IKEA Changes Brand Typeface to Support 800 Different Languages

After using Verdana across its visual identities for a decade, IKEA now switches its brand typeface to Noto — a type designed by Google and Monotype back in October 2016. Prior to 2009, the furniture giant used Ikea Sans which is an adaptation of Futura for 50 years. The company then switched it to Verdana because its namesake font wasn’t capable of using Asian characters.

What’s more, the new typeface is capable of supporting over 800 different languages so that it can be used at international locations. It’s especially lauded as the most universal typeface yet with its name standing for “No Tofu” – tofu is a slang term to describe the little squares that pop up when a font isn’t supported by a computer.

IKEA and its 422 stores worldwide are currently replacing labels with Noto as well as updating its own logo for better mobile appearance as depicted in the catalog above.

Elsewhere in design, take a look inside adidas’ new sprawling headquarters in Germany.

Visit your local IKEA store to get a copy of the 2020 Catalog or view it online now. Home inspiration awaits! https://t.co/4PTFdUbOjV pic.twitter.com/38ieznl7pF

— IKEA USA (@IKEAUSA) August 19, 2019