The best new typefaces for October 2026

From an industrial slab named after a hardness scale to a display face woven from memories of lace, this October brings a bumper crop of new typefaces.

Written By: Tom May

27 October 2026

Colourful beverage cans with bold typography displayed against a vibrant purple background

Is it that time already? The clocks have gone back, the weather is getting colder and wetter, and the countdown to 25 December has begun in earnest. But for designers looking for exciting new fonts, it might feel like Christmas has come a couple of months early. October has delivered one of the most eclectic typographic hauls of the year.

We're talking a variable font five years in the making, a humanist sans designed for dyslexic readers, a display typeface assembled from clay impressions of gravestones, and a geometric stencil that can switch between sharp and rounded at the pull of a variable axis. Elsewhere there's elegance in a new revival of a 1921 Garamond interpretation, a sense of solidity in an eight-weight industrial slab named after a metallurgical hardness test, and outright quirkiness in a type system that deliberately sits "at the threshold between reading and looking".

In short, while it's easy to feel design and creativity are being taken over by AI, the fresh typefaces we've collected below remain very much hand-crafted. That thought alone should keep you warm and cosy as the nights draw in.

1. Twista Sans by Viktor Nübel

Twista Sans is something different: a uniwidth typeface. That's not the same as being monospaced: Twista Sans keeps characters proportional. But all its glyphs share the same horizontal width, so you can switch weights without your layout reflowing, opening up new possibilities for hover effects and UI animations. Designed as a sans companion to Nübel's display face Twista, Twista Sans could work well for packaging, branding and editorial.

Twista Sans typeface name displayed in white text on a dark blue background with faint repeated letterforms, with "Uniwidth Typeface" label in a green outlined capsule below

Twista Sans typeface specimen displaying "ONE WIDTH FITS ALL" in green and white text on a dark background with repeated letterforms

Twista Sans typeface displaying four weights (Light, Regular, Semibold, Bold) with green labels on a dark background, demonstrating the font's uniwidth design

2. Corsario by Felix Braden

Cologne-based Felix Braden, the designer behind Floodfonts, has channelled five years of work into Corsario. Inspired by the British transitional style, it features sharp, prominent serifs that make text stand out. With 54 styles, this variable font family lets you set both elegant headlines and legible captions from a single font file.

Corsario typeface name in bright yellow against swirling pink and black brushstroke design, with descriptive text about the variable font family for editorial design

The word "akgn" in burgundy serif typeface on pink background with labels pointing to design features including angular terminal, short ascenders, dynamic hairlines and sharp wedge serifs

Large mauve billboard displaying "The Bridges" typeface in white italic lettering with "Autumn–Winter" subtitle, mounted in a modern gallery space with a silhouetted figure and person walking past

3. Triode by MuirMcNeil

MuirMcNeil's work sits somewhere between typeface design and visual art, and Triode is a prime example. This new geometric type system explores what happens at the crossroads between language and pattern. Its precisely calibrated components can be combined, layered, and offset to create transitions and collisions between language, image, pattern, and texture. To mark the release, MuirMcNeil has published an edition of 40 unique colour posters, each measuring 50 × 70 cm.

Seven rows showing the progression of Triode typeface from outlined to solid black, demonstrating its variable weight scale

Pixelated brown and white letterforms arranged in three rows against an orange background, displaying a geometric typeface design

Abstract geometric typography displaying interlocking plus signs and rounded rectangles in white and black against a vibrant purple background

4. Kellarie by Laura Worthington

When you need a script with real warmth that feels hand-drawn, Laura Worthington is usually worth checking out. Compact lowercase forms, buoyant rhythm, and a lively forward slant give words the momentum of hand lettering, while sweeping capitals, generous loops, and curling flourishes add personality. This font works well on packaging, stationery, and editorial headers.

Kellarie typeface by Laura Worthington displayed in white flowing script on a deep blue patterned background

Strong Blend Premium Coffee label featuring Arabica 80% and Robusta 20% beans on a blue background with gold lettering

5. Thorn Serif by Type Forward

Type Forward has an interesting catalogue, and Thorn Serif is a confident new addition. It's inspired by the raw, distinctive lettering on ancient Roman coins. The family takes the compact proportions, heavy serifs, and low-contrast construction of these historical forms and translates them into a contemporary type system.

