Font and Typography Trends 2025

Art Deco in Typography: A Comeback After Nearly 100 Years?

Could Art Deco be making a return nearly 100 years later? In the world of typography, we've certainly seen many influences from the golden age of Art Deco making a comeback.

Originating in Paris in the 1910s, Art Deco became the defining design style across Europe and the US in the 1920s and 1930s. The movement is characterized by geometric shapes, sharp angles, elongated stylized figures, and vertical design elements with a semi-ornate style – many of which are making their way back into modern letterforms today.

Always clean and contemporary, yet open to avant-garde influences, the resurgence of Art Deco type might be an attempt to create something that feels timeless, yet still communicates "modern and elevated." Unlike the quaint, distinctly vintage signs seen in the world of Wes Anderson's films, today's designers are using elongated, elegant letterforms with a postmodern twist, often adding a handmade edge.

Take the work of Memory Studio, for example. Co-founders Eli Horn and Lexane Rousseau, with backgrounds in traditional craftsmanship, are bringing skills in hand lettering, drawing, and painting into modern brand identities that evoke a timeless, French aesthetic. Similarly, the two-person collective Harvest has hand-cut their unique logo, with the upturned descender on the "R" subtly referencing the Art Deco world, paired with a rough riso-printed finish that alludes to its organic origins.

While Art Deco is undeniably a contemporary style today, its resurgence is often masked by modern twists that reshape its traditional forms. A great example is Requena Office’s rebranding of Fonda Europa earlier this year. The Barcelona-based restaurant’s new typeface draws on the visual language of Art Deco to revive its “historical, spatial spirit,” while softening the sharp edges of the letters to bring it into the present day. Designer Pao Bassol also recently crafted a brand identity for a specialty coffee shop in Switzerland, using iconic Art Deco-inspired slender "N" and unraveled "S" letters to tell a story of "tradition in every cup."

With designers taking the boldness, glamour, and versatility of Art Deco into modern, widely-used letterforms, we’re likely to see even more Art Deco-inspired type emerge this year. Whether subtle or overt, it’s clear that Art Deco will continue to influence contemporary design in some form – and remain present in spirit.

Kind regards, Andreas