Choosing the right display font for your headers is one of the most powerful ways of setting the tone for your entire project. Whether the pieces you’re designing are print or digital, making an impact is always important. However, many of the most successful fonts are both impactful and nuanced.
Often, the brand or campaign you’re designing for will have a layered message. In today’s economy, many organisations have cutting edge and traditional aspects they want to convey. Because of this, many of the fonts in our list combine a retro feel – often a mid-century vibe – with a contemporary finish.
To assemble this list, we talked to practicing designers in branding, packaging, digital campaigns and publishing, and surveyed trend reports and sales. Our list reflects both what’s popular and what’s inspiring designers right now. As in any area of creativity, fonts are a subjective topic, but we reckon at least one or two of the following will hit the mark with you and help you in your work. Some are available asRecoleta is a very popular typeface at the moment and it’s not hard to see why.
Greycliff CF is a sans serif font with all the crisp legibility of old school modernist typography but none of its cold rigidity. Generous in x-height and width, Greycliff nonetheless has very short ascenders and descenders. This is a font with an air of mid-century optimism that feels contemporary thanks to corners that have been sanded smooth for easy living. In spite of this, it still feels industrial, rugged and durable – ready for anything you throw at it.