White text reading "Chiseled Thorny Letters" against a purple background with dark thorny branch illustrations

Thelo typeface displaying key design features including discretionary ligatures, low stroke contrast, distinctive serifs and proportions influenced by Roman letters

6. Bw Ubica by Branding with Type

Branding with Type is known for sans-serifs that are clean without being anonymous, and Bw Ubica continues in that tradition. Its sharp geometry and balanced anatomy provide impact, while its balanced x-height and slightly condensed proportions are optimised for high legibility without losing a single hint of its character. Available in 12 styles, this font gives brands a unified voice across editorial layouts, user interfaces, and physical product sleeves.

Typographic specifications for Bw Ubica font displayed against turquoise background, showing measurements for common unicender and cap height, thin flourishes, lighter brackets and other symbols, balanced x-height, high contrast letterforms, geometric con

Turquoise poster displaying stacked typographic words in white text reading "Futurism Utilitarian Pragmatics Wearable Humans Redux" by Bw Ubica

7. Hyperspace Cargo by Swell Type

Hyperspace Cargo looks exactly like its name. Derived from the earlier Hyperspace Race, it's an all-caps, stencil typeface available in a range of weights from Light to Heavy. Horizontal-line Stylistic Alternates add further variety, and it also supports Cyrillic, Greek and Vietnamese. The variable version offers Weight and Roundness axes for extra flexibility.

Stacked blue text reading "Hyperspace" and "Cargo" with overlapping geometric shapes creating a mirrored effect against a dark background

Variable controls diagram for Hyperspace Cargo typeface showing weight axis from light to heavy and roundedness axis from hard to soft

Hyperspace Cargo typeface displaying weight variations from normal light to heavy, with supplementary styles including regular, bold, extrabold, and a list of design applications like groupage, lift gate, terminal logistics, manifest, linehaul, oversize a

8. Mourn by Nina Type

Mexican type designer Ubaldo Ortiz spent two years building this display face around the structural logic of bobbin lace, painstakingly constructing each character letter by letter before weaving lace patterns around them. Mourn is the launch typeface for his new studio Nina Type, which also offers the sharp serif Osé and everyday workhorse Nina Sans.

Ornate white geometric typeface design with interlocking symmetrical patterns overlaid on a photograph of a person wearing dark clothing

White line-drawn geometric shapes overlaid on a vintage photograph of a woman with dark curled hair wearing a dark patterned garment

Person wearing white lace collar with intricate geometric cutout patterns inspired by traditional lace designs

9. Pen by DDOTT × Morula

What happens when a pen pauses on paper? Those small drops of ink at the moment of hesitation, correction, or interruption form the core concept of Pen, a new typeface from DDOTT, developed in collaboration with Morula. Designer Dominik Thieme launched the project with a live plotting performance in Barcelona, and the release includes a thoughtful essay tracing the history of automated drawing and writing.

Word "Amigo" drawn on graph paper with black pen strokes following the gridlines

Four typeface names displayed in outlined italic lettering: Telautograph, Harmograph, Polygraphs and Pantograph, each labelled by designer

Loading screen message reading "Please Wait, We Are Loading the Images, Do Not Refresh" with ellipses and parentheses in outline typeface

10. CoFo Cinema1909 by Contrast Foundry

Cinema1909 began as a custom typeface for one of the world's oldest cinemas, inspired by metro-station lettering, before being released as a retail typeface. This month, Contrast Foundry published a significant update, adding lowercase letters, ordinals and expanded language support. Combining elegance and decorative details with a refined feel, it works particularly well in tight, compact headlines.

White text reading "COFO CINEMA 1909" overlaid on a stormy grey sky

Black and white promotional poster with palm fronds, displaying French text for an event on Friday 12 August at 3pm in Room 2, First Floor

Two figures viewed from behind facing a hillside covered in sheep, with "the end..." text overlaid in white, in black and white cinematographic style

11. WTF Hammer by W Type Foundry

W Type Foundry built Hammer around a single premise: what can you do with proportion alone? The answer seems to be: well, quite a lot, actually. This contemporary grotesk superfamily features 12 width variants, plus matching italics. Moving between styles creates rhythm and contrast, making headlines and layouts feel dynamic, not static.

