Monotype Type Trends 2024; Glyph Drawing Club; Featured Foundry: David Jonathan Ross & The Daily Special Typeface

You’ll have plenty of items to dive as deeply as you like into the world of typography, whether it be exploring the upcoming trends this year, designing your own glyph tiles, or experimenting with a nostalgic font.

TL;DR

(This is an AI-generated summary of today’s Drop.)

• The Monotype Type Trends 2024 report highlights ten key typography trends reflecting societal changes, technological advancements, and cultural shifts, emphasizing the evolving role of typography in the world. Key trends include maximalism, ’90s nostalgia, analog designs in digital contexts, and a resurgence of serif typefaces among others.
• The Glyph Drawing Club is introduced as a free online tool for creating custom type design and text art, inspired by old-school ASCII art editors. It offers a unique, keyboard-heavy workflow and customization options for creative expression.
• David Jonathan Ross, a typographer known for bridging historical and contemporary styles, is featured for his work and the font “Display Special.” Ross’s portfolio showcases a wide range of typefaces, reflecting his commitment to research, creative exploration, and typographic tradition.

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Monotype Type Trends 2024

In the “Monotype Type Trends 2024 report” (direct PDF), the authors delve into the evolving role of typography in expressing and reflecting the current state of the world. It’s a pretty a comprehensive look at how typefaces are not just a means of communication but also a reflection of societal changes, technological advancements, and cultural shifts. Here are the ten key type trends identified therein. I do this because I had a hard time reading/consuming the report vs. just take it all in visually. It has alot going on, and I had to pdftotext it just to be able to read it without distractions. YMMV.

1. Everythingallofthetime: This trend is about maximalism, using a mix of colors, textures, and typefaces to create a rich, layered design. It’s inspired by the internet’s vastness and the idea of presenting “a bit of everything all of the time.”
2. Whatever: Rooted in ’90s nostalgia, this trend spans a range of styles from grunge to pixel art, reflecting a spectrum of attitudes from apathy to playful engagement.
3. Systm: Despite an engineered appearance, this trend emphasizes designs that feel analog and handcrafted, showcasing a human touch within systematic approaches.
4. De-form: This trend pushes typefaces beyond their traditional forms, often appearing animated or inspired by motion, creating a sense of speed and dynamism.
5. Flux: Associated with De-form, Flux is about type that looks fast and dynamic, as if in a state of constant motion.
6. Quirk: Quirk represents a break from the norm, with designs that are unexpected and distinctive, aiming to stand out and communicate in unique ways.
7. Counter Attack: This trend brings negative space to the forefront, using it creatively to draw attention and add a new dimension to design.
8. Profeshinal: This trend plays with the idea of naiveté within professional bounds, blending simplicity with sophistication.
9. 100% Natural: Reflecting a focus on sustainability and nature, this trend incorporates elements of the natural world into design, often used by brands to convey authenticity and environmental consciousness.
10. Return of the Serif: In times of uncertainty, there’s a resurgence of classic serif typefaces, suggesting a return to heritage and traditional values in contrast to more modern, sans-serif fonts.

This is one publication I’d truly love to see in print form.

Glyph Drawing Club

The Glyph Drawing Club is a free online modular design and text art tool that lets us create custom type design, illustrations, patterns, and more. It is based on an adjustable grid, into which we can “draw” with a set of geometric patterns or with any typographic symbol from any font. The editor requires more than a little bit of precision and also relies heavily on keyboard interaction plus shortcuts instead of just the mouse. It is inspired by old-school ASCII art editors and utilizes aspects of them such as a keyboard-heavy workflow, a limited selection of symbols, and a uniform grid.

There’s a fun tutorial to help get you started, so you can do a much better job than I did when I rushed into random keyboard smashing. I just don’t have the patience for the tweaking time necessary to make something as lovely as they did in the section header.

Featured Typographer: David Jonathan Ross & The Daily Special Typeface

Friend of the Drop Nathaniel Mott (@nmott@infosec.exchange) tossed a note my way about a spiffy new font that we’ll get to in a moment. We first need to talk about the font’s progenitor!

David Jonathan Ross (DJR) is a typographer whose work bridges the historical with the contemporary, crafting typefaces that work well across a broad spectrum of applications. Ross began with a solid foundation rooted in graphic design, which led him to explore the work of typography as he became fascinated with the art and science of letterforms.

DJR has a passion for exploring a wide range of styles, from the highly functional to the “whimsically expressive”. His portfolio has an impressive array of typefaces, each demonstrating his commitment to meticulous research, creative exploration, and a deep respect for typographic tradition. And, as you look through the catalog, you’ll see he has a drive to revitalize historical forms for modern use.

He regularly shares his insights and experiences through workshops, lectures, and publications. David strives to ensure folks gain a deeper appreciation for typography, regardless of their skill level. He’s als an active participant in discussions about type design, usage, and trends, and you can find him on many typography-centric platforms.

DJR’s foundry has a very generous trial scheme, and the prices themselves are quite reasonable (at least from my perspective, as I’ve surveyed quite a few font shops).

The font you see in the section header is Display Special. It’s very reminiscent of the signs I’ve seen since being a wee lad, going to diners and church functions with my parents. It’s a great example of the aforementioned bridging of the historical with the contemporary.

FIN

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