Audi, Burger King, and Adidas join the variable fonts trend

The ways brands communicate and the digital processes accompanying them are evolving rapidly. The typographic world has also witnessed this evolution. Each day brings new ways of creating and applying typography, making it an essential element in a brand’s identity. Variable fonts are a prime example of this.

We’re in the age of dynamism. Digital media and their algorithms tend to favor dynamic content over static ones. TikTok and Instagram make their preference for audiovisual material evident in order to capture and stimulate user attention. Variable fonts, among other things, aim to bring dynamism to the typographic world and facilitate communication processes in digital media.

So, what exactly are variable fonts?

Traditional typeface families consist of different typefaces that vary in parameters such as width, thickness, or slant. Bold, italic, condensed variants are common. The digitization of these typefaces requires a separate file for each variant.

On the other hand, a variable font is a single file that includes all the variation parameters of a typeface family. Moreover, it allows for the selection of any intermediate style without the need to limit oneself to a predefined one.

Here are some examples of their benefits:

In web environments, the loading time of a page is greatly optimized. By needing only a single file for all typographic variants, we can reduce the quantity and size of typographic files.

Typeface: Acunim por Robert Slimbach

In editorial design, variable fonts offer significant advantages. The ability to adjust the parameters of a font solves the problems caused by unwanted text breaks. This way, text composition and layout processes are facilitated. Typography adapts to the content’s needs in a very precise manner.

The dynamic properties and audiovisual potential of variable fonts represent a revolution in brand visual identity and visual communication systems.

A corporate identity that integrates variable fonts optimizes the performance of its typographic system, expands its graphic possibilities, and opens the door to dynamism. The brand becomes identifiable with a greater number of fonts, thus increasing brand recognition and functionality.

More and more brands are integrating variable fonts into their corporate identity. Here are some examples:

1. Burger King

The official rebrand introduction video for Burger King

2. Adidas

Fuente: Adidas Variable Font Animation

Adidas also joins the variable font trend with its Chop typeface, designed by the MCKL foundry. A typeface with cut diagonals that has an sporty appearance and is completely adaptable to any spatial context. The font is used both in stores and in marketing campaigns.

4. Audi

Audi / Rigns

In 2021, Audi presents its new corporate identity. Thanks to variable font technology, it redefines the way we understand logos, integrating unprecedented corporate flexibility.

Variable logos?

That’s right, Audi creates a typographic file for its logo, making the thickness of its rings variable. This allows for expanding the brand’s aesthetics, being able to adopt a more refined and elegant look in some contexts and a more rugged and forceful appearance in others.

Cover Image: Dinamo’s Johannes Breyer on the process behind innovative sans to serif superfamily ABC Arizona