Other · Designer
Being radically simple and app-first has always been fraenk’s strength. But it wasn’t enough on its own and no longer future proof as competitors began to catch up.
In the meantime, a different quality had started to define fraenk: their strong sense of community.
The logo isn’t the hero anymore. Type is.
Picture the ‘æ’ as two letters giving each other a warm hug.
It already does the work of simplicity.
They are there to bring moments of joy into an otherwise fairly simple design.
Because the wordmark and the customised font are drawn from the same forms, the identity now speaks through the type itself.
Hamburg-based Make Studio refreshed the identity for fraenk, Deutsche Telekom’s app-only discounted mobile tariff, to increase awareness and build emotional connection beyond price. The system reframes fraenk as “spectacularly simple,” led by a strengthened æ ligature, a bespoke adaptation of Displaay’s Greed typeface, expanded yellow use, and playful illustrations by Ronja Overländer. The relaunch reportedly increased brand perception by more than 30% among people familiar with fraenk and more than doubled willingness to recommend it.
The article is an in-depth interview with TypeMates founders Lisa Fischbach, Nils Thomsen, and Jakob Runge about their growth as a remote German type foundry. They discuss their collaborative process, the redesign of their website, and their evolving type library, including custom and variable font projects. The conversation highlights their philosophy of being approachable 'typographic mates' and their focus on innovation in type design.