Casting, not choosing

We don’t pick a typeface from a list of favourites. We audition it. A tailor needs letters that stand up straight. A perfumer needs letters that breathe. We set the same line in five faces, lay each one over the same frame and watch which one the room believes. It’s usually obvious within a minute, and it’s rarely the one we expected.

Let it move like it means it

On screen, type has timing. A headline that fades in over a second reads differently from one that cuts in on the beat. We give every brand a small set of moves: how a word enters, how long it holds, how it leaves. Then we use them everywhere, from the opening frame of a film to the hover state of a button. That consistency is what makes a system sound like one voice.

Fewer sizes, more conviction

Most sites we inherit use eleven font sizes. Most of the ones we build use four. Fewer sizes force harder decisions about what matters, and the hierarchy gets clearer because of it. A big line should feel big because everything around it is quiet, not because it’s shouting.

Test it in the worst light

Type that only works on a large monitor isn’t finished. We check every system on a cracked phone, in direct sun, at the bottom of a long scroll. If it still reads, and still feels like the brand, it’s ready.