Font Choice and AI: Monotype’s 2024 Research into the Future of Creative Workflows

• Table of Contents

  Toggle

  New research commissioned by Monotype reveals attitudes to AI and AI-enabled tools in the type and design industry

• 91% of designers and creatives surveyed say that AI and AI tools are useful for their work in the type industry

• Creatives and designers surveyed are more likely to be optimistic (34%) about AI than pessimistic (21%)

• Research also highlights the rising popularity of subscription-based design platforms (89%) and the central importance of font choice in the creative process (83%)

Type and technology company Monotype has released new research into how creatives and designers around the world are responding to the rise of AI and AI-enabled tools within the industry. The research also delves into font licensing and design priorities.

The research was commissioned by Monotype from independent market research company Censuswide and concluded in November this year. 4,777 graphic designers, type designers, and brand leaders were surveyed across the UK, US, Germany, Spain, France, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, India, Indonesia, and other countries around the world.

• The research reveals that nine out of ten (91%) designers and creatives surveyed believe that AI and AI tools can be useful for their work in the type industry.
• The results also reveal that creatives and designers are more likely to be optimistic about AI than pessimistic. Only 21% are pessimistic about AI’s impact on design, with 75% either optimistic (34%), neutral (23%), or undecided (18%), and 4% other.
• The most valuable design applications of AI identified by respondents were being able to visualize typography in real world scenarios (45%), suggesting font pairings (45%), speeding up more routine elements of design workflows (43%), and improving the discovery of new fonts (43%).

Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Zoe Lu, SVP, SMB @ Pacvue

• Despite rapid change in the design industry over the last two years, the research shows typography remains central to design, with over eight out of ten (83%) of those surveyed identifying font selection as one of the top three components in their creative decision-making process.
• Three quarters (75%) of respondents view choosing a distinctive typeface as critical to shaping a brand’s identity.

Mary Catherine Pflug, Senior Director of Partner Experience & Inventory Lifecycle at Monotype said, “At Monotype, we are leveraging AI to give creatives and designers great new user experiences and remove some of the more laborious, repetitive tasks so they can focus on accomplishing their goals. Our research shows creatives view font choice as one of the most important elements of their creative process, and Monotype’s AI-enabled discovery tools like search and font pairing are helping designers make better decisions, faster.”

Marketing Technology News: How will 5G Technology Impact Marketing and Advertising?

The research also sheds light on the rise of subscription-based design platforms in the workflows of creatives and designers.

• 89% of those surveyed currently use design-related subscription tools (e.g. Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Shutterstock, Picsart, Kittl, Monotype Fonts).
• On average, respondents hold four design-related subscriptions.
• 42% of respondents reported that their brand or client’s brand is hindered by the lack of font choices on social media platforms.

Ninan Chacko, CEO of Monotype, said, “This new research from Monotype challenges the prevailing view that most creatives are somehow inherently ‘anti-AI.’ Our research reveals that, to the contrary, most creatives and designers are positive about the potential of AI and AI-enabled tools for their work when they understand its power to democratize design through enhancing, amplifying, and accelerating human creativity. By leveraging the power of AI judiciously, we are making great typography more accessible and helping design professionals around the world elevate brands with career-defining work.”

The survey was carried out by Censuswide, who surveyed type users across the global design community. The survey provides insights into the design community’s views on font subscriptions and purchasing, design and type marketplaces, variable fonts, the importance of accessibility, and pain points with font selection and licensing.