Spotify launched its own font, the company Announced On Wednesday. The music streaming service hopes its new typeface, “Spotify Mix,” will help Spotify distinguish its own unique visual identity.
Spotify Mix is a sans-serif typeface designed in partnership with Dinamo Typefaces, a Berlin-based typeface design studio that has worked with major companies including Burberry, Discord, Nike, Patreon, and Tumblr, among others. Sans-serif fonts have a simpler look than serif fonts and are popular with many brands, including tech giants Google and Microsoft. The font is also known to be more accessible because it is easier to read on smaller devices.
Spotify describes the new font as a “combination of sharp angles and soft curves,” giving it a “distinctive character,” Spotify’s global head of brand design Rasmus Wängelin wrote in the blog post.
“To design this typeface, we broke free from traditional typographical restrictions and fused elements from a variety of font styles. “This approach reflects the dynamic and changing nature of audio culture over the years,” added Wängelin.
Spotify Mix replaces the current font used on the platform, Circular, created by Swiss designer Laurenz Brunner.
Spotify Mix serves as an example for startups looking to establish a unique brand identity through the use of different font styles. While some may consider a font change minor, others believe it has a substantial impact on how a company is perceived. A font like Comic Sans, widely considered to be my least favorite font Due to its childish and unsophisticated nature, it could provoke, for example, a strong and negative reaction from users.
Many major companies have revamped their fonts to give their brands their own form of visual expression. In 2021, Twitter/X introduced its proprietary font, Chirp, to give it more personality and improve the readability of content for users. When Instagram underwent a visual refresh, it introduced a new font. Microsoft’s abandonment of Calibri as the default font in Office also made headlines. And years ago, when Google introduced its new design language, Material Design, it included an updated version of its system source, Roboto.
Spotify Mix is rolling out gradually starting today and will continue to do so over the coming weeks. It is currently only available for content written in “all languages with Latin script, in addition to Vietnamese,” the company said.
