Typography is one of the most vital aspects of a design, and it has been around since the 11th century. It is more than choosing a pretty font - it is a deciding factor in which a viewer pays attention to your design or scrolls past it.
Just like anything else, typography trends follow what people have evolved to like. Let's take a look at them.
Typography Trends
Serif fonts were tossed out because they were "outdated", but in brands are starting to use them again. Classic serifs are "delicate" and more elegant, making them popular for brands geared towards women.
Fonts of the past are beginning to rise in popularity. Meg Reid at 99Designs has seen fonts from the 80's make a comeback to provide people with a sense of nostalgia, perhaps due to the popularity of the series Stranger Things.
Custom, handmade fonts are also rising in popularity among brands. Those rustic, "DIY" feel logos add a personal touch to a company's branding.
Rounded sans-serif fonts are being employed a lot more than people realize. They're easy to read thanks to how simple they are, while still offering a modern feel.
Within typefaces and fonts, we are seeing a lot of inspiration from previous decades. It seems people are favoring a sense of nostalgia when it comes to branding, perhaps due to the personal touch it can add. These throwback typefaces and fonts can establish a personal connection with the viewer, making them feel more compelled to pay attention to the design.
COLOR TRENDS
Along with throwback fonts coming back, a lot of color schemes from previous decades are being used as well. Vintage color schemes from the past offer a soft and simple feeling to typography. 80's color schemes are eye-catching and make designs pop out.
Gradients are becoming popular as well. They are typically used with thicker typefaces to help the text stand out against backgrounds, as well as to accent them.
Colored text, in general, are being favored more than the simple black and white color scheme. Colors add more visual interest and therefore catch the attention of viewers more.
We are seeing a lot of color being used in different ways as opposed to a neutral color scheme. Colors are being strategically used to let the text stand out from the background to grab the viewer's attention even more.
Material and texture trends
Layering effects help make typography stand out and look less flat. Cutouts may be used to let the background show through the letters, and overlays allows for text to still be read over the background.
TikTok is an app that has blown up within the past two years, and its signature logo features a glitch effect. The popularity of glitchy text may stem from TikTok, and it provides a playful and fun effect.
Artistic typography is also becoming popular, utilizing patterns and shapes to form letterforms.
In terms of textures and materials, we are seeing a lot of playful typography. All of these trends are experimental and whimsical, but still grab our attention.
self-assessment
What was the most challenging part of creating your piece, and why? The most challenging part about this was finding images that reflected the trends I was researching. It was hard to find ones that really resonated with my understanding of the trend.
If you could do your creation over or improve parts of it, what would you do differently? I definitely want to add more content to it and make it more my style, since I used a template.
If you could learn a new skill or tool instantly, what would you choose to learn and why? I would want to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to their fullest potentials because I feel like I only know the surface. These are tools I know I'm going to be using a lot later in life because of where I want to go in my career.
What would you say to someone else who wanted to create something similar? I would tell someone to plan ahead. I think it's important to plan out your research, your writing, and I think planning out the layout of the moodboard makes it much easier.
Sources
- CareerFoundry https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ui-design/beginners-guide-to-typography/#2-why-is-typography-important
- DesignsHack https://designshack.net/articles/typography/typography-trends-2018/#:~:text=overall%20as%20well.-,While%20there%20was%20a%20lot%20of%20black%20and%20white%20text,on%20the%20words%20in%20color.
- 99Designs https://99designs.com/blog/trends/font-trends
- Graphic Mama https://graphicmama.com/blog/graphic-design-trends-2020/#typography-design-trend
Credits:
Created with an image by Micah Boswell - "Old Journal"