What If Your Subtitles Could Express Emotion? With Frederik Merkel | The Typecast Episode 73

Send us Fan MailWhat if your subtitles could whisper or shout, just like the person speaking? That’s exactly what Frederik Merkel (aka Freddi) is building. We met Freddi at South by Southwest and were instantly blown away by his startup, Phont, which is developing expressive caption technology that analyzes audio and translates it into dynamic, emotionally-expressive subtitles. Think kinetic type but automated, accessible, and built for real content.In this episode, we dig into the full story: how Freddi went from finishing a master’s thesis in type design to co-founding a startup with no business experience and what it really takes to go from concept to product. We also get deep into the neuroscience side of things: synesthesia, aphantasia, the Ira Glass gap, and how understanding different brains perceive the world shaped Freddi’s research from the very beginning.All that and more when you listen to this episode:How Freddi’s master’s thesis became a startup ideaWhat expressive captions are and why they matterThe transition from type designer to co-founderHow Phont navigated public funding in GermanyBuilding demos without a parametric font (yet)The Phont Adobe plugin that’s coming soonSynesthesia research and how it shaped the font design processHow to support or pilot Phont right nowConnect with Frederik MerkelPhont: https://phont.ai/ Phont on IG: https://www.instagram.com/phont.official/ Freddi on IG: https://www.instagram.com/freddimerkuri/ Freddi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederik-merkel-design/ Mentioned in this episode:Phont: https://phont.ai/Michael Havakamp - Synesthetic DesignMelanie Scheer - AphantasiaOHno Type CompanyConnect with Katie & Ilana from GoodtypeGoodtype WebsiteGoodtype on InstagramGoodtype on YoutubeWe wrote a book! Grab a copy and sign up to access the audiobook when we release it!Love The Typecast and free stuff? Leave a review, and send a screenshot of it to us on Slack. Each month we pick a random reviewer to win a Goodtype Goodie! Goodies include merch, courses and Kernference tickets!Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the showTag us on Instagram @GoodtypeFollow us on Tiktok @lovegoodtypeLearn from Katie and IlanaGrab your tea, coffee, or drink of choice, kick back, and let's get down to business!