Custom Wordmark and Typeface for SMCC
Why does a payments company need a custom Latin typeface?
Pentagram developed a bespoke wordmark and Latin-script typeface family for Japanese card and payments company SMCC. The Headline and Text styles use subtle humanist details and forward movement to pair with the company’s selected Japanese typeface, with a special logo weight for card-product wordmarks.
Insights
- SMCC’s brand overhaul was largely built in-house, while Pentagram was brought in specifically to create the custom font system—named SMCC Neue in the CEO Design Office article.
- Pentagram developed a bespoke wordmark plus a Latin-script typeface family for Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, with Headline and Text styles, three weights each, and a special logo weight for card-product wordmarks.
- The design intent was to combine institutional trust with the ease and positivity of digital banking; Pentagram describes the letterforms as a balanced grotesque with subtle humanist strokes and forward movement.
- The Latin system was designed to echo the company’s selected Japanese typeface, Tazugane Gothic, especially through calligraphic details that create visual continuity across scripts.
- The Text style strips back some stylistic features to improve character distinction and legibility, and the system is meant to work across digital UI, corporate materials, advertising, and product wordmarks.
1 / 11Swipe