Netflix created its own typeface in 2018, as much to assert its image as to control its costs on a global scale.
The typefaces
Before 2018, the brand used Gotham. In March 2018, it introduced Netflix Sans, developed by its design team with the Dalton Maag foundry, in six weights from Thin to Black. The red logotype, in slightly curved condensed capitals, evokes a cinema screen.
The system
Netflix Sans is compact, to fit titles, thumbnails and dense interfaces. It accompanies users from the home screen to posters and trailers. According to the brand's team, it is meant to be "cinematic", compact, efficient and approachable.
Why it works
The typeface gives a unique voice to a platform streamed around the world. It also answers an economic need: according to Netflix, owning its typeface saves millions of dollars in licensing fees every year. A compact form directly serves the interface, where every pixel counts.