9 Amazing Typography Blogs for Designers

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Headings, body text, line spacing, font choice, print versus digital — the world of typography is big and beautiful. Learning the art of lettering and text is essential to good design, and spending some time getting to know your subject is a joyful part of that process. No need to scour the streets and internets looking for inspiration — these blogs are places we go to get our fill of fonts, typography worship and discussion/news.

FRIENDS OF TYPE

Mostly featuring hand lettering, Friends of Type is an original typographic design and lettering sketchbook and archive from four designer friends. Each post is a creation intended as an expression of the contributors, to inspire ideas and readers. Every month a guest designer is featured, chosen by the team as someone they admire and are inspired by. The best bit is the full-page images; the lack of thumbnails makes Friends of Type a lush visual experience.

FONTS IN USE

This excellent archive of fonts out in the real world is great for seeing theory in practice; how do fonts behave in the wild? The website is split into ‘Collection’ and ‘Blog’, the latter serving as an expert critique of fonts used across industries. Search parameters include formats, industry and typefaces, and many examples include a write-up delving into the exploration of why that particular font was picked for the project.

TYPE TOKEN

This is a collaboration between two graphic designers and a web developer, aiming to be a source of inspiration and stimulation for the design community. Featuring contributions from designers around the globe, typetoken showcases, discusses and reviews the world of typography, icons and visual language. Both mainstream and experimental typography and iconography appears on here, so it’s great for inspiration and staying current.

TYPOGRAPHY SERVED

Typography Served is a gallery featuring a multitude of typefaces from around the world. Put together by the creatives at Bēhance, each post includes a rating from other blog readers, information about the owner of the font, a short description and any copyright. A straight-to-the-point collection.

INCREDIBLE TYPES

Incredible Types is a carefully curated smorgasbord of exceptional typography and design from around the world. The website cites 436 pieces of design inspiration in the collection, from 432 contributors and studios, hailing from 42 countries. That’s a lot of numbers; all you really need to know is this mostly-print-lettering grid beautiful displays typographic excellence. Each thumbnail looks stunning in black and white, coming to life with warmth and colour when you hover over each image. Also features an extensive range of tags to search by.

TYPE TOY

Not strictly a typography blog (the name threw us off a little), this awesome blog is more of a graphic/typography visual wonderland. There is endless inspiration from vintage packaging, recent branding and print design. TypeToy is definitely a great resource to get your brain fresh and thinking outside the font for any typography task you’re facing.

TYPE WOLF

Typewolf is like a font garden for web designers and developers to go and pick their choice for a project. Big, clear pictures showcasing fonts clearly, as well as demonstrating actual websites featuring that font are really useful for seeing how they look and feel. There’s background info about the font and personal recommendations for similar fonts, as well as cool articles like “The Ten Most Popular Web Fonts of 2015 (And Fonts You Should Consider Using Instead)”. Also — free stuff. We all love free stuff.

THE DIELINE

Disappointed about the lack of packaging design inspo out there, Andrew Gibb created The Dieline to get designers sharing, reviewing and generally drooling over awesome packaging. The website now is still great for that, and a whole lot more cool stuff — The Dieline International Awards (based on creativity, marketability, and innovation), a designer directory and a job board. Definitely worth checking out.

THE FONT SHOP

Previously FontFeed, FontShop News is the geekfest of everything typography. The team behind this site are obviously crazy for font; the 1300 word article on the fonts of Stars Wars is a subtle giveaway. FontShop content ranges from their favourite new fonts on the block, to best typefaces of all time and recommended font lists. Bonus points for featuring type designers, and a live rendering tool so you can test drive fonts online.

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