The best new typefaces for July by leading foundries and designers

Looking for type inspiration this summer? Then check out our curated selection of the month’s most compelling new releases.

July is hotting up to be a season of typographic creativity, with designers pushing the boundaries of font design—from thoughtful revivals that reinterpret century-old designs for contemporary use to bold experimental faces that prioritise personality over convention.

And things are only going to get hotter, as a number of design studios have launched new type-focused ventures. Take D8, a creative design agency based in Glasgow with studios in Europe and Asia. They’ve just launched a sister foundry, abcD8, to design typefaces for brands to own.

“Basically, we cut bespoke fonts for brands for a one-off fee: no hassles, no licenses, no hidden costs,” explains D8 co-founder Adrian Carroll. “The reason for this is that some of the bigger font libraries have changed the way the licensing model works. They now expect clients to pay an annual fee, which can seriously ramp up if you’re global, use type in broadcast, and so on.

“We were approached by a number of clients as a result,” he adds. “So we decided to formalise things with the launch of abcD8. So far, we’ve cut fonts for Walker’s Shortbread, Benromach, Chivas Regal, Canal+ and NPO, the Dutch Public broadcaster; our biggest font project to date.”

Meanwhile, Paris design studio Brand Brothers has unveiled a new display foundry focused on experimental typefaces. “Double B Type focuses on typefaces with strong visual and ornamental impact,” explains Johan Debit, designer and co-founder at Brand Brothers.

He continues: “Typefaces made to provoke surprise, break new ground and draw new contours. We’ve just released five new display typefaces, based on the pleasure of experimentation, as an echo to our work on identity. It’s a foundry in v1, which will expand over time and grow with our research and feedback.”

The tools helping us discover new fonts are evolving, too. Fonts Ninja, the browser extension used by more than 900,000 people, recently launched a major upgrade with smarter font detection powered by their own algorithm. Their Pinterest-like platform now lists over 150,000 fonts from foundries worldwide.

But what of the typefaces themselves? Read on and discover six new releases this July that could help bring your creative projects to life.

1. Lost by Federico Parra Barrios

Lost was inspired by designer Federico Parra Barrios’ move from Bogotá to Berlin in early 2024. His fascination with the city’s embossed metal plaques led him to study how distortion altered letterforms.

This variable font ranges from Normal to Compressed width—as letters narrow stems thin whilst junctions thicken and round out, echoing metal plaque distortions. Lost offers contemporary letterforms suited to expressive titling (narrow styles) and running text (standard width).

2. Tausend by Christoph Koeberlin and Gabriel Richter

Tausend represents something special from Fontwerk, designed by Christoph Koeberlin with Gabriel Richter. Following bestsellers like Pangea and FF Mark, this thoughtful homage to Akzidenz-Grotesk brings a fresh perspective to the grotesque tradition.

The new superfamily demonstrates remarkable versatility, with variable font technology providing seamless transitions. Tausend honours typographic heritage whilst addressing modern design needs—familiar yet contemporary, bridging historical reference with practical application.

3. RT Lately by RazziaType

RT Lately is a time-travelling witness to gothic evolution, building on over a century of technological and stylistic transitions. Mirco Schiavone’s design draws from Times Gothic (1906) and Franklin Gothic, reinterpreting their brutal geometry into softer, warmer shapes.

The typeface features generously wide proportions with geometric round letters, horizontally cut terminals, and narrow apertures. Square punctuation contrasts beautifully with circular shapes, whilst stylistic alternates (single-storey a and g) can emphasise its geometric appearance when activated.

4. Bus Sign by Applied Systems

Bus Sign draws inspiration from early 1900s UK transport signage, specifically double-decker bus route signs. This tall, condensed sans-serif captures the essence of such original signage and is enhanced by modern detailing.

Designed for large-format print and headlines, the font features high x-height, ensuring consistent legibility across scales. Balancing historical authenticity with practical functionality, it’s a good option suitable for heritage projects and contemporary applications requiring a British character.

5. Karel by Typonym

Inspired by glyphs on a mid-century Prague plaque, Karel synthesises historical discovery with contemporary invention. Developed for brand messaging and retail identity, it includes alternate figures to vary the level of stylisation.

Karel supports over 200 languages with extensive OpenType features and balances distinctiveness with usability. Additional weights are in development, including variable font plans, from hairline to black.

6. SLTF Rigale by Silver Stag Type

SLTF Rigale is bold, funky and irresistibly playful. Designed to inject life into creative projects, it boasts curvy forms, a wide stance and distinctive ink traps. In short, it’s full of personality for designers wanting to stand out: it creates punchy, expressive impact whilst maintaining technical quality.

Nicely walking the line between retro flair and contemporary confidence, this typeface would be a good choice for branding, packaging and social media graphics.