First discovered in the 18th century, sans serif fonts took another hundred years to become widely used. While the fonts can mostly be found on the body text of websites, their counterparts, serif typefaces, are more popular in the print segment. Sans serifs are most likely to perform better on displays with a lower resolution, making them even more well-known in the online world in the following years. Find out which fonts are the most trending this year and next.
Why Choosing Sans Serif Fonts?
Despite the fact that today’s screens with high resolution use serifs more, many brands remain to choose sans serifs as their main display typefaces. Nonetheless, it is highly suggested that one selects a font wisely to specify their brand’s identity. Following trends is fine, but find the one that can convey your brand’s messages to the world. Considering custom fonts is also recommended since the ownership and design process can be worth more than the defaults.
Helvetica has probably become the most popular sans serif typeface. Many brands use several variations in their logos: Microsoft, Jeep, Target, Panasonic, Caterpillar, you name it. Sans serifs give the impression of being casual, friendly, youthful, and approachable. That is what makes the fonts widely known. However, with so many brands—both startups and veterans—applying sans serif fonts, it is still important to define which font sets the authenticity of your brand.
The Most Trending Sans Serif Fonts of 2021 – 2022
Some graphic design experts predict that along with the rapid evolution of technology, sans serif typefaces will continue to transform as well. At least, in the next decades, the main focus will be on the adaptability and flexibility of the typefaces. We will perhaps see variable fonts that have any optical sizes. Maybe there will be fonts that respond to VR (virtual reality) viewing distance or match any motions in animation.
In the meantime, let’s just focus on the most popular sans serif fonts of 2021-2022. We have some of them below.
Futura
Designed and released by Paul Renner, a German font designer, in 1927, Futura is a sans serif with a geometrical display. It was quite a breakthrough as many books in the country were printed in bold blackletter scripts. Thanks to its revolutionary design, the typeface has become consistently well-known since then. It is the favorite font of famous movie directors like Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson. It has also been the main ad font of Volkswagen for over 60 years.
Apercu
Apercu is a whimsical sans-serif font released in 2010 by Colophon, a type foundry founded by a studio called The Entente in the UK. Colophon depicts Apercu as a mash-up of Gill Sans, ITC Johnston, Franklin Gothic, and Neuzeit. The design is rich in quirky characters, making it pretty distinguishable from the other typefaces.
Proxima Nova
Launched in 2005, Proxima Nova is a very popular sans serif created by Mark Simonson. The combo of modern proportions and geometric look is frequently depicted as the Akzidenz Grotesk-Futura hybrid. Proxima Nova comes in seven weights—light, thin, regular, bold, semibold, extra bold, as well as black—respectively, with a matching bold, italic, and extra bold lowercase.
Circular
Circular is one of sans serif fonts that looks geometrical. It was created by Swiss graphic designer Laurenz Brunner in 2013. Despite the fact that its design is basically geometric shapes, the typeface has a lot of warm sides. It comes in four weights, namely black, bold, medium, and book, with matching italics for each one. The lowercase design is popularly distinctive, making it easier to spot on than any other geometrical sans serifs.
Graphik
Graphik is a sans-serif font designed by Christian Schwartz and launched with the major support of Commercial Type back in 2009. The designer initially created Graphik for his own professional identity. The design of Graphic is inspired by unpopular grotesques as well as geometric sans-serifs from the 20th century.
Conclusion
If you prefer to adopt trending sans serif fonts, try not to get lost in the sea of the marketplace. Company brands that prefer this typeface should still get a balance between fame and authenticity. This only means choosing wisely the fonts you really need to deliver your brand’s identity and message.
