Emigre Digital Type vs The New Typography

Emigre Digital Type is the cross-discipline counterpart of The New Typography — the digital heir to the New Typography's experiment.

Original specimen in the Emigre Digital Type style

Emigre Digital Type

The pixel-embracing typography and deconstructed layouts of Emigre magazine, where the low-resolution Macintosh became a creative instrument rather than a limitation.

  • Bitmap typefaces built on a coarse pixel grid
  • Low-resolution Macintosh-era output
  • Layered, rule-breaking editorial layouts
  • Visible pixel staircase on letterforms
  • Experimental, deconstructed typography
Full Emigre Digital Type guide →
Original specimen in the New Typography style (after Tschichold)

The New Typography

The rigorous modernist program codified by Jan Tschichold — asymmetric layouts, sans-serif type, and the functional grid presented not as art but as a rational set of rules for clear, efficient communication.

  • Asymmetric, left-aligned layout replacing centered composition
  • Sans-serif (grotesque) type as the modern standard
  • Functional grid where every element earns its place
  • Active white space and rules directing the eye
  • Standardized formats and integration of photography
Full The New Typography guide →

At a glance

Emigre Digital TypeThe New Typography
Era1980s–1990s1925–1935
DisciplineGraphic DesignGraphic Design
RegionUnited StatesGermany, Switzerland
FamilyDigital, TypographyModernism, Typography
Formal traitsbitmap, low-resolution, layered, experimentalasymmetric, sans-serif, grid-based, functional

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