Tobias Frere-Jones

Frere-Jones is best known for designing Gotham, originally commissioned by GQ magazine, which later became famous as the typeface used in Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign signage. He also designed Interstate, inspired by U.S. highway signage, and Whitney, created for the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Frere-Jones and Jonathan Hoefler were partners at the type foundry Hoefler & Frere-Jones (H&FJ) from 1999 until 2014, when Frere-Jones filed a lawsuit alleging that Hoefler never followed through on an agreement to grant him a 50% ownership stake. The highly publicized legal dispute led to Frere-Jones leaving and founding his own foundry, Frere-Jones Type.

Frere-Jones studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he developed the foundational skills that would define his career in type design. He began designing typefaces professionally even before graduating, releasing his first commercial typeface while still in school.

Frere-Jones Type is Tobias Frere-Jones's independent type foundry, established in 2014 following his split from Hoefler & Frere-Jones. Based in New York, the foundry continues to license his existing typeface families and develops new designs.