Fonts are Having a Field Day: 2016’s Best So Far

op5See which ones the top voices in the industry are choosing as their favorites, as typography blossoms in creative ways.

Is it just us, or has 2016 been a banner year for new fonts?

In May we covered some rising stars in the font world, in July we wrote about the hot new fonts hitting the scene, and introduced you to Chronical Hairline in October.

Now, we offer a look at the best new typefaces (so far) of the year, thanks to Jason Tselentis in Print Magazine.

“We can never have enough typefaces,” Tselentis writes. (Yes, we get it). “And the fonts released up to this point in 2016 are a treasure trove of delights. Seeking to suss out some highlights, Print polled an array of experts to get their take on the best of the best so far.”

To pull the list together, Print Magazine contacted a number of experts in the fields of typography and graphic design for their picks. The list has some real surprises on it, and some gorgeous graphic representations that show off their design mojo.

As brands become more adept at storytelling, font creators are taking notice and designing accordingly, leading to beautiful news way to represent a brand or a concept.

“Type is hot,” noted Lucia Moses in Digiday this summer. “Fonts are a booming business, as evidenced by a rise in font studios, independent designers and demand by brands and normals alike. Blue-chip companies like Ford and Citibank as well as storied publications like The Atlantic are commissioning custom fonts in search of a unique look.”

Moses attributes it to a couple of things: technical advances that allow designers to be more creative; and the recognition of type design as a serious art form worthy of its own field of study. And of course Google, which “unleashed hundreds of fonts when it created Google Docs, making it possible for users to pick from a dizzying array of choices,” made font choice a reality for most anyone.

Scroll through Print Magazine’s list of favorites, and see what resonates. It’s almost impossible to look at some of these and not want to tell a story.