra Bold weight was one of the winners selected in the 2003 International Type Design Contest, sponsored by Linotype GmbH.Franciszek Otto also teaches graphic design at the Secondary Art School in Bydgoszcz, where his typefaces rank among the students' favorites.