TypoCircle Turns 50 as Canva and Monotype Expand Font Library

The Typographic Circle, the volunteer-run London organisation founded as The Type Directors Club in 1976, is marking its 50th anniversary with a special poster series and events throughout 2026. Over five decades, TypoCircle has hosted talks from some of graphic design's most significant figures, with each speaker invited to design the poster for their own event — building an extraordinary archive of work.

Canva and Monotype have expanded their partnership to bring more than 1,000 new font styles to Canva's global creator community, taking the total number of Monotype and foundry partner fonts on the platform past 3,000. The largest increases come in Hindi (99 families, 298 styles), Bengali (72 families, 237 styles), and Vietnamese (114 families, 249 styles), with substantial additions also in Arabic, Khmer, Lao and Thai. Highlighted typefaces include Basis Grotesque Arabic from Colophon Foundry, Noort Bengali from TypeTogether, and Malila from Cadson Demak. Since the partnership launched in 2023, Monotype fonts have been used in more than one billion Canva designs.

Antalis has acquired the assets and trade of Ovenden Papers from its administrators, strengthening its presence in the UK paper merchanting market. The long-established family business entered administration due to cashflow pressures and will continue to operate under the Ovenden name, supported by Antalis in the UK and Ireland. The acquisition includes customer relationships, employees, premises and operational assets. Nick Thompson, Regional Managing Director at Antalis UKI, said the immediate priority is to provide stability and continuity for customers, suppliers and employees while a detailed review of the business is undertaken.

WWF has entered the coffee market with Earthbrew, a range that invests 100% of profits in protecting forests, wildlife and natural environments. The launch product is a Colombian Supremo whole-bean coffee made from 100% Fairtrade-certified Arabica beans, grown and hand-picked in the high-altitude regions of Colombia's Andes, with a ground version planned for October. The beans are roasted and packed in the UK at a carbon-neutral certified roastery powered by 100% renewable electricity, and the packaging uses 100% recyclable materials. Specialist retail agency Blackdog has been appointed to lead the launch brief following a competitive pitch. Research estimates that climate change could erase more than 50% of suitable coffee-growing land by 2050.

FutureBrand has worked with Bentley Motors on a new global showroom concept, unveiled at the marque's London flagship dealership Jack Barclay. The design replaces the transactional dealership with a hospitality-driven journey through lounges, lifestyle moments and a standout Atelier commissioning space where customers explore leathers, veneers and materials around a central table with an adaptive digital interface. A Living Theatre transforms the traditional car handover into a multisensory cinematic reveal. FutureBrand developed the concept as a scalable system that can flex across Bentley's global network, from compact urban sites to large multi-storey dealerships.

Appointments

London-based independent studio Velvet Badger has revealed a two-year strategic creative partnership behind Keeps, the regulated sports investment platform founded by Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish that aims to give retail investors access to sport as an asset class. The studio, whose previous clients include Gucci and Christian Louboutin, has shaped Keeps across naming, positioning, product architecture, visual identity, UX and launch creative. Co-founder Chris Joyce described it as "a dream brief", adding that the studio drew on ten years of experience in blockchain and technology to help build the platform, which is expected to launch in Q4 2026.

Design Bridge and Partners has led the creative vision and experiential identity for the Happiness Factory, a new visitor experience in Turin for Italian confectionery brand Leone 1857. The 2,000-square-metre space spans 14 experiential zones, from the Leone Wonder Ramp to the Garden of Delights, all built around the brand's live working factory. Design Bridge's relationship with Leone dates back to 2022, when it evolved the brand's strategy and packaging around the concept of Sensory Escapism. The Happiness Factory prioritises analogue interaction, kinetic mechanics and tactile materials over screens. Exhibition design was by Studio Paolo Monzeglio, with interactive and multimedia elements by Fo.LL.i.A.

