THE SUBSTANCE

I watched ‘The Substance’ when it was released back in November 2024. A friend told me about it—although I am not a huge fan of horror movies—I watched the trailer and I was hooked.
The movie is visually remarkable, the story is uniquely presented. Equally impressive is the sound design. Together with the typography – they send the messages across and guide the public throughout the story.

The main character Elisabeth Sparkle (starring Demi Moore) is obsessed with external validation. She is a successful Hollywood TV aerobics star in America but when she turns 50 the industry disposes of her, looking for something better. The figure of the woman is showed through the man’s eyes (the producer) and is viewed as a disposable product. Since Elisabeth reached 50 she is not considered to be young and sexy anymore. Desperate to hold on to her youth, she comes across a black market drug called
‘The Substance’. A serum that she has to inject that will create an alternate version of herself — younger and more beautiful. The only catch is that the two versions have to exchange every seven days. With each minute, the story spirals and intensifies.

Wow, the typeface is such a big part of the movie, almost a character of its own… the move to use it in ALL CAPS with tight letter spacing is a brilliant decision behind which the intention was to create a feeling of epic significance, intensity and tension. I have a few comments about the proportions of some of the letters and the spaces in between the letters (the kerning) which I am explaining further in the article. Of course we’ve seen similar typefaces before, but what makes it so very special is the way it has been used in the context of the story and as part of a movie!
Do you know what else makes it so impactful? THE SOUNDS.
By the way, the actor playing the voice on the phone also manages to make his voice sound like this font — cold, commanding, aggressive, intense.

The moment we are introduced to the actual product (The Substance) it comes in the form of a marketing video that’s being held in a USB stick. While Elisabeth is watching it, the camera is zooming in the TV making the audience feel like they’re also being sold a product, not just Elisabeth. Fargeat employed the tactic of using the typeface in bold ALL CAPS, white on black background – it is demanding your attention and it employs the psychological tactics used by capitalists to persuade people into buying their products.

These visuals are so memorable and powerful because of how stripped down they are.
The product shows a modern, almost seductive kind of minimalism. It’s pure, clean and almost completely devoid of distractions, mostly in black.

We don’t get to see often the logo symbol (the two yellow halves) – the main branding communication happens thanks to the typeface. And yet, the logo is important for it is a visual metaphor for what actually happens when you inject the product – you create a doppelgänger.

Why is the logo yellow when the liquid product is green?

It refers to the egg yolk, symbolizing the “matrix” – the original self from which a better “other self” (Sue) is created. Demi Moore’s yellow coat acts as a visual representation of this, serving as shield, hope, and is a link to the drug’s core image, which is evolving from bright yellow to greenish as the substance deteriorates. The logo’s design itself depicts two halves (like the egg yolks we see in the beginning) representing the split selves, a pregnant belly, or the process of creation and division.

The overall look of the design choices suggest a high-end, luxury product — it definitely doesn’t feel like something from a drugstore. Its stripped-down look gives it a sense of exclusivity, mystery, and ambiguity. You’re not entirely sure what it is or what it does, and that’s intentional. The design leans into the idea that less is more, using mystery to increase its appeal.

I found a few brands such as HUEL (supposedly nutritionally complete range of dehydrated foods and beverages), IL MAKIAGE (a beauty line) and SOYLENT (full meal into a one-step process nutrition) that have visual similarities. The products are very minimalist looking.

The visual power of branding is how it makes us feel and react before we even try to understand the product. In ‘The Substance’ the product is more than a beauty item, it’s a character in and of itself — it is commanding attention, telling the characters clearly what to do and ultimately driving the plot to its insane ending. Effective branding blends design, typography, color and messaging to create a story. A story that invites curiosity, creates allure and mystery, and ultimately draws us in even if we don’t fully understand it. So, whether you’re building a brand in real life or designing a concept for one remember this fictional example from ‘The Substance’. It doesn’t take a lot to create an emotional experience but what variable you manipulate, can come together to create a really powerful outcome: desire, fear, allure. All of this in this movie was done through a handful of carefully manipulated variables.

First, I want to say that I really enjoyed the influence the typeface had on me, especially while watching the movie. I appreciate the work of the people involved and of the designer Gilles Pointeau. After all, it is easy to criticise somebody else’s work when the job is already done. But I deeply admire it all.

Okay, let’s have a more detailed look at the font now. One of the biggest problems for me is the proportion of the letters ‘E’,‘F’,‘L’ – they are wide for this narrow bold typeface. As a font designer, I notice these kind of things. Once you pay attention, you cannot unsee that. In some of the places, the spaces between the letters are also a bit off. Normally, when letters are spaced too tightly in a font, it is for big titles as we see here. If you look below at the title on the poster you can notice that the ‘E’ is as wide as the ‘H’ and usually it is narrower. The space between letters ‘TA’ can be reduced because you can notice a bigger gap. I would also reduce it a bit between letters ‘BS’ especially when you compare next to ‘UB’. And the last thing I would improve is to close the terminals on the letter ‘C’ and tiny bit on the ‘S’ .