In episode three we talked with Chicago-based lettering artist Jenna Blazevich, about chain stitching, punk rock, intersectional feminism, and whatever the heck Malört is.

Today, it is a moral imperative that companies and agencies prioritize sustainable, environmentally friendly principles and practices. More and more consumers are demanding that brands act responsibly when it comes to environmental concerns. But what role does visual communication play in this topic, and how can type and design contribute to good sustainability practices?

Artists pour their heart and soul into their craft and creations and in an ideal world, every artist would be recognized and paid appropriately for their efforts. In reality, however, artists often have to fight for their rights to be upheld. This has been true for centuries and is only intensifying in the digital era.

Monotype is thrilled to introduce the recipients of the second annual Type Champions Award, a program that recognizes brands for their creative, innovative, and memorable use of typography in developing and maintaining their brand identities.

At its core, type is a storyteller. Letterforms deliver a message. And such messages are perhaps at their purest in the form of community-led designs for protest.

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the effect the pandemic has had on the collaborative process that drives creative work at companies everywhere. Here are some ideas about where things could be heading. 

No matter how you look at it, 2020 will be a year that is studied in the history books. From a global pandemic, to economic instability, to mental health challenges, all of us are finding ourselves navigating an increasingly challenging and frightening world.

With seemingly every business in the world launching apps, online services, and other digital properties as they cope with disruptions from the COVID crisis, many brands are likely wondering how they can stand out from all the sudden digital noise.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is not figuring out how to return to whatever “normal” used to look like, but how to let go of the vision we held for the future we thought we’d have.

Typography is an important component of great design. And for designers, selecting the right type can be an enormous challenge with so many varying styles and weights to choose from. To help, pangrams are often used to quickly get an overview of what a particular font looks like in use.

Let’s look at how design and typography can help keep brand sentiment strong while sending a message that assures your customers you get what’s going on.

Over the past several weeks, the creative community has stepped up, designing art that motivates, informs, and brings people together during an increasingly challenging time.

See how designers have stepped up in creative ways to visualize messages of hope, community, and caring for all.