The Sackers Gothic design is based on one of the foundations of written, Western text - Roman square capitals. Used primarily for public communications and display, square capitals are found on countless historic architectural sites, including the Pantheon and Trajan’s Column. The type design was engraved into stone monuments, building facades, and placards and often filled with bronze.

In 1994, the Monotype Design Studio set out to revise the Roman square capital for modern print. Unlike the classic Roman capitalis monumentalis, the Sackers Gothic design is a sans serif version. It does, however, bear the same marked contrast between thick and thin strokes, and the same strident, sharp square form its predecessor. The angled serifs which were so characteristic of Roman square capitals, are of course missing in this typeface, creating a softer form, while retaining the stability of the original.

As a majuscule typeface, with its lack of lower case characters and its square form, the Sackers Gothic design is highly adaptable to logo or design use, or in social communications, such as invitations or announcements. One of its most famous iterations in modern media is as the logo and branding typeface for fashion designer Marc Jacobs.