In January earlier this year I wrote a piece ‘Font Memories’ for Brand Equity. I asked then if fonts could talk, which one would match your personality? If your personality were a font, would it be bold or italicized? Is your personality a serif or a sans serif? We all have different writing styles and tones of voice, but what if fonts did, too? What kind of personality would Calibri or Times New Roman or Arial have? And, therefore, which one would match yours best?

Typography, experts now say, can give brands and people a voice right away with a new AI platform. Monotype, the global typography studio that works with the likes of Santander, Colgate, Bailey’s, Bridgestone and more has recently tied up with sound innovation firm Audiosocket to explore how fonts and music can harmonize. The pair has launched 'Fonic', an AI-driven platform that lets designers create multi-sensory experiences through typography.

By analyzing metadata from Monotype’s extensive font library and Audiosocket’s music catalog, Fonic aims to reveal the emotional and psychological connections between type and sound — an intersection often experienced by those with synesthesia, a phenomenon where one sense involuntarily triggers another (for example, some people say they have the ability to taste names or hear color!).

At the beginning of this year Monotype published its 2025 Type Trends Report, Re:Vision. The Report highlights six themes where design plays an active role in shaping conversations and inspiring action. Conflict & peace, for example, ought to have different fonts. There is also the perspective of ‘life cycle’ – how different generations engage with text differently, from Gen Z’s bold, attention-grabbing aesthetics to older generations’ preference for clear, legible fonts. It is an interesting report, for sure.

With Fonic, meanwhile, users can experiment with how different fonts and musical elements align to create distinct moods and brand identities. The project is also a research tool — over the course of the year, data from user interactions will help refine AI-driven insights into how typography and music influence perception. Is it really a lot of future tech that no one really needs? Well, Monotype claims that it has many world-leader brands queueing up to sign up. Is it too far out still for India? Perhaps yes. As print receds and not too many art directors understand the pivotal role in the audio-visual medium, Fonic may seem a distant horizon for us desi folks.

To start, on Fonic you simply fill out a personality test of sorts detailing the moods, themes, preferred font styles, music genres, and emotions you hope to instill through your creative assets, and so on. At its core, Fonic is an attempt to bridge a gap that has long existed in branding and design. While designers instinctively pair typography with music to evoke emotion, there has never been a systematic way to do so. Using AI, Fonic analyzes patterns between fonts and sound, creating curated pairings that go beyond subjective choices. The platform features prominent typefaces like Gotham and Albertus Nova, alongside lesser-known but distinctive fonts, all matched with music that complements their style. Just as a melody can shift a mood, a font’s shape, weight, and rhythm can supposedly subtly influence how an audience perceives a brand or message.

The technology behind Fonic is powered by Audiosocket’s AIMS search API, which combines AI with human-validated metadata to make precise recommendations. Leveraging machine learning, the platform refines its suggestions based on user input, ensuring an evolving tool to guide design decisions. And as more creatives get experimental, Monotype and Audiosocket expect to uncover deeper insights into how typography and sound can work together in branding and storytelling.

For Monotype, Fonic could help reinvent what brand identity means in an increasingly multimedia-driven world. Whether to craft a sonic logo or various advertising, packaging, or digital experiences, this AI-assisted approach may provide a fresh spin on how design choices shape perception. When are you going to give Fonic a test-drive?