Industry Newstypographybrandingappledesign trend
Condensed Serifs Return As Brand Trend
6.0
Katie Deighton reported in the Wall Street Journal last month that condensed serif typefaces, notably Apple Garamond and the contemporary Instrument Serif, are resurging in brand identities. Designers at AI firm Perplexity and other companies have adopted slender, bookish fonts after decades favoring sans-serif faces, signaling renewed interest in friendly, serious serif display styles for marketing and product typography.
Key Points
- 1Adopt condensed serif fonts in tech branding, with Perplexity using an Apple Garamond cousin
- 2Signal renewed preference for friendly, serious display typography after decades of sans-serif dominance
- 3Recommend designers reassess type choices for branding, testing condensed serifs for voice and legibility
Scoring Rationale
Notable, well-sourced design trend useful for branding teams; limited novelty and narrow industry scope reduce broader impact.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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