The biggest font trends to look out for in 2025

No one wants to be seen as a follower of trends. We all want to be seen as individuals, ploughing our own paths and pursuing our own creative vision.

But let's get real. We don't exist in a vacuum, and we all need to be aware of what's happening culturally around us. That doesn't mean you should ape it, and it's perfectly fine to ignore it altogether if you've really thought it through. But at the same time, you need to make an informed decision, not one forged by ignorance.

So, every year, we gather intelligence from creative leaders to inform you about the latest typography trends bubbling up within the industry. As 2024 turns into 2025, we've got a lot to tell you about, from the resurgence of serifs to the rise of imperfect letterforms.

Read on to discover how designers and brands alike are set to navigate the complex terrain of typography in 2025, balancing functionality with flair and tradition with innovation. Alternatively, if it's specific font recommendations you're looking for, head to our article 50 fonts that will be popular with designers in 2025.

The return of the serif

It's undeniable we've seen an explosion of sans serif typography over the past year, if not the last decade. But every action has an equal but opposite reaction. And Beth Vizard-Overbury, senior designer at Outlaw, predicts a resurgence of serif typefaces in 2024.

There are signs of this happening already, she believes. "With recent trends reflecting on brand's histories and evoking nostalgia, serif type has naturally resurfaced," says Beth. "Looking back on 2024, Dairy Milk's limited-edition bars celebrating their 200th anniversary showcased iconic designs that demonstrated how serif typography can stand out on the shelf next to sans serif logos."

Going forward, she sees an increasing role for "minimal yet impactful customised serifs", creating a middle ground between classic and modern. "I've started to notice contemporary brands shifting toward this trend, but with a slight edge," she says. "Contemporary serif typefaces are being modernised by increasing weights, experimenting with beaks, cross strokes, descenders, and more, which I'm sure will continue throughout 2025.

Pushback against sans serifs

Grant Mitchell, creative director at Design by Future, certainly hopes she's right. "As we look ahead to 2025, I hope that designers might start pushing back against the homogenisation of sans serifs that has dominated in recent years," he explains. "The trend towards oversimplified typography, especially in major brand logos, has led to designs that, while clean and minimal, often lack distinct personality and character. Logos have been stripped down to the point where they risk becoming indistinguishable from one another."

He has a point. In a digital landscape where inspiration is just a scroll away, it's always easy for designers and typographers to draw from the same influences, resulting in a uniformity of style. As Grant puts it: "Social media feeds filled with similar visuals have become a shared well from which many are drinking."

He hopes that, moving forward, creatives will break free from this cycle of similarity. "The opportunity is ripe for designers to deviate from this well-trodden path, stop following trends blindly and embrace a more experimental approach to typography, when and where appropriate," says Grant. "By exploring unique letterforms and pushing the boundaries of type design, creatives can foster a more human authentic way to communicate visually with their audiences.

"Typography has always been more than just a tool for legibility," he adds. "It's a means of expression. In 2025, I hope we see a return to this idea, where individuality, craftsmanship and experimentation come to the forefront, offering a refreshing contrast to the uniformity we've grown accustomed to."

The rise of variable fonts

James Clarke, design director at Bandstand, believes that the big story of recent years has been the rise of custom type, and it's a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. "In 2025, I think we'll see a continuation of typefaces with personality being adopted by big brands as they strive to convey ever more personality and quirk through their comms," he says.

Because of this, he predicts not only the continuing rise of variable fonts but also an expansion of "ones which allow dialling up or down the details within the face itself; not just limited to width, weight or skew".

He offers up Marbla as a good example of this. "In its simplest form, it's a clean sans serif, but when dialled up, its glyphs become characterful balloon animals," he explains. "Whether you'd want to use such extremes is another question entirely, but the subtle flexibility and customisation it provides is an exciting space to be."

Ultra-versatile fonts

Here's another shift in the use of variable fonts that Mat Desjardins, founder at Pangram Pangram, points to, although he's not necessarily a fan.

"As variable fonts enter the mainstream, we're seeing more 'ultra-versatile' typefaces: fonts that try to be everything at once," he says. "These 'Swiss knives' of typography are packed with features, and that's exciting. But in trying to do it all, they often become a bit more bland or generic."

Next year, though, he predicts a fresh shift. "The real breakthrough will come from pairing these workhorse types with something bolder: highly expressive typefaces that add contrast, character and soul," he says. "We've seen glimpses of this already, but I think 2025 will be when these experimental fonts truly define the designer's toolkit. The anticipation of this exact trend was one of the main reasons behind the launch of Off Type, our sister foundry."

Of the designers we spoke to, these two developments – the shift back towards serifs and the continued rise of variable fonts – are the biggest on people's minds right now. But there are other trends in the wind, too. Read on as we share five more.

Neo-retro and DIY approaches

Josh Matthews from Outlaw identifies a growing trend towards nostalgic typography. "It feels like we've reached a peak in the digital age, sparking a growing fascination with reviving typography from previous decades," he explains. "Whether it's the distressed ink textures of 1950s advertising or the nostalgic digital fonts of the 90s and early 2000s. There's even been a fun resurgence of Microsoft WordArt!"

He believes this neo-retro trend will continue into 2025 as brands seek to "balance a vintage aesthetic with contemporary design principles, drawing on heritage to reinforce key attributes and create trust and emotional connection".

