Twitter Bids Adieu To Using ‘Someone Else’s’ Fonts With Its Own ‘Chirp’ Typeface
Image via Derrit DeRouen, Twitter’s Creative Director of Global Brand at Twitter
Twitter has publicly debuted a new, in-house typeface, aptly named ‘Chirp’.
The social media site is rolling it out to accounts, starting with those that were selected to be part of its beta testing programs. While the change is big news for the brand’s identity, it may be rather subtle to users, so keep your eyes peeled.
According to the tech firm, the new typeface is supposed to look like blocks hand-cut from wood, and is custom to Twitter, further cementing the brand’s quirky personality. Derrit DeRouen, Creative Director of Global Brand at Twitte, describes the typeface as a combination of American Gothic and European Grotesque styles.
In the past, the app had relied on minimalist typefaces such as SF Pro, Helvetica Neue or Roboto, but now with Chirp, it’s planning on coming across as more personable to users. “In the history of the company we’ve either relied on someone else’s typeface,” wrote DeRouen. He added, “So, that brings us to ‘Chirp’, our first-ever proprietary typeface.”
Earlier this year, he said the company’s key objective was “to improve how we convey emotion and imperfection.”
It seems Twitter wants to move away from a soul-less, corporate image that plagues tech firms and reinstate warmth and human-ness with Chirp.
I want to give a bit more depth to Chirp, our new typeface.
— Derrit DeRouen (@DerritDeRouen) January 27, 2021
Type, in 280 character doses, is the foundation of Twitter. In the history of the company we’ve either relied on someone else’s typeface, from SF Pro and Roboto, to Helvetica Neue in our brand. pic.twitter.com/OrvlYsxF9g
So, that brings us to “Chirp”, our first ever proprietary typeface. pic.twitter.com/cHPXtGHNCc
— Derrit DeRouen (@DerritDeRouen) January 27, 2021
[via GQ, cover image via Derrit DeRouen]
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