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< title > Interface font family< / title >
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< link rel = "icon" type = "image/png" href = "favicon.ico" / >
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< link href = "interface.css?v=2" rel = "stylesheet" >
< link href = "index.css?v=2" rel = "stylesheet" >
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< body >
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< script src = "index.js" > < / script >
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< div class = "row" > < div >
< h1 > The Interface font family< / h1 >
< p >
Interface is a font for highly legible text on computer screens.< br >
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< a class = "fat" href = "https://github.com/rsms/interface/releases/latest/" > Download the latest release< / a >
or try it out in the < a href = "lab/" class = "fat" > playground< / a >
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< / p >
< / div > < / div >
< div class = "row white" style = "padding-bottom:0" > < div >
< h2 > < a id = "sample" href = "#sample" > Sample< / a > < / h2 >
< p style = "margin-bottom:0" >
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< a href = "https://www.figma.com/file/WmU5NWr52bnUcqv5os0V4sWi/Interface-samples" class = "plain" > < img src = "res/sample.png" width = "888" style = "width:100%;display:block" > < / a >
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< / p >
< / div > < / div >
< div class = "row dark" > < div >
< h2 > < a id = "free" href = "#free" > How much does it cost?< / a > < / h2 >
< p >
Interface is a < a href = "https://github.com/rsms/interface" > free and open source< / a > font family. You are free to use this font in almost any way imaginable.
Refer to the < a href = "https://choosealicense.com/licenses/ofl-1.1/" > SIL Open Font License 1.1< / a > for exact details on what the conditions and restrictions are.
< / p >
< p > < / p >
< h2 > < a id = "usage" href = "#usage" > How do I use it?< / a > < / h2 >
< p >
Using the font is as easy as
< a href = "https://github.com/rsms/interface/releases/latest/" > download & installing< / a > locally on your computer.
< / p >
< p >
You're free to bundle copies of Interface with your software, even if it's
commercial and you charge money for your software. Interface can also be used
on the web by either hosting the font files yourself or by including this CSS:
< / p >
< code > @import url('https://rsms.me/interface/interface.css');< / code >
< p > Use the following CSS rules to specify the Interface family:< / p >
< code > font-family: Interface, sans-serif;< / code >
< / div > < / div >
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< div class = "row" > < div >
< p >
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There are currently four < a id = "weights" href = "#weights" > weights< / a >
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< / p >
< img src = "res/weights-and-styles.svg" style = "opacity:0.76;width:100%;display:block;margin:2em 0 3em 0" >
< h2 > < a id = "features" href = "#features" > Features< / a > < / h2 >
< boxes >
< box >
< h3 > Contextual alternates (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > calt< / q > )< / h3 >
< tablex > < t >
< h > < in > Disabled< / in > < to > < / to > < out > Enabled< / out > < / h >
< r > < in > 12< em > :< / em > 34, FE< em > —< / em > X< / in > < to > < / to > < out > 12:34, FE—X< / out > < / r >
< r > < in > 4< em > .< / em > 2< / in > < to > < / to > < out > 4.2< / out > < / r >
< r > < in > SFO -> STO< / in > < to > < / to > < out > SFO -> STO< / out > < / r >
< r > < in > M< em > @< / em > N m@n< / in > < to > < / to > < out > M@N m@n< / out > < / r >
< / t > < / tablex >
< / box >
< box >
< h3 > Tabular numbers (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > tnum< / q > )< / h3 >
< tablex > < t >
< h > < in > Disabled< / in > < to > < / to > < out > Enabled< / out > < / h >
< r > < in > < em > 1< / em > 23456< em > 7< / em > 890< / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "tnum" > 1234567890< / out > < / r >
< r > < in > 1131711< em > < / em > < / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "tnum" > 1131711< em > < / em > < / out > < / r >
< r > < in > 0040900< em > < / em > < / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "tnum" > 0040900< em > < / em > < / out > < / r >
< / t > < / tablex >
< / box >
< box >
< h3 > Slashed zero (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > zero< / q > )< / h3 >
< tablex > < t >
< h > < in > Disabled< / in > < to > < / to > < out > Enabled< / out > < / h >
< r > < in > < em > 0< / em > 123< / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "zero" > 0123< / out > < / r >
< / t > < / tablex >
< / box >
< box >
< h3 > Fractions (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > frac< / q > )< / h3 >
< tablex > < t >
< h > < in > Disabled< / in > < to > < / to > < out > Enabled< / out > < / h >
< r >
< in > < em > 1/3< / em > < em > 22/9< / em > < em > 3/4/5< / em > < / in >
< to > < / to > < out class = "frac" > 1/3 22/9 3/4/5< / out >
< / r >
< / t > < / tablex >
< / box >
< box >
< h3 > Stylistic set #1: Open digits (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > ss01< / q > )< / h3 >
< tablex > < t >
< h > < in > Disabled< / in > < to > < / to > < out > Enabled< / out > < / h >
< r >
< in > 123< em > 4< / em > 5< em > 6< / em > 78< em > 9< / em > 0< / in >
< to > < / to > < out class = "ss01" > 1234567890< / out >
