Comment by yuubi

Letter shapes usually have curves a bit more complicated (in the sense of "how many parameters do I have to write down to reproduce it?") than this typeface. It feels like it's made of straight segments and ellipses, and all the strokes are uniform width and have round ends.

Also, the 'a' and 't' look like the kindergarten versions instead of the more usual two-story 'a' and 't' with some sort of curve at the bottom.

Most of this is almost certainly driven by the context this typeface was designed for. The simple shapes probably come from usability considerations for the lettering machine: the user had to trace each stroke in the template by hand. The uniform stroke weight and rounded ends come from how the engraving tool worked: basically a drill bit you drag sideways.

The curves are probably that way because there was a fashion for "modern" shapes a while back, which meant roughly "describable with a simple formula and few parameters"

We're accustomed to typefaces that were designed for use in movable type, where variable stroke weights and end shapes are basically free.