Typeone magazine has reached a significant milestone with its tenth issue, offering a comprehensive look at the current state of typography design 25 years into the 21st century. Founded in 2020 by Amber Weaver, the designer-led publication has enlisted Studio Ground Floor to maintain its editorial identity throughout all ten issues, with this latest edition serving as a crucial reflection point on how the type design landscape has evolved since 2000.
The landmark issue tackles the fundamental question of what typography looks like after a quarter-century of 21st-century design innovation. Through commissioned pieces, interviews, and conversations with prominent writers and thinkers including Xiaoyuan Gao, Olivia King, Elizabeth Goodspeed, and Tré Seals, the magazine presents a detailed picture of typography's evolution while positioning future possibilities for the field.
Studio Ground Floor, the London-based design studio comprising Alice Sherwin and Harry Bennett, has been instrumental in crafting this significant issue. The duo, who specialize in editorial design, publishing, and brand identities, took on the editorial role to examine the contemporary typography scene. "Things have started to shift," explains Harry Bennett. "With so many typefaces being released, in one sense, the craftsmanship of type design has somewhat retreated in importance. However, what this is a symptom of is the democratization of the discipline, which is very exciting."
The increasing accessibility of typography tools and research has opened doors for diverse voices and perspectives in the field. Bennett notes that improved software access and research availability means "more characters, people, backgrounds and minds are being channeled through type, creating new, unexpected things." This democratization has resulted in a broader spectrum of work ranging from purely academic to experimental approaches, with Typeone's tenth issue representing today's design industry through this expanded range of perspectives.
The magazine's design system pays homage to its origins while showcasing contemporary diversity in typography. Nodding back to Typeone's first issue, the design features Diatype from Dinamo alongside Xiaoyuan Gao's Common Sans, which Bennett describes as nearly becoming "the solo typeface of the whole magazine for its exuberance and sincerity." Additional typefaces featured include VTC Bayard by Vocal Type, Tacmitac by BB Bureau, Montiac by Fabiola Mejía, and G2 Airdancer by Ishar Hawkins.
A unique aspect of this issue is its integration of contributors' work into the magazine's visual identity. "The magazine itself wears its skeleton on its sleeve," says Alice Sherwin. "Ultimately, what makes up the creative scene of today is the people actually making, doing, writing, thinking and crafting. That's why we used their typefaces throughout – with each person we spoke to's article being set in their own typefaces."
Studio Ground Floor's involvement with Typeone began during the 2020 lockdown when they stepped in after the original designer departed. This spontaneous beginning has maintained the publication's flexibility and responsiveness to industry changes. "At the outset of the magazine back in 2020, we created an editorial design system with set systematic restrictions that allowed each issue to be uniquely designed in response to its specific theme," Bennett explains. This approach ensures consistency while allowing each issue to reflect its particular focus.
The design philosophy behind Typeone emphasizes adaptability over preciousness. Bennett describes the system as "flexible in all the right places, and nice and strict in others so that over all ten issues, you can see the consistent moments and the places that really reflect the theme." This non-precious approach makes the magazine what Bennett calls "a capsule of contemporary type and design."
Looking at current trends, Bennett observes that after 25 years of prolific design output this century, typography has entered a phase of remixing and reinterpretation. Historical revivals have become increasingly common, with digital influences fundamentally changing typographic forms. Sherwin emphasizes the intrinsic connection between typography and communication: "Typefaces are our digital way of expressing language. How we think, write and communicate and what typefaces we do that with are so intrinsically interlinked that I'm excited to see how these keep evolving alongside and because of each other."
The magazine continues to position itself as a responsive publication that evolves with the typography industry. Whether addressing experiments in artificial intelligence, language evolution, or how type design thrives in today's visually saturated culture, Typeone commits to continuing its documentation of typography's journey. As the field faces new challenges and opportunities, this tenth issue serves as both a celebration of how far typography has come and a launching pad for future exploration in the discipline.
