Typeface Design for Are.na

A new typeface designed to feel almost unchanged.

Dinamo created Areal as a bespoke replacement for the Arial typeface long used by Are.na. Based on web-era Arial v2.82, it was redrawn from archival screenshots and expanded with variable, mono, semi-mono, ligature, and dark-mode capabilities before being released free to the public.

More in gray, black, green, red

Insights

The project treats continuity as a design decision: improve the interface’s typography while preserving the familiar silhouette that users associate with Are.na.
Dinamo reconstructed web-era Arial 2.82 from screenshots obtained with computer archivists. Digital software, rather than a printed specimen, became the revival’s starting point.
The dark-mode axis reduces apparent stroke weight on dark backgrounds without changing character widths, so the optical adjustment can preserve the layout.
Areal expands the system with Medium, ligatures and Mono/Semi Mono variants, giving the familiar forms a wider functional range.
Releasing the family for free carries a bespoke interface project into broader use; the public release follows its earlier adoption by Are.na.