Around the 1850s, a new typeface genre emerged, marked by pointed serifs and capitals of harmonized widths. It quickly evolved into an international phenomenon, with variants known by largely random names such as Latines in France, Renaissance- or Etienne-Schriften in Germany, Latin and Runic in England, as well as Celtic in the United States.

Apris is a contemporary typeface design that adopts several features of this genre, like a moderate stroke weight contrast distributed along a vertical axis. Most significantly, its serifs are concave. Stems and arms flare out into acute ends that, depending on their position, resemble trumpet bells or thorns. This sharp look is further enhanced by the shoulders that taper to a point, and by the long-drawn unseriffed terminals on which one could prick oneself. The italics follow the model of the inclined roman, optically corrected, but without any cursive or narrowed shapes. This decision is in line with historical precedents. Latines rarely had an italic, and when they did, slant was the only distinguishing trait. Typefaces of this genre were often all caps. For a present-day release, skipping the lowercase would be too limiting. Apris, however, does sport a large x-height, which ensures a similar compactness of the line band. The design is far from a stylistically pure revival anyway. Throughout the glyph set, one can find elements that seem inspired by other moments in the history of type and lettering. The asymmetrical A with its projecting roof, to name but one example, is a detail frequently found in German Mediäval and Antiqua typefaces from around 1910.

The original Latines were a popular choice for jobbing and titling purposes, and particularly common for cards and letterheads. Apris is suitable for a wider range of applications, in print and on screen. The family spans six weights from Thin to Black, with matching italics. Toward the lighter end, it can signal luxury and loftiness. Its medium cuts take on a more assertive voice. Especially when set in the evenly proportioned capitals, they acquire a self-evident quality familiar from shop signs, nameplates or memorial plaques. In the Bold and Black styles, Apris gets funkier and exhibits overtones of 1970s display typography. The fonts offer three alternate glyphs that can be accessed via Stylistic Sets: simpler monocular forms for a and g, and an R with pointed leg that doubles down on the 19th-century provenance.