Trends

Typography
trends.

Q: What typography is used on invitations now?

Three shifts are visible: away from the ubiquitous modern calligraphy script that dated a decade of stationery; toward high-contrast serifs doing the display work; and toward far fewer faces per suite — often two, sometimes one used at several sizes. What dates a piece is almost always the type, not the colour.

The single clearest indicator of when a piece was designed — and the element clients almost never mention in a brief.

What typography is used on invitations now?

Three shifts are visible: away from the ubiquitous modern calligraphy script that dated a decade of stationery; toward high-contrast serifs doing the display work; and toward far fewer faces per suite — often two, sometimes one used at several sizes. What dates a piece is almost always the type, not the colour.

1. The calligraphy script has peaked.

A single flowing script, set large, was the defining typographic gesture of roughly 2014–2022 and is now the fastest way to date a piece to that window. It is not that scripts are wrong — genuine calligraphy, drawn for one commission, is as good as it ever was. It is that one particular category of typeface became universal, and universality is what dates things.

Where a hand is wanted now, it tends to be a real drawn mark rather than a typeface pretending to be one.

2. High-contrast serifs are doing the display work.

The thick-thin serif — editorial, slightly severe — has moved from fashion and magazines into event work. It carries formality without ornament, which fits the material-over-decoration shift on the invitation trends page.

ONDINE · Eau de Parfum No.1 e Elizabeth & William · The Second Name both sit here.

3. Fewer faces, used at more sizes.

The strongest suites we build use two typefaces, occasionally one. Range comes from size, weight and spacing rather than from adding another family — which is also what makes a suite hold together across nine pieces.

VOID · Collection 001 is the extreme version: essentially one typographic idea carried across everything.

What actually dates a piece. Not the colour, which reads as a choice. The type, which reads as a period. If you want a suite that still looks considered in twenty years — and for a wedding, that is a reasonable thing to want — that decision is made in the typeface, not the palette.

Common questions

Is calligraphy over?

Real calligraphy, no — commissioned lettering drawn for one event is timeless. Calligraphy-style typefaces used as a default, largely yes.

How many typefaces should a suite use?

Two is the reliable answer. One is a strong statement and harder to sustain across many pieces. Three usually means a decision was avoided.

Does the typeface affect printing?

Yes, and it is under-considered. Very high-contrast serifs can lose their hairlines in letterpress at small sizes — the printer should see the type before the design is locked.

Type chosen for your event, not from a list.

Every commission starts with two moodboard worlds, and the typography is a decision in each — not a default applied afterwards.

See how a direction is made

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