Using Serif Fonts in UI & Screen Design with José Scaglione from TypeTogether

I’m joined by wonderful José Scaglione. He is a type designer, lecturer, and co-founder of the high renown foundry TypeTogether, which is behind popular typefaces like Bree or Adelle. They worked with top brands, like Apple and Google, where they also contributed serif typefaces for screen rendering. And this is why I invited José – to discuss with him the predominance of sans-serif in user interfaces and screen design more broadly.

We speak about, why it might be a legacy issue, and that moving out of your comfort zone can be very rewarding. It brings us to legibility, readability, and accessibility. José also shares how he experienced the switch from static fonts to variable fonts as a type designer and foundry. If you struggle with pairing typefaces, this episode also has some tips for you.

Talking points:
00:28 Introduction
02:39 Greeting to José Scaglione
03:36 Is the font in the TypeTogether logo overused?
06:01 Don’t use tabular figures on business cards
07:27 Benefits of learning about typography
09:49 Why is sans-serif dominant in UIs?
13:02 Legibility, regardless of sans or serif
15:34 Why are neo-grotesques so popular?
17:08 Arguments against neutrality & Helvetica
18:57 Portada: A serif typeface for UI design
20:39 Complexity of printing vs screen
24:30 Variable fonts and optical sizing
27:57 Variable fonts and file size
29:37 Do you need the design space of VF?
31:31 Belarius: Slab serifs in UI design
35:40 Accessibility and typography
42:38 Advice for typography newbies
43:20 Tips on pairing typefaces
45:26 Rapid Round of questions
47:11 Goodbye
48:18 Summary

Visuals, quotes, and links:
https://pimpmytype.com/talk01