In contrast to the newer, splashier (ha ha) visual effects of Apple Music, the typography is a pleasantly utilitarian extension of Apple’s existing visual language.
The new wordmark uses the expected SF Pro, Apple’s proprietary typeface, taking advantage of the family’s now-expanded range of weights and widths to give Apple Music a more youthful, energetic personality while still maintaining a connection to its parent brand.
As the brand continues to roll out, James says the same refractive effects seen in the glass imagery will also show up across typographic headlines and other typographic applications.
This approach mirrors MAL’s work for Apple TV and the rest of the Liquid Glass UX world, where a restrained master brand allows individual content to provide much of the visual personality.
For all the thought that’s gone into the finished identity, the making-of video is still the thing James has the most to say about.
In contrast to the newer, splashier (ha ha) visual effects of Apple Music, the typography is a pleasantly utilitarian extension of Apple’s existing visual language. The new wordmark uses the expected SF Pro, Apple’s proprietary typeface, taking advantage of the family’s now-expanded range of weights and widths to give Apple Music a more youthful, energetic personality while still maintaining a connection to its parent brand. Notably, the new lettering is wider, rather than more condensed – an idiosyncratic choice for a brand that primarily lives on handheld devices, where designers often favour narrower typography to maximise a smaller amount of space. Beyond the letters themselves, James says the team also paid particular attention to how the word “Music” sat alongside the Apple symbol, especially the visual weight of the M, which had previously felt a bit heavy next to the fruit icon. As the brand continues to roll out, James says the same refractive effects seen in the glass imagery will also show up across typographic headlines and other typographic applications.
The new identity is mostly black-and-white – moving away from the prior bright pinkish red – with any colour that does appear emerging from the natural colours seen in the prismatic effects of the oil. When other colours are seen, they come from the artists being featured: “We wanted to let the content drive the colour and the vibrancy,” James says. This approach mirrors MAL’s work for Apple TV and the rest of the Liquid Glass UX world, where a restrained master brand allows individual content to provide much of the visual personality.
For all the thought that’s gone into the finished identity, the making-of video is still the thing James has the most to say about. He says people have described feeling “hopeful and joyful” watching it – something he attributes to a simple fascination with seeing people make things (take note, Science Channel!) A finished image in 2026, after all, reveals very little about how it came to exist. Funnily enough, when I ask why he’s so attached to this secondary asset, he argues that the behind-the-scenes film shouldn’t be considered a secondary asset at all. “They’re primary assets in a way,” he says. “People care that we care.”
