The Top 8 Typography Trends for Graphic Design in 2019

“The need to help people understand how to see typography is more important than ever.”

As designers, we rely on typography trends now more than ever for storytelling in design, and with more access to tools and innovative typefaces, you can create just about anything your heart desires.

Let’s take a look at the top 8 typography trends you should know for 2019.

Minimal Sans Serifs

“Sans serifs will never die.”

Sans serifs have made quite a statement in graphic design. Their slightly sophisticated modern mystique gives the designer room to create expression and emotion. We also see sans serifs as a new standard for “clean” work. “Modern San Serifs have become a voice for the non-corporate mainstream voice like Helvetica,” says Papaelias.

Here are some Sans Serif fonts you should try.

High Contrast

“More extreme customization and manipulation”

Rogue experimentation is no secret in design—in fact, it’s now encouraged more than ever – but how do you achieve the next big graphic design trend – that’s where high-contrast techniques come to play.

Tools like Adobe Fonts provide a place where you can have more free range with type—thicks and thins, overlaps, and spacing, just to name a few, are some of our favorite techniques.

Fill in some dead space. Try playing with high contrast on your next UX, or identity project.

Here are some high contrast fonts you should explore.

Brutalism

“What can I do with this that I’m not supposed to?”

Brutalism is all about pushing straight to the edge—many designers are tapping into the trend of trying the things they are not supposed to be doing. “It’s kind of the new post-modern era. There’s a real reaction to rules and standards,” says Papaelias.

Panagram Panagram Foundry suggests that “Brutalism is a great way to create visual tension in your designs.” When a design is presented raw and unpolished, it grabs people’s attention.

Brutalist typography can evoke an edginess and rebellious tone, which is why we see this style commonly used for posters and experimental art.

Variable Fonts + Kinetic Type

“Possibly, one of the greatest type discoveries, yet.”

With the new innovations of Open face type, the once unimaginative process of simple fonts and graphics is now open to endless customizations that can be used to amplify design.

With variable fonts, you can now grow, shrink, stretch, and flex your type to any given range, screen, or platform to create proportional balance, consistency, or even animation.

Papaelias says, “This is a place where technology might start informing design decisions in interesting ways.” Variable fonts are useful if you want to step away from the static design. You have more stylistic freedom, as well as the ability to make type more interactive within a design. Your work doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.

Learn more about variable fonts.

BOLD + Outlined

“Show-stopping art that’s louder than words.”

The bolder the better, as they say—and with typography, there’s no limit to how loud you can be. ALL CAPS, lowercase, and overcrowded are head-turners.

Outlined type has also made an interesting transition into graphic design. Seen frequently in fashion and editorial, outlining gives font the ability to play nicely in open compositions and other objects.

Color fonts are never estranged from design. Playing around with this year’s visual trend palette will make for attention-grabbing art every time.

Try this look on your next zine, editorial post, or brand project.

Hand-Lettered Fonts

“Individuality is more important than ever.”

Yes, we know, hand lettering is EVERYWHERE. But there’s still more to be said with this technique, especially as we explore personal style. “Hand lettering is kind of the gateway drug to type—typefaces that emulate handwriting have been around for quite some time, in Western Culture, mostly feminine aesthetic,” says Papaelias.

In the last few years, we’ve notice hand lettering become more transmissive, taking on an array of stylistic expressions with tones that feel less feminine or “schoolhouse” type, and are more bold, rustic, and edgy. There’s so much nuance in hand lettering; it gives the artist more uniqueness that can’t easily be replicated.

Here are some casual lettering fonts to have fun with.

Nostalgic Fonts

**“**When generations keep repeating itself”

We’ve all been down that rabbit hole of wanting to find the perfect font reference to the ’80s, am I right?

And yes, we’ve come a long way since “Repro Script” and “Bodoni,” but there are still tons of references to decades that are both modern and thought-provoking.

This is where we see the act of reading type and its connection to human emotion.

For example, typographer Ed Benguiat, creator of the Stranger Things type, created a style reminiscent of horror classics and ’80s pop culture. So, inevitably, nostalgia will always come around in design.

Use these for projects like movie posters, live music flyers, and event announcements. Here are some nostalgic 90’s fonts you should play around with.

3D + Type for AR

“Next level type, for next level design”

As designers start to experiment more with new dimensional spaces, how do we consider the role of typography?

With new design innovations around VR, AR, and photo-realistic styling, three-dimensional type can be more free-flowing in the way that it interacts with its surrounding.

With 3D, you can distort type using stretch, bends, swirls, and whirls to create an immersive experience. Artists like Andrew Johnson are testing the boundaries in trying to find out what happens to type in these experiences, and there are many places to explore in 3D.

We’ve covered it all! The old, the new, the innovative—now it’s up to you to create! Enjoy access to thousands of typefaces with Adobe Fonts, and easily download single fonts or font families in Adobe Illustrator and all other Adobe Creative Suite applications. Ready to step your game up? Take a look at some expert tips & techniques from Veerle Pieters on how to pair fonts for winning designs.

Share your favorite typography trends on social media using #AdobeDesign.