A new font-based identity system is poised to change how brands package and deliver their visual assets. Developed by Otherwhere Collective, Emblème functions as a comprehensive brand system housed within a single file.
This departure from traditional branding elements — which typically require separate files for logos, icons, and animations — streamlines workflows across digital, print, and motion design.
“It can be used for everything from editorial layouts to signage, UX design, and kinetic brand applications. Motion designers can animate identity elements straight from the font, developers can activate them via CSS and JavaScript, and print designers can work with them just like traditional typography — all from the same file,” explains Andrew Bellamy, founder of Otherwhere Collective.
A Unique Model: The NFT of Typography
Emblème introduces a 1/1 licensing model, ensuring that each iteration of the font is exclusive to a single brand. This structure draws parallels to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), where ownership is uniquely assigned and cannot be duplicated.
“At its core, Emblème is about redefining how a brand is built, packaged, and handed over — streamlining workflows while unlocking new creative possibilities,” says Bellamy. The approach stands in contrast to the traditional licensing of fonts, which allows multiple brands to use the same typeface. Instead, Emblème’s exclusivity aligns it more closely with the NFT model, offering a unique brand asset that remains proprietary.
Despite the decline in NFT popularity, Emblème’s model suggests a potential new application of digital ownership in design. The concept introduces a shift in branding, where the typeface itself becomes an intrinsic, unrepeatable part of the brand’s identity.
However, developing Emblème was not without its challenges. “Fonts aren’t traditionally designed to handle this level of complexity, so making sure color and ligatures functioned consistently across different platforms took extensive testing,” says Bellamy. “Technically, integrating logos, motifs, and dynamic animations into a typeface pushed font technology beyond its usual limits.”
Whether Emblème will be widely adopted remains uncertain, but its innovation in merging branding and typography suggests a new frontier for identity design.