Similarly, Oscar Warr, senior designer at Wolff Olins, perceives a trend towards a more DIY approach to typography.

"With the dust settling on Brat Summer, the stretched, low resolution, and do-it-yourself approach to graphic design has been flung back into mainstream consciousness," he explains. "Typefaces that are freely available to be cut up, messed up and plastered on every available surface for maximum impact could start to be adopted by brands and designers. This would give designs a sense of attitude and participation in 2025.

"The super-condensed and super-extended cuts of Dinamo's Asfalt are a clear example of this," he adds. "They bring back an awkward, almost amateur approach to typography reminiscent of the early days of Microsoft's WordArt and cooltext.com. It's 90s grunge repackaged for the digital era."

The resurgence of optical sizes

Type trends aren't just cultural; they can be technical as well. Thierry Blancpain from Grilli Type is seeing an ever-increasing appetite for optical sizes and believes this is sure to continue in 2025.

If you don't know what that means, here's a quick primer. "Optical sizes are an age-old feature of type design that fell by the wayside in the early days of the digital font revolution," he explains. "Back in the metal type days, each font was cut in a way that was adjusted to the font size. Smaller fonts got wider spacing, larger x-height and counters, and more robust designs that were less likely to break and produce ink splatters instead of the letter's design. Larger fonts have fine details, tight spacing, and so on.

"Then along came floppy disks, and optical sizes fell to the wayside," he continues. "But that meant that every typeface would either work great at small sizes or at large sizes. "Despite what typeface marketing sometimes claims, there's no such thing as 'works great in large and small sizes'; not without optical sizes, anyway. That's why all of our typefaces are now being designed with optical sizes in mind from the start."

This ensures, he adds, that the typeface works more as a system than a single design. "What works at small sizes in a UI is different than what works on a huge billboard. However, the concept and intention of the design stay intact across all sizes. Our minisite for GT Pantheon, for example, shows off the typeface's optical size axis really nicely."

Embracing imperfection and low-res

Aaron Moss, TBWA\London's Head of Design, sees a trend towards a more characterful type going forward. "As brands look to differentiate themselves and connect with their audience, I think we will see the continuing development of custom typefaces and fonts that embrace imperfect letterforms," he explains. "Whether it's irregular stroke widths or the inclusion of hand-drawn aesthetics, these features can add a touch personality to a brand, as well as create a sense of uniqueness and individuality."

Similarly, Katarzyna Wozniak, senior graphic designer at Wonderhood Studios, predicts a continuation of the low-resolution trend. "In 2024, we've seen a rise in 'crunchy' low-res, un-pretty looks, with bitmap fonts taking centre stage," she says. "Looking ahead to 2025, I think this trend will only go further. As tools like Calvary and TouchDesigner become more accessible, motion and creative coding are becoming crucial tools in experimentation, giving rise to bold, visually complex designs from studios and designers like Alliage.work, John Provencher, André Burnier, Andreas Gysin and Studio Lowrie."

Cristina Villellas, CEO at Arillatype, tells a similar story. "Raw letterforms and organic shapes are emerging as a reaction to the highly polished, minimalistic aesthetics that have dominated design for years," he says. "These typefaces bring a bold sense of honesty, reflecting a growing need for authenticity in an increasingly digital world, and standing out as a reminder of the human touch behind every interaction."

The future of brand typography

So, what does this all mean for brands? If there's an easy way to sum up all this, it's that custom type is big right now and only going to get bigger.

"Changes in type are always an interesting way to refresh a brand," explains Charlie Beeson, design director at FutureBrand. "Right now, custom typefaces are continuing to grow in popularity as brands look to build greater distinction and ownership of their visual identity. This means there's a growing trend in creating typography with more personality so that it can be intertwined with a brand's story.

"We're going to see more growth in the use of variable typography as brands are driven by digital and need to adapt for different channels and devices," he continues. "Variable typefaces allow messages to be more evocative in motion, while interactive typography is something we'll see for more personal experiences. For brands, this means owning a single typeface to aid consistency and solve the challenges of multiple typefaces in a toolkit."

Finally, Charlie hopes to see a revival of the craft of traditional typesetting and letterpress in the near future to reflect the growing preference for analogue alternatives over digital solutions. "Incorporating this craftsmanship into the origin story of any new typeface would create an authentic origin story for its narrative and design."

Conclusion

As we look towards 2025, it's clear that the world of typography is set for an exciting and diverse year. From the resurgence of serifs and the embrace of imperfection to the continued evolution of variable fonts and the revival of retro aesthetics, designers and brands have a rich palette of typographic options to explore.

The key will be finding the right balance between innovation and readability, as well as personality and functionality, as typography continues to play a crucial role in visual communication and brand identity.

However, as we said at the start, while it's good to know about trends, that doesn't mean we should blindly follow them. In the words of Marion Sendral, manager at Production Type: "In 2025, I would argue against the idea of definitive trends in typography, to promote the concept of use cycles. From my perspective, purchasing decisions in this field are largely driven by what is visible and easily accessible to type users.

"Whether through social media or other platforms, designers and brands often gravitate toward fonts that are well-presented and attractive in their specific context," she notes. "In that sense, it's less about the typeface itself and more about the brand narrative and exposure, which remains consistent year after year."