Typeface Persona App
A Vintage Typography App
Overview
Nostalgic Reverie is a type-driven exploration app built in Figma and shaped entirely by the Benguiat typeface. The challenge was to create a cohesive visual identity rooted in one serif font, transforming its literary, expressive personality into UI components, color palettes, and interactive moments. Benguiat’s cinematic, vintage sensibility is reminscient of mystery novels and old print posters. This became the foundation for the app’s nostalgic aesthetic. This project allowed me to experiment with how a decorative serif can define a product’s personality while still remaining functional in a modern interface.
- Explored and iterated the core design of the app through multiple cycles of low-fidelity sketches and high-fidelity redesigns, refining the interface with each pass
- Designed core interactive elements including the keyboard, button styles, display screen, and color system, ensuring each component aligned with the overall typographic concept
- Developed an interactive Figma prototype to demonstrate type previews, UI behaviors, and transitions
Challenges
Establishing the app’s design direction
It was initially challenging to understand Benguiat’s expressive typographic style and translate it into a functional, cohesive UI.
Designing interactive and responsive elements
Designing certain elements, like a fully functional keyboard, in Figma was an advanced task I had little prior experience with.
Structuring the app’s layout
Determining a clear layout and deciding which features to include required careful planning and iteration.
Solutions
Solution: Using typographic research to guide design decisions
Analyzing Benguiat’s forms and style helped me translate its character into spacing, color, and interaction choices for a cohesive UI.
Solution: Using structured component logic to build functionality
I used Figma variants, interaction states, and auto layout to create a functional, responsive system through clear component logic.
Solution: Balancing style with clarity
I refined contrast, spacing, and hierarchy to ensure Benguiat’s expressive style enhanced the design without compromising usability.
Outcomes
Fully
Functional
Prototype
Typeface-Driven
UI
System
Expanded
Figma
Expertise
Explore the work
To explore the full wireframes and prototype, use the links below.
