Music Television crash landed on August 1, 1981 at 12:01 AM EST with a montage of images from the Apollo 11 moon landing. Memories of the MTV flag staking into the moon have lingered in our cultural consciousness for decades since.

On that first day of broadcasting, MTV used a different typeface in each video for their lower third graphics, designating such information as artists, song titles, and record labels in a typographic rainbow. The network eventually settled on Rudolph Koch’s Kabel as their brand typeface, defining much of MTV’s typographical identity for the next 25 years. In the 40 years since launching, MTV has revised their identity only three times, preferring smaller tweaks to large overhauls.

The most recent revision, which took place this year—led by branding agency loyalkaspar—anticipated the channel’s momentous 40th anniversary. The approach was holistic, addressing everything from the iconic MTV logo to its color palette and, importantly, a custom typeface from our Type Network partners.

The resulting typeface, MTV Gravity Grotesk, is a straightforward sans serif with an almost imperceptible contrast. The letterforms manage to let the media content shine without sacrificing any of MTV’s dynamic character. As loyalkaspar jokes in their case study, Gravity Grotesk is “business in the front, party in the back.”

It flexibly functions in 24 styles in three widths and six weights and “has been integral in giving the brand a consistent and ownable design language across all of [MTV’s] platforms,” says Richard Browd, VP of Brand Creative at MTV Entertainment Group: “Whether large or small, on-screen or out of home, this diverse font set is extremely legible without sacrificing any of the brand's personality.”