In product design, choosing the right font isn’t just about aesthetics – it’s one of the most powerful ways to set the tone. It shapes how your product feels, how it’s perceived, and how easily people engage with it.

But what if you’re working at a company with strict brand guidelines – and always designing with the same typeface?

Here’s what I do: on days off, I give myself a small design challenge. A concept for a product, a landing page, a brand – just for fun.

But with no brief, no brand, and no real constraints… where do you start? Sure, you can scroll through bookmarks or moodboards. But that usually nudges you in a direction that’s already half-formed.

So instead, I start with typography.

I collect fonts constantly. I scroll through foundry sites like a design nerd in a candy store. And when one clicks, I imagine what kind of product or UI it could live in – the tone it could help shape.

Recently, I’ve sketched ideas for:

A fictional tomato brand

using Motorino by Typeverything.

An NBA Finals poster

with Dreamboat by Mark Simonson.

A badge for Olympic National Park

using Parkly by Dan Cederholm.

And I’m still eager to try something with:

Bowery Lane by Hoodzpah (maybe for a… 🛼 Roller Disco event?)

Bearklaw by Fort Foundry (maybe for a… 🥊 Boxing Glove logo?)

Hermanos by NuForm Type (maybe for a… 🌮 Taco Food Truck?)

I keep these sparks in a simple Figma file. As a library of inspiration – ready to go whenever time allows.

→ Here’s a collection of those sketches.