Published: February 3, 2025
by Justin Difazzio
A new year brings new trends, and we’ve got our finger on the pulse of design–including typography. In this, the second entry in our annual design trends series, we’re focusing on exactly that. From the status of serifs to the nature of new alignments, we’ve got it all below.
1. Sure Shot for Serifs
If there was one consensus in the data we looked at, it was that serifs are back in a big way. The last several years have seen them come and go, varying in implementation and popularity. This time, it looks like they’re geared for that classic look, and they’re well-paired with other trends in this list. Experiment with combinations and styles, and you may just be the hot thing in 2025, too.
2. Handcrafted Fonts
Like our graphic design trends blog, typography is experiencing a kickback as a result of generative AI creation tools being crammed into every program, app, and corner of the internet without permission. Because of that, we’re seeing the rise of handcrafted elements that push back against more soulless creations. Look for fonts based on physical artifacts (like show tickets, old magazines, and postcards), handwriting and hand drawn fonts with personality, imperfection like grainy or smeared lettering, and do-it-yourself elements. If it is obvious that a human made it, embrace it this year.
3. Fonts From Other Times
When things get tough, one of culture’s favorite ways to react is to reflect a simpler, better, or just plain different time period. In 2025, we’re seeing a further rise of art deco, art nouveau, psychedelic ‘60s inspired lettering, retro pixel fonts, neon colors from the ‘80s, Y2k era displays, and even neo-retro stuff that mashes eras together to create something new. It’s not quite “anywhere but here.” More like “anyWHEN but here.” Try combining your favorite eras into a new creation that might inspire people to take a second look at what you’re saying. With so many people looking to the past, you’re bound to catch someone’s eye.
4. Wacky Alignment
Open any book and you’ll see orderly lines of letters marching dutifully across the page in tidy clumps. Well, almost any book (looking at you, House of Leaves). This year, however, forget that. We’re here in 2025 for vertical text in design, text that isn’t aligned in conventional ways, and words that have parts of it covered or bleed off screen or page. If you are covering text in your image, just make sure it doesn’t create unfortunate shapes or words in the omission (looking at you, Parent’s Magazine circa April 2005). Horrible examples aside, get creative with the alignment of your text this year, especially when it’s big, bold, or important.
5. Organic Shapes
Soften the lights. Smooth your surfaces. And lean into the curve. The organic trend is hanging on strong, even after several years. Look for wavy, liquid texts. The soft, curvy letters get blown up into bubbly text, globby fonts, and more of that nonstandard alignment we mentioned earlier (but do it curvy). In previous years, organic trends lean toward the past, signifying a simpler time. But in 2025 we’re doing organic in a futuristic way. Keep it modern. Keep it clean. And keep it naturally curvy. Combining the good vibes of organic shapes with a view toward the future gives us all the hope for better days that some of us desperately need.
6. Live that Chunky Life
We want impact, and we want it in a tangible way. That’s why the chunky life is here to stay. One of the newest trends we are seeing in 2025 is the emergence of low x heights, leading to short and fat letters. It gives vibes of living large in your folding chair, keeping it down to earth but classy, and making a statement without having to shout to be heard. We’ve seen plenty of slender, elegant fonts come and go. Give short and fat titles and headers a try. You might enjoy a taste of the chunky life.
7. Get the Job Done
With all the organic text, time travel, and wacky alignment, there’s bound to be some pushback, and sometimes you just want to rest your eyes on something that doesn’t overstimulate them. In this landscape, you can stand out by just getting the job done. Anti-design has had some time to expand and settle in the typographical landscape, and the parts that stuck over the year are the experimental, anti-corporate aspects. Look for brutalism mixed with weird line variation, plain text with a twist, and typography that refuses to bend to what others are doing. Sometimes when you just get the job done, it overshadows the insecure flashiness and temporary nature of trends done large.
So what type of trend are you going to adopt in the new year? Make space for a few of these in your typographical adventures, and you may find yourself a font of innovation and a (Mavis) beacon of typography. Join us next time for the final installment of this annual series, where we explore the 2025 trends in web design. Stay dialed up for that in a few weeks!