Typeface Mood Classifier

Selected Inter The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

What You Get

Every typeface gets scored across 8 emotional axes from 0 to 100. The wheel visualization shows the personality at a glance. Sliders let you explore what happens when you push any single emotion higher or lower. The system then re-ranks pairing suggestions and alternatives to match your adjusted mood.

The 8 Axes

Warmth: How friendly and inviting the letterforms feel. High warmth means soft curves and open shapes.
Formality: The level of structure and convention. High formality means traditional proportions and restrained details.
Modernity: How current or forward-looking the design reads. Geometric shapes and minimal strokes score high.
Playfulness: The degree of whimsy and unexpected character. Bouncy baselines and irregular shapes score high.
Trustworthiness: How reliable and authoritative the typeface feels. Balanced weight and clear legibility score high.
Energy: The visual dynamism. Condensed forms, sharp angles, and high contrast score high.
Elegance: The refinement and sophistication. Thin strokes, high contrast, and generous spacing score high.
Approachability: How easy the typeface is to engage with. Open apertures and generous x-heights score high.

How to Read the Wheel

The colored polygon overlaid on the wheel shows the typeface's mood profile. A larger area in a direction means a higher score on that axis. When comparing two typefaces, both polygons render simultaneously so you can see where they align and where they diverge. A good pairing typically shares 4-5 axes within 15 points while contrasting on 2-3 axes to create visual interest.

Common Scenarios

Startup Brand Identity

You want to feel innovative but trustworthy. Try Plus Jakarta Sans (modernity 82, trustworthiness 71) paired with Source Serif 4 for body text. The sans-serif headline conveys forward motion while the serif body grounds the reading experience.

Boutique Coffee Packaging

Warmth and elegance matter most. Fraunces (warmth 78, elegance 85) gives handcrafted character without feeling old-fashioned. Pair with Josefin Sans for labels and small text.

Tech Documentation

Approachability and trustworthiness lead. Inter (approachability 88, trustworthiness 79) is built for screens. Pair with JetBrains Mono for code samples. The mood gap is intentional: clarity over personality.

Event Poster

Energy and playfulness take center stage. Space Grotesk (energy 84, playfulness 67) works for headlines. Pair with DM Sans for details. The contrast in energy levels creates a natural visual hierarchy.

Mood Spectrum Guide

Use this slider to explore how mood profiles shift across the emotional spectrum. Drag the indicator to see example typefaces at different positions along any axis.

Axis: 50

Common Pairing Mistakes

Matching everything: Two typefaces with nearly identical scores on all 8 axes will look like a mistake, not a deliberate choice. Aim for contrast on at least 2 axes.
Ignoring weight range: A pairing that scores well on mood but has no usable weight variation will fail in practice. Always check that both families have the weights you need.
Pairing two display fonts: Display typefaces are designed to stand alone at large sizes. Using two together at body text size creates visual noise.
Overriding x-height mismatch: When two typefaces have very different x-heights, the smaller one will look like a mistake next to the larger one even if the mood scores align.
Following trends blindly: A typeface that scores high on modernity today may feel dated in two years. Balance trendiness with longevity by checking the trustworthiness axis.

Quick Tips

Start with your dominant emotion. Pick the single axis that matters most for your project and filter from there.
Use the compare mode when deciding between two finalists. Seeing both wheels side by side makes the choice obvious.
Export the spec and test in your actual layout. Screen rendering, spacing, and color all affect how a typeface feels.
Save profiles for each project. Building a library of tested typeface decisions speeds up future work.

Saved Profiles

No saved profiles yet. Classify a typeface and click Save to build your library.