WTF Hammer typeface designed by WTF Studio and published by W Type Foundry, displayed in large black letters on a neutral background

Bright magenta text reading "Carries the Weight" next to a grey stone hammer, with "WTF" and "Hammer" labels on a purple background

Large rocky mountain peak with bright cyan typography reading "Heavy by Nature" overlaid on a taupe background

12. GS Merca by GS Type

Gerard Sierra has spent a lot of time with the ornate lettering on the façade of the 1920s Art Nouveau market in the Spanish city of Tarragona. The font this inspired carries its source material's character while adding a stencil-like, rebellious feel. The lowercase expands this language, creating a typeface with enough identity to shift between the vernacular and sharper, more contemporary contexts.

Rounded cream-coloured archway entrance to a building with a clock above the door and people gathered outside, beside white stylised text reading Estima Taillagona Odia els Airbnb

White stylised letter forms resembling interlocking abstract shapes on a black background

White typeface specimen showing uppercase and lowercase letters, numerals and alternative characters on a black background

13. Altus Grotesk by Type Innovations

Alex Kaczun, former principal type designer at Linotype-Hell, helped shape the Adobe PostScript Font Library, and his solo foundry, Type Innovations, continues to build on that legacy. Altus Grotesk is a high-impact geometric display font that combines sharp-cornered, highly stylised capitals with clean circular forms and generous proportions. A strong choice for logos, posters, and headline branding work where you need both presence and clarity.

14. IvyMazarin Big by Ivy Foundry

IvyMazarin demonstrates the difference between reviving a historical typeface and simply reproducing it. Designer Jan Maack took Astrée, a 1921 Garamond interpretation commissioned for the Imprimerie Nationale in Paris, and drew out a display version with precision and sensitivity. Think dramatic contrast, generous proportions and a sense of grandeur.

Ivy Mazarin typeface displaying red and olive serif letterforms with text noting it is a display typeface in 22 styles drawn by Jan Maack in 2026

Ivy Mazarin typeface sample showing serif letters "Aa" on coral background beside text displaying font name and foundry details

Typographic title "Books & Culture" in coral and black serif lettering with geometric line patterns in background, credited to Ivy Foundry

15. Thalo by Signal Type Foundry

Thalo began as a commission from a state transportation agency: a humanist sans designed to meet accessibility requirements for signage and timetables. Max Phillips at Signal Type Foundry in Dublin has kept contrast low, with generous letterspacing and open counters and apertures throughout. Letters such as b, d, p, and q have been carefully drawn to minimise confusion for dyslexic readers, while I, l, 1, and i are as distinct as possible. This clarity means Thalo can create impact in branding and editorial, as well as signage.

Large orange and blue illuminated sign displaying "Thalo Intelligent Inventory" with silhouetted figures walking past it in a dark space

Berlin U-Bahn transit map showing coloured lines with station names including Hansaplatz, Potsdamer Platz and Hauptbahnhof

Suspended wayfinding sign with light blue panel marked "2" and dark teal directional panel listing Thalography, Cafeteria, Koren Wing, North Tower and Clinical Services

16. Shuffle by Local Type

Originally designed for a children's healthcare centre in Brazil, Shuffle is a two-axis variable display font (weight and bounce) that ranges from bold and exuberant to lighter and sharper, with 12 static styles too. It's the first release from Local Type, João Luiz Wittkowski's new foundry based in Valencia, Spain, and one style is free for personal and commercial use.

Colourful typographic labels in yellow, white and grey displaying slang terms including "So Cool", "Wow", "Trendy", "Much Likeable", "Awesome", "Fresh", "Such Dynamic" and "Very #Digital" on a teal background

17. Blubird by Rajesh Kumar

Blubird is a contemporary narrow sans-serif with nine weights, 36 styles, and two optical sizes (Display and Text) for genuine range. With dedicated italics, this font strikes a strong balance between visual impact and typographic refinement.

