# ‘I am a writer who wanted to be a painter’: Tobias Frere-Jones on the creative mash-up that led him to typeface design > HelixNews · Web page: https://helixnews.one/story/901208 · All pages for agents: https://helixnews.one/llms.txt 1 outlet covering · First listed: Fast Company, Nov 11, 2026, 5:30 AM · Read it: Tobias Frere-Jones has designed typefaces for clients like Martha Stewart Living, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Carnegie Hall, Stacey Abrams, Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral office, the American Civil Liberties Union, New York City Football Club, and many more. Years ago, a friend of his asked him what he thought what letters are made of. Frere-Jones’s answer came quickly and in a single word: negotiation. As a culture, we agree that letters take a certain shape and carry specific meaning, says Frere-Jones. Running his own typeface foundry in… ## Who's covering it In the order they published: - Nov 11, 2026, 5:30 AM: [‘I am a writer who wanted to be a painter’: Tobias Frere-Jones on the creative mash-up that led him to typeface design]() — Fast Company (Magazine, United States) Tobias Frere-Jones has designed typefaces for clients like Martha Stewart Living, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Carnegie Hall, Stacey Abrams, Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral office, the American Civil Liberties Union, New York City Football Club, and many more. Years ago, a friend of his asked him what he thought what letters are made of. Frere-Jones’s answer came quickly and in a single word: negotiation. As a culture, we agree that letters take a certain shape and carry specific meaning, says Frere-Jones. Running his own typeface foundry in…