Typeface Design for a Modular Pan-European Display Family

Two cuts, one concept: strict geometry vs. Renner's optical tuning

LL Supremus is a geometric modular stencil typeface designed by Pablo Desportes at Lineto between 2021 and 2023, first released in 2024, with font engineering by Alphabet, Berlin. It serves as a graphic companion to LL Supreme (2020), matching its metrics while drawing on 1920s modular stencil precedents including Futura Black, Albers' Bauhaus experiments, and a film-poster lettering by Malevich. The family ships in two cuts—A and B—distinguished by stencil bridge width and degree of optical correction, and extends to Cyrillic and Greek, each script developed with the guidance of specialist advisors.

Set in LL Supremus

Insights

Supremus-A uses a 22-unit stencil bridge for bold geometric impact; Supremus-B widens it to 44 units and applies Renner's curvature concept for headline use down to smaller sizes.
Cyrillic development was advised by Viktoriya Grabowska; Greek by Irene Vlachou.
Schmuck ornaments were adapted from original Futura foundry type donated by Paul Renner to the La Cambre printshop in Brussels, where Desportes studied graphic design.
Manual kerning is based on multiples of 11 units, maintaining optical balance across extreme geometric letter combinations.