15 Typography Trends for 2023

Determining the right typography to use on your site is no small task. Typography can be the very thing that captures the eye of your audience, or it can do the exact opposite. It’s important to know not only typography trends, but also the basics of typography. In this post we’ll get into both.

Typography for the web should be grafted for both legibility and readability, though there are many factors that play into this (size, line-height and line-length are a few examples). In this post we discussed typography trends for 2022, and now we’re diving into what the trends are pointing toward in 2023. If you’re in need of some typography inspiration, you’re in the right place! Keep reading.

Trending Font Styles

Before we get into what’s trending, let me give you a brief overview of typography basics…

• Italic: Commonly, italics are used for emphasis or contrast—to draw attention to some particular part of a text. 
• Oblique: Oblique fonts are slanted and have slight corrections made to give curves more width, so they retain the proportions of the thick-and-thin quality of strokes from the design.
• Case: All upper- or all lower-case letters are often used for headings or subheadings, to add variety to your typography. 

Along with types of typefaces, there are universal typographical design elements to understand: 

1. Typeface: A form of lettering design that includes variations in size, weight, slope, width, and more. There are thousands of different typefaces, and new ones are being developed every day.
2. Hierarchy: A visual design principle to show the importance of each piece of content by manipulating size and color.
3. Contrast: In visual design, it’s the difference between two or more elements in a composition. 
4. Consistency: The concept of making elements uniform to leverage usability. For example—navigation, page layouts, or control elements. 
5. Alignment: The arrangement of elements on a page to tighten the design and create a visual connection between them as a whole.
6. White space: The area between design elements. It can also be any color, texture, pattern, or even a background image in between text.
7. Color: With font and beyond, color choices matter for accessibility and readability. 

Seems simple enough, right? Now, let’s dig into the fun stuff, web typography trends!

1. Three-Dimensional Lettering

One of the most popular type styles out there are text effects that give depth and dimension to type for a 3D effect. 

2. Bright Colors or Color Fonts

Bold and bright color choices in typography can work with almost any type style to make it stand out. Another option is a color font, which allow for multiple colors within single letters. 

3. Hand Drawn Lettering

This personalized style features typefaces that look like you drew them yourself, often with a calligraphic flair. Often hand drawn lettering will appear as an art element or just a single word. 

4. Experimental Typefaces

More custom, experimental typefaces are becoming the norm. These include any type of display typeface that’s a little extraordinary and might include interactivity, unusual x-heights, or oddball spacing, or divots. 

5. Cut Out Type and Image Pairs

Type elements that contain images, especially with big lettering, can have a lot of impact and are a very trendy option. You just have to make sure the letters are clear … and so are the images. 

6. Animated Typography

Dynamic text effects that change with interaction or animation can help create engagement. The most popular animated style is text that moves from right to left (or vice versa) across the screen. 

7. Outline and Inline Fonts

Fonts that use an outline shape with a clear fill or a filled shape with a single line inside the type element are increasingly popular. These can give you the opportunity to go bigger or bolder with type and not dominate the entire design, thanks to a touch of lightness. 

8. Monospace Fonts

Typefaces with characters of equal widths are popular in coding and digital environments, as well as design schemes with a brutalist feel. Monospace fonts can feel somewhat stark so you need to think about your overall feel before making this trendy selection. 

9. Oversized Slabs

Typefaces with large, block-like lettering in large sizes can create massive impact. Pair them with something smaller for great contrast and visual interest. 

10. Gradient Styles 

Gradual transitions between colors to add depth and texture to designs and in this trend the gradient may be in the lettering or a colored box behind it. 

11. Playful Fonts

Using unusual or playful typefaces to add personality and creativity to design is a popular option, especially with designs that are supposed to be more fun or whimsical. 

12. Overlapping Text Elements

Overlapping text layers or multiple lines of text to create a layered effect. The challenge is that sometimes this style can impact readability. 

13. Highly Readable Sans Serifs

San serifs with regular shapes and styles are easy to read and understand in almost any design scheme. That’s why they are a popular choice. As a more accessible web gets even more important, expect to see even more of this typography style. 

14. Type Layers with Big Contrast 

Type layers that have a lot of contrast demand attention and are almost always trendy. Two of the best elements for creating contrast are color and size. The example above has both, and it makes you look. 

15. Varying Weights Side-by-Side 

Web technology has made it even easier than ever to create different test styles within the same container, meaning that more designs feature variances between regular, bold, italic, and other styles all together in one element. It’s great for helping put emphasis exactly where you want it.

Wrapping Up

Typography will continue to be an increasingly important factor in design. For your website, you’ll want the typography to match your brand and your style.

Fortunately, designers will always be able to lean on typography as a fundamental aspect of their work. There are hundreds of thousands of beautiful and unique typefaces from which to draw inspiration today. And these great typography trends are a great start to creating the content that makes you stand out.

At KadenceWP, it is our joy to give you the tools to create powerful and effective websites that impress. If you’re not already a Kadence member, now’s the time to join! With tools like Kadence Custom Fonts and the Advanced Text Block, Kadence can help you meet all your typography dreams. You deserve a beautiful website.