Variable Fonts

News and info about #variablefonts, plus updates about additions to A project by @HEXprojects, edited by @NickSherman.

[Nick Sherman @NickSherman]

Working on some interactive @variablefonts web demos and it was the perfect excuse to use the drippy version of @OHnoTypeCo’s Cheee typeface.
https://t.co/Va2ZCu22D6

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@pgconstable @robmck Thanks! Is there any formal documentation of the situation for users?

Also, is the support of named instances dependent on fonts having a properly configured STAT table? i.e. having named instances only in the fvar table will result in the names not appearing correctly?

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@pgconstable @robmck Is there any definitive reference online about the support (or lack thereof) for variable fonts in Microsoft Office apps?

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@pgconstable @robmck I know about the reference for Windows / DirectWrite (https://t.co/o12PDookeW) but obviously that isn’t as relevant for things like Office 365 or Office for Mac.

Even an informal statement somewhere would be helpful to be able to direct users to if/when they ask.

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

Support for variable fonts has finally been added to @Figma:
https://t.co/nskStbxNa4

The support page has been updated accordingly:
https://t.co/JybP3XcXwt

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@n8willis You can! https://t.co/Sir7QN7yno

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@adamtwar @glyphe I do have a setting in the CMS to mark axes as hidden, but it doesn’t currently affect the display of anything yet. I'll eventually make it so hidden axes are collapsed by default, but unfortunately my other (paid) projects are taking priority over those kinds of tweaks lately.

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@_csilverman If you haven’t seen it before, they use the SF Compact variable fonts for the watchOS interface:
https://t.co/UO5bWPRPlK

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

Apple’s latest San Francisco variable system fonts, shipping with recent macOS updates, cover a much larger range of weights and widths than ever before, as well as axes for optical size variation and multiplexed grades.
https://t.co/KhcWvzp37N

[Space Type @spacetypeco]

vartype is now LIVE! ⚡️✨ The beta for our new kinetic variable font tool is ready to go with appearances from a few fancy folks: @FaireProjects @djrrb @vectrotype and [@]beatloz.

Upload any vfont and get fully-tunable kinetic sketches 🌿

→ https://t.co/UbNZHUZP22

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@MarkFonts @TypeTogether See also the tag for fonts with retractable serifs: https://t.co/o4TbneJT9V

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@PixelAmbacht @grillitype @ArrowType @jenskutilek @davelab6 @axis_praxis I started working on a more detailed version of https://t.co/YjQt6TmnyR with specific notes and support issues but it’s not quite ready for release yet.

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@neonmoire I haven’t tested it personally, but yes they should:
https://t.co/nZ7Il5R2Er

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@detyper Clarification: The Clavichord typeface is by @djrrb, not me!

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@d_ver @frankrausch We’ve got you covered there: https://t.co/8N29RSf7ul

(There are probably more fonts with a contrast axis, but these are the ones that use `CNTR` for the 4-character axis code.)

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

A lot of small but useful new features were added to https://t.co/VGiUcxo8xP recently. @PiperHaywood did a good job summarizing what’s new on the site and some of the things in the works for the future:
https://t.co/S8L0SPQNjD

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

This is starting now 🚀

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

There will be a big update to https://t.co/VGiUcxo8xP tomorrow, including many simple but useful new features.

@NickSherman and @PiperHaywood will launch the update and discuss other developments under way in the @TypographicsNYC TypeLab at 11:30 EDT:
https://t.co/KQW2mVdYSx

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

There will be a big update to https://t.co/VGiUcxo8xP tomorrow, including many simple but useful new features.

@NickSherman and @PiperHaywood will launch the update and discuss other developments under way in the @TypographicsNYC TypeLab at 11:30 EDT:
https://t.co/KQW2mVdYSx

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@PixelAmbacht @Litherum @abrax5 @typethoughts @djrrb @underware @OHnoTypeCo The bug is also still present in the latest version of iOS Safari.

[Variable Fonts @variablefonts]

@typethoughts Yes, WOFF is definitely preferable. WOFF2 is even better.

On a related note: Any browser that supports font variations also supports WOFF2. So, for web use, you can get away with providing *only* WOFF2 versions of variable fonts.