Made for big type moments, CoType Foundry’s superfamily Lock is packed with a range of flavour

After more than two years in development, CoType Foundry has unveiled Lock, its first superfamily that blends precision with flexibility. Designed by Founder Mark Bloom and Lead Font Developer Diana Ovezea, Lock offers four distinct subfamilies – Serif, Serif Stencil, Sans, and Sans Stencil – each featuring six weights, glyph alternates, arrows, and other typographic treats. Since CoType Foundry’s inception in 2019, the team has focused on developing versatile typefaces for everyday use that designers can always rely on. With Lock, they wanted to do something different. “Lock was born out of the desire to offer versatility – a typeface that could be used across different projects and applications, while maintaining a cohesive and unique aesthetic,” explains Bloom. The result is a dynamic and cohesive humanist design that merges traditional calligraphic elements with modern industrialism, creating an expressive yet functional typeface that’s both adaptable and visually striking. One of the biggest design challenges in constructing Lock was balancing traditional serif forms with a modern, modular aesthetic while ensuring functionality across all styles. Bloom initially sketched the letterforms using a broad-nib pen to capture the natural contrast of thick and thin strokes. “I’m drawn to modular design and wanted to make a versatile family rooted in tradition, but one that also felt constructed and modern,” he says.