Effective communication sometimes demands that the words themselves, and their visual presentation, fade into the background to allow the message to take center stage. Typeface design, in this respect, is a delicate balance. While some fonts are crafted to capture attention, others are designed to go unnoticed, enabling readers to absorb content effortlessly. True reading occurs when the reader becomes unaware of the letters themselves and engages solely with the information they convey.

Mae was carefully designed to embody this principle of near invisibility. It reduces visual friction, allowing the message to flow seamlessly to the reader. By being seen without being noticed, Mae becomes a versatile typographic tool, delivering content with maximum clarity.

The letterforms of the family are understated but never dull. Mae features clean shapes defined by a generous x-height, wide counters, and open apertures. Curved strokes taper softly where shoulders meet stems, balancing its humanistic qualities with a rational, timeless appearance.

These features guarantee that Mae remains highly readable in every condition, from the smallest text printed on poor-quality paper to bold, commanding headlines. They also make Mae particularly well-suited for digital applications such as user interfaces and ebooks. Stylistic sets provide alternate letterforms to improve legibility, differentiating often-confused characters: a capital I with slab serifs, a semi-serif lowercase i and l, or a rounded lowercase y designed to complement the lowercase g.

Mae is available in nine weights, ranging from delicate Thin to robust Black. In the heaviest styles, truncated diagonals prevent spacing issues when text is set tightly. This spectrum allows precise weight selection for any design need, while also compensating for backlit or knockout text. Each weight is paired with a true italic—never just an oblique—ensuring that emphasis within continuous text appears refined and elegant.

The typeface includes an expansive character set of more than a thousand glyphs. It supports Latin Extended character set and offers numerous extras: circled numerals, numerals in cartridges, superior and inferior letters and numbers, currency symbols, arrows, pointing hands, playing-card suits, boxes, and check marks.

Mae is the quintessential all-in-one typographic solution, capable of meeting even the most demanding design challenges without ever distracting from the message. It demands nothing, asks no questions, and works quietly, yet diligently, on your behalf.