Summary
Most of the brands contrast large, bold photography with subtle minimal typography. There are many similarities to the beauty sector where white space, bold colours, geometric and high contrast fonts are frequently used. Geometric sans serifs are very popular when it comes to the primary font choice and are used by 70% of the brands we looked at. Futura and Proxima Nova are the most popular compared with Gotham in the beauty sector. None of the ten brands we looked at are using a custom font and 40% are using browser safe typefaces like Times and Arial.
80% of the brands are using a serif typeface in their logo. Although this achieves a sense of heritage the hairline thin strokes can be very difficult to read, and don’t tend to render well on screen, especially at small sizes. When they were designed, digital usage may not have been a consideration but they don’t meet the demands of today’s applications.
Similar to beauty and cars, capitals are popular. Nine out of ten brands use all caps for their navigation menus and the same in their logo, Dior being the only exception.
Overall there is a tendancy to prioritise style over function alongside a surprising lack of imagination when it comes to typography. There are fundamental issues with type setting in terms of weight, colour and size. Many of the layouts simply aren’t legible on screen (eg Burberry, Tiffany, Dior and Gucci). The use of free fonts is common and in conflict with the luxury image. Brand is everything and although not every brand will see the value in having a bespoke typeface, by using Arial or Times there is no differentiation between high end or budget, especially on mobile where there is very little space for images.
