Joe Leadbeater
Type Designer · Designer · Co-Founder
In their own words
I’m a proud Londoner, and to me – Johnston’s underground lettering is London.
The most fun that can be had between these typefaces is the variable font that connects the two.
Our world is built on relationships, and I know it sounds strange, but the relational aspect of these non-identical twins felt quite heart warming.
Articles & interviews
- The best new fonts for March 2026
Creative Boom’s March 2026 roundup by Tom May highlights five notable new typefaces that balance historical influence with contemporary craft. Featured releases include Mark Caneso’s experimental ‘Please’, Neville Brody’s agitprop-inspired ‘BF Popaganda’, CoType’s softened ‘Aeonik Soft’, ALT.tf’s feminist revival ‘ALT Erogenous’, and Rubén Fontana’s sculptural ‘Archibrazo’. The article celebrates thoughtful, durable design amid global uncertainty.
- Meet Sociotype’s Ceno & Meso: sans and serif families that share DNA
The article introduces Sociotype’s new type families, Ceno and Meso, a sans and serif pair sharing structural DNA inspired by Edward Johnston’s London Underground lettering. Designed by Joe Leadbeater, the project explores the interplay between humanist tradition and modern digital flexibility through a variable font that interpolates between sans and serif. The piece details the design process, historical influences, and technical development behind the two-year project.
- "Top 50 Fonts Designers Will Love in 2026"
Creative Boom’s article by Tom May surveys the design community to identify 50 typefaces expected to trend in 2026. The roundup highlights a mix of contemporary and classic fonts from leading foundries such as Grilli Type, Klim, ABC Dinamo, and Pangram Pangram. It reflects a broader trend toward revisiting familiar grotesques and serifs with modern refinements for digital and branding applications.
- CoType Foundry Revamps Site, Expands Aeonik Typeface Globally
The Brand Identity interviews CoType Foundry’s Mark Bloom and Diana Ovezea about the foundry’s new website and the global expansion of its Aeonik type family. The redesign introduces a streamlined checkout system and expanded language support, while Aeonik now includes Condensed and Extended versions and scripts such as Arabic, Thai, Hebrew, and Hangul. The article explores the collaborative process behind the revamp and the foundry’s ambitions for global typography.
- Sociotype is a design-led type foundry from the minds of renowned London creative studio Socio
The article introduces Sociotype, a new design-led type foundry created by London studio Socio. It explores the launch of the foundry, its first two typefaces Gestura and Rework, and the accompanying printed publication Sociotype Journal. Through interviews with the team, it highlights their collaborative process, design philosophy, and ambitions for future type releases and editorial projects.
- Mark Bloom on launching CoType Foundry after seven years of planning
The Brand Identity interviews designer Mark Bloom about launching his new London-based type foundry, CoType, after seven years of planning. Bloom discusses his journey from graphic design to type design, the creation of his first fonts, and the development of CoType’s initial catalogue of four typefaces. He also shares insights into his design process, inspirations, and future plans for the foundry.