Monotype Imaging Inc., a global leader in type and technology, has launched the Hot & Wet futures project as part of Monotype’s type trends Re:Vision 2025 campaign, which examines the big global themes impacting the world through a design lens.
Spearheaded by Garnham, in partnership with Bruce Mau Design (BMD), a multidisciplinary brand and design studio, this project explores how visual communication can shift climate conversations to inspire imagination, optimism, and action.
At the center of the project is Climate Chronicle, a microsite with a rotating collection of tomorrow’s “future headlines,” written as if environmental progress has already been achieved. Combining collaborative creative leadership with practical design tips, the project demonstrates how small, intentional design choices can contribute to a more sustainable future.
Climate Chronicle: Project Highlights
- A series of optimistic “future headlines,” imagining a more positive climate future.
- Sustainable design tips paired with each headline, making technical choices visible and actionable
- A focus on how design choices can ripple outward to influence perception and action
- Headlines set in Macklin™ Variable, a variable font superfamily chosen for its bold, expressive style and ability to deliver typographic variety with fewer files and lower digital impact
Driving Climate-Positive Action Through Design
While discussions around the environment can feel overwhelming, this project demonstrates how design can act as a catalyst for sustainability, showing how the creative decisions we make (such as typography) can influence environmental outcomes. Small technical decisions multiplied at scale have a large impact.
“Future Headlines is an exercise we use in our brand workshops — it felt like a natural framework to use in our collaboration with Monotype,” said Kar Yan Cheung, Director of Design Strategy at BMD
Envisioning a More Sustainable Future
To bring the future headlines in Climate Chronicles to life, Monotype Executive Creative Directors selected Macklin™ Variable, a variable font superfamily of 54 styles that evokes newspaper headlines with attention-grabbing styles. This selection shows that environmentally conscious choices can act as a compelling storytelling component. It also illustrates the power of variable fonts in building harmonious, yet stylistic variety across the design canvas.
A creative decision to use fewer styles, smaller files, or variable fonts can have a meaningful impact on energy use when evaluated. Smarter font delivery and broader script support make typography more sustainable for everyone.
Typography may seem like a small piece of the puzzle, but its sustainability potential is significant and increasingly essential as digital ecosystems continue to expand. Perhaps the strongest impact a typeface can have on the environment is on the emotional appeal of the storytelling itself.
“Inquisitive designers are always trying to push boundaries; it’s in our nature. Environmental design offers another touchpoint for that creative spirit. A typeface is kilobytes of encoded culture in a world of gigabyte media — by choosing and using typefaces with intention, typography becomes a subtle but serious climate tool,” said Phil Garnham, Executive Creative Director at Monotype. “Timeless type design is, in many ways, ecological design.”
“News-wise, we are overwhelmed by dystopian narratives about the climate crisis. Without hopeful, creative visions of what’s possible, we risk collective paralysis. We wanted to explore what it might feel like to encounter positive news about what our lives could be like if we addressed climate change. If we can’t imagine the future we want, we can’t possibly get there,” said Laura Stein, Chief Creative Officer at BMD.
Explore Hot & Wet and Climate Chronicle. Hear more from Monotype and BMD on the Creative Characters podcast.