Cream and red typographic design for Berlin typeface by Dennis Walker, featuring a gold figure silhouette against a red geometric shape on grass-textured green background

Woman with long dark hair in grey jacket holding a beverage, overlaid with large red "Balen" text on a bus interior setting

Three people stand in a field beside a transparent plastic sheet suspended on a metal frame, with festival laurel wreaths and dates displayed above in yellow text.

18. Vestige by Claire Wilde

Vestige takes the idea of a handmade typeface into new, unusual territory. Designer Claire Wilde developed this uppercase display typeface from physical clay impressions of lettering found on gravestones, while retaining the irregularities and weathered character of the original impressions. Her documentation of the process has reached 147k views.

White serif typeface spelling "Vestige" overlaid on a moody forest path lined with tall trees, with the subtitle "A display typeface from the imprints of real gravestones

White storefront window displaying "The Last Chapter Vintage Booksellers" signage with shelves of books visible inside and stacked books on a wooden bench below

Spiral notebook with hand-printed letterforms surrounded by stone tiles bearing impressed letters and a black ink pad on grass

19. Puerile Grotesque by Applied Systems Design Studio

Alister Shapley at Applied Systems Design Studio has been thinking about what "play" actually means in typography, and Puerile Grotesque is his answer. While his earlier font, Puerile Display, explored ornament and expressive forms, Puerile Grotesque questions the underlying structure of letterforms. Together, they form a complementary, convention-busting family.

Outdoor billboard on a brick wall displaying text about transitioning between minimal and maximal design with large orange geometric shapes and a small black and white photograph

A printed page overlaid with a black and white architectural photograph, featuring orange design elements and the typeface name Puerile Grotesque displayed vertically.

White canvas tote bag with overlapping orange and black typography reading "Puerile Grotesque" held by a person wearing a grey jumper

20. Magmæ by Arillatype

Pedro Arilla and Cristina Villellas at Arillatype named their new industrial typeface after the molten rock beneath the Earth's crust. It's a design of opposites: fluid, organic curves contrast with a mechanical digital skeleton; soft outer contours meet structured, squared counters. Engineered for high functionality and precise performance, this font has a raw energy that makes it a strong choice for packaging, industrial branding, and architecture-based projects.

Magmae typeface name displayed in bold red letters against a dark red gradient background

Bright orange ampersand, question mark and exclamation mark characters on a dark red background

Magmae typeface display showing weight variations from Air to Super in orange and red text on dark background, alongside abstract orange and yellow gradient illustration

21. Scooch by Fred Wiltshire

Scooch is a large serif family that pairs gaiety with typographic rigour – no mean feat. The swash capitals, influenced by 19th-century display typefaces, add flourish; the lowercase is tamed by comparison, with a simplified "t" that runs through the family as a visual thread. One of those rare display families that can function as text when needed.

Cream-coloured text reading "New Release Scotch Is Here" with a red crown, blue thistle and orange and red decorative elements, credited to EoR × Ff on dark background

A typeface specimen chart showing eight font weights from Thin to Black displayed in white text, with four coloured stripes at the top and the word "WEIGHTS" in multicoloured letters at the bottom against a dark background

Red stylised lettuce illustration with blue spiral snail at its base, with "EST.2025 LETTUCE REJOICE" text in blue above and below

22. Clamp by Daniel Iglesias

Clamp is a type system that builds multiple personalities directly into a single typeface, rather than creating separate styles. Designers can adapt it to different contexts by changing its character through OpenType alternates.

Laptop displaying text "Designed for Everyday Built the Real World" flanked by a green cone-shaped object and a small pen on a white surface

White t-shirt with printed garment care instructions and composition details on the back, featuring an orange label on the sleeve

A 3D rendered device displaying "Hello!" on a dark screen, surrounded by design sketches and typography samples with blue accents

23. Brinell by Latinotype

Latinotype named its new slab serif after the Brinell hardness scale, a 1900 engineering test that measures a material's resistance to deformation. The team drew on classic industrial slabs like Rockwell and updated the proportions and details by removing some serifs, flattening contrast, and creating a cleaner overall look. Its intentional inconsistencies (the terminal on the /a, the slightly off-rule details) give it a warmth that precise, corrected type often lacks.