Type designer Jonathan Hoefler says the reign of sans serif fonts can be explained by the traditional notion that sans serifs connote progress and modernity while serifs evoke nostalgia. “[This] is why for 60 years the sans serif has been the standard costume of industries like aerospace, information systems, medicine, and biotech,” argues Hoefler, whose type foundry designed (by former business partner Tobias Frere-Jones) and licenses Gotham, one of the most popular and over-used sans serifs of late.

“For this reason alone we’re probably ripe for a change,” he says. “It could be wonderful to see what happens if people rediscover just how much more expressive, evocative, and distinctive serif letterforms can be.”

Chobani has swapped its sans-serif logo for a new look inspired by 19th century American folk art.
Chobani has swapped its sans-serif logo for a new look inspired by 19th century American folk art.
Image: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

The return to serif-based logos goes beyond nostalgia, adds Gardner. “I think it is more of a reboot…. The more humanist quality of some serif fonts are playing directly to a generation looking to find personal value and worth, or a warm place to feel comfort.”

The fallacy of sans-serif screen legibility

If serifs are so great, how did we end up in the wasteland of sans serif logos in the first place?

The traditional excuse for stripping away ornament has been about improving legibility, especially for small screens. This is a fallacy, says Hoefler. “Whenever a tech company rebrands and drops the serifs from its logo, we always hear the argument that sans serifs somehow perform better on screen,” he explains. “They really don’t. You can render a serif letter in seven pixels, and it’s been ages since any of us were confronted with screens so coarse.”

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