Very specific recommendations (for winter writing).
Introducing a new series on fonts..
Hello!
Today I’m debuting a new (one-off? recurring? let’s see how it goes!) series on fonts because I have spent too much time toggling between type samples and squinting at letters with suspiciously similar descenders. If I must, you must.
Here’s the thing about fonts:
Before choosing one, ask yourself—what are readers actually going to do with your words? Will they be curled up, reading intently? Wandering through, eyes skimming? Scanning for the important bits before bouncing somewhere else? What functions do you need? Space efficiency? Language support? A breadth of styles?
And what do you want to say, even before your words say it? Should your font whisper with intimacy, speak with confidence, assert authority, or leave a lingering sense of mystery?
Try sample content. See what fits. Because that bold, confident sans-serif might suddenly feel too brash, and that delicate serif might feel unsteady instead of elegant.
If you’re looking for fonts to use freely (and perhaps even tweak to your liking), the SIL Open Font License (OFL) is your friend. Some open-source fonts exist to support underrepresented linguistic communities. Some stand in quiet defiance against commercialism. Others just want to make good design accessible to more people.
A few for your consideration:
Montserrat — Born from the street signs of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Confident, geometric, and crisp. If your text wants to stand tall and clear, this one’s for you. MONTSERRAT | Julieta Ulanovsky, 2011
Luciole — Generous spacing. Thoughtful character design. Designed to support visually impaired readers. Let your words be seen, truly seen. LUCIOLE | Laurent Bourcellier, 2019
Compagnon — A love letter to typewriters. Nostalgia, history, and a nod to the past, all wrapped up in a font that carries a certain literary weight. COMPAGNON | Juliette Duhé, Léa Pradine, Valentin Papon, Sébastien Riollier, Chloé Lozano, 2018
Apfel Grotezk — Clean, modern, and thoughtful. Includes a variant (Brukt) designed to use less ink. A quiet, responsible choice for sustainable typography. APFEL GROTEZK | Luigi Gorlero, 2019
Baskervville — A revival of a revival. Based on Baskerville, one of history’s great typefaces, this version carries the elegance and authority of its ancestors while being freely available for all. BASKERVVILLE | Alexis Faudot, Rémi Forte, Morgane Pierson, Rafael Ribas, Tanguy Vanlaeys, Rosalie Wagner, ANRT, 2017 (Claude Jacob, 1784)
So there you go: Five fonts. Five distinct voices. Take them for a spin. See what feels right. Your words deserve it.
Ready?
A few examples of where to get OFL fonts:
SIL Fonts — The original OFL fonts, supporting hundreds of writing systems that use over twenty scripts. From SIL’s WSTech (Writing Systems Technology) team.
Google Fonts — High-performance, global webfont service that also provides fonts for download for self-hosting, desktop use, and app bundling. Excellent technical quality and supported by a talented team.
Adobe Fonts — Webfont subscription service from a major design and graphics company, with a special section for open fonts.
V-fonts — A global collection of fascinating variable fonts, with a special section for open fonts.
Collletttivo — An open-source type foundry that operates as a hybrid type incubator and design studio.
Open Foundry — A free platform for curated open-source typefaces; to highlight their beauty, activate ideas and encourage exploration.
Some of the many useful and notable OFL projects:
Gentium — The first OFL font, designed to enable the diverse ethnic groups around the world who use the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts to produce readable, high-quality publications. GENTIUM | Victor Gaultney, SIL International
Noto — Harmonized collection of high-quality fonts with multiple weights and widths in sans, serif, mono, and other styles. Includes fonts for nearly all of the world’s writing systems. NOTO | Steve Matteson and many others, Google/Monotype
Literata — Variable font family for digital text. Originally created as the brand typeface for Google Play Books but greatly expanded since then. LITERATA | Irene Vlachou, Veronika Burian, Vera Evstafieva, José Scaglione, TypeTogether
Source Sans — Designed for user interfaces but useful for a broad range of uses, including extended text. A meticulously engineered and effective range of fonts from ExtraLight to Black. SOURCE SANS | Paul D. Hunt, Adobe
IBM Plex — Rich and clear superfamily with four subfamilies, eight weights, two styles, and support for seven scripts. IBM PLEX | Mike Abbink, Paul van der Laan, Pieter van Rosmalen and many others, Bold Monday/IBM
Amiri — Elegant revival of a classical Arabic typeface in Naskh style for typesetting books and other running text. Derivatives and modifications encouraged. AMIRI | Khaled Hosny, Aliftype
Merriweather — Sturdy and highly readable family based on solid research and study. MERRIWEATHER | Eben Sorkin, Sorkin Type