Design Bits

Kids' audio platform Yoto has launched the 4th Generation of its Yoto Player and Yoto Mini, three years in the making. The headline feature is a new Green Button that gives children instant, cardless access to up to 20 daytime and 20 nighttime favourites, set by parents through the app. Both players are rebuilt with a new processor, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 6.1, and 64GB storage — double the previous generation, enough for 1,000+ hours of offline audio. The Yoto Player 4th Gen gets a redesigned full-panel night light with seven colours and wireless charging, while the Yoto Mini 4th Gen is now IP67 dust and water resistant. Founded by Ben Drury and Filip Denker via Kickstarter in 2017, Yoto has reached over six million children in 200+ countries and holds a King's Award for Enterprise, a D&AD Pencil, and a TIME Best Inventions listing. The Yoto Mini 4th Gen also sits in the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation alongside the original iPhone.

Poole-based product design consultancy Aetha has designed Yapa, the UK's first home phone built specifically for children aged 5 to 14. Connected to domestic Wi-Fi and operating through VoIP, it has no apps, no social media, and no internet access. A small display shows names and missed calls, while contacts must be pre-approved by a parent. Founded by Tom Parsons, a former senior designer at Dyson, Aetha drew on the aesthetics of the early 2000s for the design, from the interchangeable covers of Nokia phones to the aluminium shells of the iPod Nano. Priced at around £100, Yapa arrives as growing numbers of parents look for ways to give children voice communication at home without handing them a smartphone.

Pune-based studio Rare Ideas has designed the brand narrative, naming, visual identity and packaging for Monk'd, a new healthier ice cream brand built around everyday indulgence rather than restriction. The studio's strategic work began with primary interviews, store walks, category research and consumer behaviour analysis, identifying an opportunity to move away from the guilt-free, subtraction-led language that dominates the healthier ice cream space. For the packaging, Rare Ideas moved away from literal ingredient imagery, instead building an illustration-led world where each flavour becomes its own small landscape of indulgence.

BrewDog has launched its first major marketing campaign since being acquired by Tilray Brands in a £33 million rescue deal earlier this year. Created by LOVE, the 'Under New Ownership' campaign takes the brand's recent history head-on with sharp wordplay and self-deprecating honesty: 'No More Cunning Stunts. Just Great Beer' sits next to Punk IPA, 'We've Flipped the Bird' accompanies Wingman, and 'A Little Less Allegation' runs alongside Elvis Juice. The multi-platform campaign spans large-format OOH, digital screens, and a personal letter from Tilray published across 70,000 copies of City AM. Since acquiring BrewDog, Tilray says it has invested nearly £50 million across operations, working capital and people, relaunching 16 bars and releasing new beers. Promotional pricing, including four-packs of Punk IPA for £3, will support the campaign across convenience, supermarkets and on-trade.

Desk Curiosities

Luxury packaging manufacturer GPA Global is opening Le Studio on 15 October, an immersive showroom at its Paris-area headquarters designed to give brands a permanent space to explore materials, emerging finishes and new packaging concepts with the company's creative teams. The space features a TrendVision area for seasonal colour and material forecasting, a Collection Wall showcasing new structures and innovations, and a Reveal Wall installation that recreates the unboxing moment central to luxury packaging. Le Studio will also host innovation days, trend sessions and sustainability workshops throughout the year.

Trainline has launched The Re-fresher Bag, a limited-edition compressible laundry bag for students travelling home with their dirty washing. The campaign, dubbed The Washing Line, follows research revealing that 70% of students take their laundry home to parents or guardians, with an estimated 3,650 tonnes of dirty clothes set to hit the UK's rail network in the first term alone. The 80-litre bag features compression straps and a roll-top design sized to fit a standard overhead luggage rack, a detachable machine-washable mesh insert, and a charcoal-activated inner panel to keep smells in check. Its print was designed by Maria Goundry, a graduate of Central Saint Martins. Because the print's positioning shifts with every fold, no two bags look quite the same. The Re-fresher Bag is available for free in limited weekly drops every Tuesday for five weeks.\n With TypoCircle's archive growing through its anniversary poster series and Canva pushing typographic choice past 3,000 fonts, the infrastructure of design — its type libraries, showrooms and retail spaces — is being rebuilt for audiences the industry has long underserved.