Typeset in the Future
A site that identifies and analyzes the typefaces used in science fiction films, such as Blade Runner, Alien, and 2001.
What HN says
HN commenters recommend it as a fantastic blog with incredibly detailed font analysis of sci-fi movies, and note Eurostile's frequent appearances.
Stats for nerds
71HN people shared it
52linked in comments
3.1Kstory points
Aug 2026last shared
Top posts on HN
- 1The Typeset of Wall·E (2018)2 people · 843 points · first shared 2018 · 87 comments on HN
- 2Typography of “Alien” (2014)6 people · 812 points · first shared 2016 · 97 comments on HN
- 3Moon1 person · 689 points · first shared 2014 · 90 comments on HN
- 4The Typography of Blade Runner (2016)21 people · 333 points · first shared 2016 · 114 comments on HN
- 5Typography of 2001: A Space Odyssey (2014)8 people · 196 points · first shared 2016 · 75 comments on HN
- 6Typography of Star Trek: The Motion Picture3 people · 128 points · first shared 2020 · 8 comments on HN
- 7How to make your text look futuristic (2016)2 people · 48 points · first shared 2018 · 6 comments on HN
- 8Alien – My third post about typography in sci-fi4 people · 37 points · first shared 2014 · Discussion on HN
- 9The Typography of 2001: A Space Odyssey4 people · 29 points · first shared 2014 · 2 comments on HN
- 10Typeset in the future- Fonts in sci-fi15 people · 6 points · first shared 2014 · Discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
- jaclazJan 2018
In the movie, from a plain photography, the ESPER machine manages, somehow, to enter into a reflection, and then expand in the reflection, seeing things that are "not there" in the original image, in practice in the fiction the whole 3d space (even what is on the side of the door) is navigable and viewable:
http://thelegalgeeks.com/2017/06/28/admissibility-of-zhoras-photo-in-blade-runner/
What I mean can be better appreciated in this reconstruction:
https://typesetinthefuture.com/2016/06/19/bladerunner/
https://typesetinthefuture.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/bladerunner_esper_room_layout_full.png
https://vimeo.com/169392777
- bb88Jul 2024
I still remember this golden article from that same site:
https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/01/31/2001-a-space-odyssey/
While he’s doing so, there’s a dramatic… COMPUTER MALFUNCTION …in the hibernation pods, which causes the life support machines of the hibernating science crew to start reporting… LIFE FUNCTIONS CRITICAL …and end up with their… LIFE FUNCTIONS TERMINATED …which isn’t what they wanted AT ALL. Still: if it is going to happen, it may as well happen in what is probably Univers 67 Bold Condensed.
- AmorymeltzerJul 2024
The book (<https://typesetinthefuture.com/2018/12/11/book/>) is a fun read, too! I think it was David Plotz who said "read more books with pictures." Interviews, gorgeous looking, and does a good job showing the whole world you can miss by just watching a movie once (or even twice) without really seeing everything. It gives a good sense, too, of how movies first create the standards for "future" and then proceed to subvert or reference those standards.
- rsyncJul 2020
A few tangentially related links ...
First, there are a few write-ups of the fictional UI(s) used in The Martian:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/30473933/The-Martian-UI-Screen-Graphics
https://medium.com/territory-film/ui-stories-the-martian-efffa28e1a98
Second, I think this blog on sci-fi typography may be interesting to those reading this thread:
https://typesetinthefuture.com/
- sudobash1May 2023
I would also recommend checking out the "Typeset in the Future" website [1]. It does a bit of a deep dive on several films, trying to identify the fonts visible, not only on the title logos, but also on labels, in-universe logos, etc. My favorite is the 2001 Space Odyssey one [2]
1: https://typesetinthefuture.com/
2: https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/01/31/2001-a-space-odyssey/
- java-manMar 2025
Here is an example: a certain blogger, Dave Addey [0] published a book [1] which is basically a hardcopy of the blog.
After the EMP flash of 2075, the centient raccoons will enjoy reading the stories of the civilization long gone.
[0] https://typesetinthefuture.com/author/typesetinthefuture/
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Typeset-Future-Typography-Science-Fiction/dp/1419727141