Monotype has announced the widespread availability of the SST typeface, which was originally designed in exclusive partnership with the creative department of Sony Corporation to be used on a global scale. Sony's exclusivity period has ended, so the typeface is now available for licensing.
The SST typeface is an original design built on solid typographic traditions. It combines the organic readability of humanist sans serif designs with the sharp geometrics of neo-grotesque styles, providing a balance of legibility and usability across a wide range of environments. It is nimble and impactful - both easy to read in its smaller sizes, like on a smartphone screen, and in larger form factors like billboards and event signage. These attributes are consistent across the languages covered by the SST typeface, making it a versatile, technical and elaborate type design.
"Global brands have long struggled to find a brand identity that can help them carry a harmonious and appropriate tone of voice across multiple languages and geographies," said Akira Kobayashi, Type Director, APAC, at Monotype. "The SST typeface is consistently rich and legible and was designed with the purpose of making a brand experience memorable and uniform, without being too flashy. As a part of our design remit at Monotype, we are focused on creating global designs that have both staying power and the ability to tell a consistent story, no matter what language is being used to tell it."
SST is globally scalable; under Akira's direction, 10 local typeface designers focused on specific languages, taking into account cultural and stylistic requirements; the typeface was then translated and used to guide the design of each font; the result is that the SST typeface covers 93 languages.