Typeface Design for Lineto

Futura reconstructed from concept, not copy

LL Supreme is a geometric sans-serif designed by Arve Båtevik for Lineto, released in 2020 with font engineering by Alphabet, Berlin. It originated from a 2004 Vitra project in which Cornel Windlin and Laurenz Brunner developed a single Medium cut aimed at a crisper, more geometric rendering of Futura, later expanded to five weights as VFutura. When Arve Båtevik joined Lineto and was tasked with adding italics, he instead proposed redrawing the romans entirely from first principles—treating Renner's geometric concept, not any existing version, as the starting point. Each weight was drawn individually rather than interpolated, and historical stylistic alternates were included as references to Futura's lineage.

Set in LL Supreme

Insights

The project traces directly to a 2004 Vitra commission, giving it a sixteen-year development arc before the 2020 release.
Arve Båtevik studied original Renner drawings alongside 1925 drafts and 1927 Bauer metal types to define letter-group curves and join solutions weight by weight.
Rejecting interpolation, each of the five roman cuts was drawn independently, resulting in per-weight identity rather than a mechanically derived family.
Historical stylistic alternates were added as a homage to Renner's daring spirit and elegance, and as a reference to the typeface's history.