Dare to stay curious, letter by letter - Eleni Beveratou

Eleni Beveratou , creative director at the London type studio Dalton Maag , comes back to Daring Forever. ~ Her first conversation looked back at her origin story; this one looks ahead at what it means to be a type designer in 2026. Eleni explains why accessibility and multi-script design now lead client conversations, how variable fonts are bringing back craft that was lost in the early digital years, and why her team calls themselves font developers rather than type designers. She talks about the weight of designing letters that billions of people will read, the problem with outdated accessibility guidelines, and how growing up with Latinised Greek type shaped her sense of responsibility. Along the way, she makes the case that knowledge can’t be fast-tracked, that collaboration exposes our blind spots, and that bad kerning still gives the world plenty of stories. Key takeaways Type in 2026 is human. Accessibility and multi-script design are now what clients bring to the table, and Eleni sees both as type doing what it should. Bad kerning is a gift. A world of perfect type would be boring. Every misplaced letter on a boat or shopfront carries a story. Same typeface, different worlds. One font can look completely different depending on scale and context, so don’t be too prescriptive about how people use it. Variable fonts revive old craft. Punch cutters adjusted design and spacing for different sizes. Early digital type lost that, and variable fonts are bringing it back. Type can now move and respond. Variable fonts can react to sound, colour, and distance from the screen, opening type up to motion and interaction. Design and engineering inform each other. Knowing a typeface’s technical capabilities shapes the design, and design ambition pushes the engineering further. Test where the type will live. White text on black looks heavier because of a halo effect. Thorough testing across environments and operating systems shows what a shiny studio screen won’t. Know when to stop. Deadlines are real, imperfection is human, and more eyes on the work (colleagues, clients, real users) is how you reach excellence. Design for the eyes you serve. Most designers are 20 to 40, but many users are over 40, and eyesight changes. There’s no single accessibility fix. Expressive type can create a feeling. Information type needs to be read fast and clearly. Different needs call for different solutions. Question outdated guidelines. Many accessibility rules for type date from an era of five system fonts. Put real users in the decision-making. Multi-script work is shared work. Native in-house knowledge, outside consultants and clients’ local teams all help shape each script. Responsibility means doing the right thing slowly. Greek type was once heavily Latinised. Designers gradually corrected it, and in the process changed people’s habits. Hire the person behind the talent. Skill has to be there, but soft skills, teamwork, and a company’s human side make the difference. Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic daringcreativity.com | desk@daringcreativity.com Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook Book bundles https://novemberuniverse.co.uk Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off) November Universe <a href='https://novemberuni