Industry: Design

Typeface Design for Supermassive

Caps-only and built for maximum mass

Supermassive is a caps-only type family from Frere-Jones Type, designed by Tobias Frere-Jones with contributions from Rosie Mai, Fred Shallcrass, and Nina Stössinger. The family comprises three styles and draws on 1960s hand-lettering traditions. Its defining characteristics are superelliptical curves, extreme weight, and minimal counter spaces.

Set in Supermassive

Insights

The family is caps-only, with three styles.
Superelliptical curves distinguish it from both purely geometric and humanist models.
Minimal counters combined with extreme weight are cited formal characteristics.
Tobias Frere-Jones led the design with named contributions from three collaborators.