Anyone Great: A Playful Display Font for Editorial Design
Last month, I found myself staring at a blank cover template for a lifestyle blog redesign I had been planning for weeks. The content was ready, the color palette was set, and the layout grid was finally solid. But the title treatment felt flat. Nothing I tried captured the warmth and energy the blog needed. That is when I opened the folder containing Anyone Great, a display font I had bookmarked months earlier and never quite found the right place for. As soon as I typed the blog name in that funky, playful lettering, something clicked. The entire cover came alive.
Anyone Great is a display font that wears its personality on its sleeve. It is fun, funky, and unapologetically groovy, but it is also surprisingly versatile when used with intention. The letterforms carry a rhythmic bounce that feels both nostalgic and fresh. There is a handcrafted quality to the characters, as if each letter was drawn with a marker on a sunny afternoon. That sense of human energy is exactly what many editorial projects need when they aim to connect with readers on a personal level rather than a formal one.
The Visual Character and Editorial Mood of Anyone Great
When I first tested Anyone Great in a layout, I was struck by how naturally it sets a mood. The font does not try to be neutral. It arrives with a clear voice: warm, approachable, and slightly retro without feeling dated. The ascenders are playful, the descenders have a gentle swing, and the overall spacing feels open and breathable. That openness is important for editorial design because it helps titles and headings remain readable even when the font is scaled up for impact.
In a wedding guide I worked on shortly after the blog redesign, Anyone Great became the anchor for chapter openers and section titles. The groovy undertone complemented the romantic, whimsical photography beautifully. It added a layer of personality that a standard serif or sans serif could not have delivered. The font felt like a host welcoming guests into the publication, not just a label on a page.
For a recipe ebook project, I used Anyone Great for recipe titles and ingredient callouts. The font's playful character made each dish feel like a celebration, which is exactly the vibe the client wanted. The letters seemed to dance across the page, and readers responded to that energy. Several beta testers commented that the titles made them smile before they even read the ingredients.
Where Anyone Great Shines in Publishing Layouts
Through several real projects, I have found that Anyone Great works best as a display font for headlines, pull quotes, cover text, and decorative accents. It excels in any context where the goal is to grab attention, set a tone, or create a memorable brand moment. Here are some of the editorial uses where it truly stands out:
- Blog headers and magazine covers – The font draws the eye immediately and establishes a distinct publication identity.
- Ebook titles and chapter openers – It signals a shift in content and invites readers into a new section with personality.
- Newsletter graphics and social media quotes – The playful lettering stands out in crowded feeds and inboxes.
- Printable planners and coaching workbooks – It adds warmth and approachability to goal-setting pages and worksheets.
- Pull quotes in editorial layouts – A single line set in Anyone Great can become a visual anchor that breaks up long text and keeps readers engaged.
For a digital magazine feature on creative entrepreneurs, I used Anyone Great for the opening pull quote and the contributor name at the end of each article. The font gave those small but important elements a consistent, recognizable voice across the entire issue. Readers told me the publication felt more cohesive and more human than previous editions.
Readability Considerations for Screen and Print
No font is perfect for every situation, and Anyone Great is no exception. Because it is a display font with strong personality, it is not ideal for body copy, small captions, dense paragraphs, or formal reports. The playful letterforms that make it so charming at large sizes can become fatiguing to read in long passages. I tested it in a paragraph of about fifty words at twelve points, and the reading experience was noticeably slower than with a neutral serif or sans serif.
For screen reading, especially on mobile devices, Anyone Great works best when kept at twenty-four points or larger. In PDF exports and print materials, the font holds up well at even larger sizes, where the subtle curves and lively rhythm can be fully appreciated. I recommend using it for titles, subtitles, section headings, and decorative elements only, and pairing it with a clean, readable companion font for body text and captions.
Practical Font Pairing for Editorial Design
Finding the right partner for Anyone Great is key to creating a balanced, professional layout. In the lifestyle blog redesign, I paired it with a soft serif font for article body text. The serif grounded the playful display font and gave the reading experience a sense of reliability and comfort. For the recipe ebook, a clean sans serif handled ingredient lists and cooking instructions, while Anyone Great handled the titles and serving suggestions.
Here are some pairing approaches that work well:
- Anyone Great with a classic serif font – The contrast between a groovy display font and a traditional serif creates a sophisticated, editorial feel. Use the serif for body paragraphs and the display font for headlines and pull quotes.
- Anyone Great with a neutral sans serif – This combination is ideal for modern blogs, newsletters, and digital products. The sans serif handles navigation, captions, and longer text, while Anyone Great adds personality to titles and branding elements.
- Anyone Great with a handwritten font – For projects that lean heavily into a handmade, artisanal aesthetic, such as wedding guides or coaching workbooks, pairing two expressive fonts can work if you use them in clearly defined roles, one for major headlines and the other for subheadings or accents.
Practical Considerations Before You Use Anyone Great
Before committing to Anyone Great for a commercial project, ebook, template, or client publication, take a moment to review the font files and licensing details. Check what styles and weights are included, whether alternates and ligatures are available, and how well the font supports multilingual content if your audience extends beyond English. The presence of OpenType features can make a significant difference in how polished the final layout looks.
I also recommend testing the font in the exact medium you plan to use. Export a PDF, preview it on a mobile screen, and print a sample page if physical output is part of your workflow. Anyone Great behaves well in most standard formats, but every project has its own technical quirks, and a quick test saves time later. Confirm that the commercial license covers your specific use case, especially if you are selling templates, printables, or digital downloads that include the font.
For independent content brands, bloggers, and newsletter creators, Anyone Great is a valuable addition to the design toolkit. It brings a level of warmth and individuality that is often missing from more conservative font choices. When used thoughtfully, it helps a publication feel like it was made by real people for real readers, not just assembled from a template library. That human connection is exactly what keeps audiences coming back.
