News has a critical need for legibility, clarity, contrast and a distinct visual voice and thats why variable fonts matters to news brands.
Today when the first news source is mobile the news typography must adapt to a mobile first design.
A variable font is a typeface that act like many and can change character just like an actor.
»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«
Creative Boom.
News brands and news design always driven typography development and change throughout history.
The 3 key reason why variable fonts are important for news brands:
- Variable fonts load faster
- Variable optical fonts improves legibility
- Variable fonts creates contrast
Load faster
Variable fonts load faster: with one small file instead of many static files. Why it matters? Today most news sites are designed with a limited number of fonts. This has been a technical restrain for news sites that variable fonts can sort.
Optical
Variable optical fonts: improve legibility and readability. What works at small sizes in body copy text or UI is different than what works on a headline or on a billboard. With a variable font its possible to improve optically as long as the typeface design supports it to also improve legibility and readability for mobile screens.
Contrast
Contrast is critical in news design to prioritise content and create news clarity. A variable font can create more contrast for a news site. Contrast is also important from an aesthetic point of view. Variable fonts create contrast in weights, width and upright to italic just like static fonts can but in one file.
Custom variable fonts
Type is news brands most important brand asset to create recognition and trust. Custom type has been a dominating trend the past 15 years and variable fonts creates new possibilities for custom fonts in digital with an opportunity to create type that adapt to digital platforms.
Motion design had a huge impact in modern culture such as tv-series and film titles and SoMe and will be an important tool also for news storytelling in the future. Variable fonts are also key for motion design and kinetic typography. We’re only in the beginning of what digital typography will look like in the future.
With variable fonts its only imagination limting you and yes the axes …
Credit: The variable ”n” in the visual is designed by typeface designer CJ Dunn at CJ Type.