< / r >
< / t > < / tablex >
< / box >
< box >
< h3 > Case alternates (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > case< / q > )< / h3 >
< tablex > < t >
< h > < in > Disabled< / in > < to > < / to > < out > Enabled< / out > < / h >
< r >
< in > < em > (< / em > Hello< em > )< / em > < em > [< / em > World< em > ]< / em > < em > {< / em > 9000< em > }< / em > < / in >
< to > < / to > < out class = "case" > (Hello) [World] {9000}< / out >
< / r >
< r > < in > SCHOOL < em > @< / em > RUN< / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "case" > SCHOOL @ RUN< / out > < / r >
< r > < in > 3 < em > +< / em > 9 < em > =< / em > 12*< / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "case" > 3 + 9 = 12*< / out > < / r >
< r > < in > < em > *< / em > < em > +< / em > < em > ÷< / em > < em > ±< / em > < em > × < / em > < em > =< / em > < em > ≠< / em > < em > •< / em > < / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "case" > * + ÷ ± × < / out > < / r >
< r > < in > < em > →< / em > < em > ←< / em > < em > ⟶< / em > < em > ⟵< / em > < em > − < / em > < em > -< / em > < em > – < / em > < em > —< / em > < em > :< / em > < / in > < to > < / to > < out class = "case" > → ← ⟶ ⟵ − – < / out > < / r >
< / t > < / tablex >
< / box >
< / boxes >
< p >
Also includes some
Localized Forms (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > locl< / q > ),
Numerators (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > numr< / q > ) and
Denominators (< q title = 'OpenType feature ID' > dnom< / q > ).
< / p >
< p > < / p >
< h2 > < a href = "glyphs/" > Glyph repertoire< / a > < / h2 >
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< p class = "glyph-repertoire" >
< span class = "fade" > < / span >
< a class = "plain" href = "glyphs/" >
< iframe src = "glyphs/?iframe" scrolling = "no" frameborder = "0" > < / iframe >
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< / a >
< / p >
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< p class = "glyph-repertoire-link" >
< a class = "plain" href = "glyphs/" > Explore all glyphs → < / a >
< / p >
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< / div > < / div >
< div class = "row-divider" > < / div >
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< div class = "row" > < div >
< h2 > < a id = "story" href = "#story" > The story behind Interface< / a > < / h2 >
< p >
Interface started out in late 2016 as an experiment to build a perfectly
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pixel-fitting font at a specific small size (11px.) The idea was that
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by crafting a font in a particular way, with a particular coordinate system
(Units Per EM), and for a particular target rasterization size (11), it would
be possible to get the best of both sharpness and readability.
< / p >
< p >
However after a few months of using an early version of Interface, it dawned
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on everyone exposed to the test that this approach had some serious real-world
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problems. Most notably that it was really hard to read longer text. Because of
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the pixel-aligning nature of that approach, the font took an almost
< a href = "https://www.figma.com/file/HPqDViSCB8fAWuxaV2ousFMv" > mono-spaced appearance< / a > ,
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making it really easy to read numbers, punctuation and very short
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words, but eye-straining to read anything longer.
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< / p >
< p >
The project was rebooted with a different approach, sticking with the
specific UPM, but crafting glyphs and kerning in a way that made for
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more variation in the rhythm and smoother vertical and horizontal stems.
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As Interface was being developed, it was tested on an internal version of
< a href = "https://www.figma.com/" > Figma< / a > —where the author of Interface works as a designer—and slowly improved upon based on experience and feedback.
< / p >
< p > < / p >
< h2 > < a id = "status" href = "#status" > Current status & usability< / a > < / h2 >
< p >
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Interface works great for English-language text, and pretty well for other
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Latin and Cyrillic languages. There's still a lot of work to be done, and
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< a href = "https://github.com/rsms/interface/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md" > contributions are warmly welcomed< / a > . The playground contains < a href = "lab/?sample=Body%20text%201&size=16" > a lot of samples< / a > , including some common < a href = "lab/?sample=Kerning%20body%20multi-lang&size=16" > non English-language words in the playground.< / a >
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< / p >
< p >
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Please refer to the < a href = "glyphs/" > glyph repertoire< / a >
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for an overview of currently-available glyphs and their quality.
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< / p >
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< p > < / p >
< h2 > < a id = "faq" href = "#faq" > FAQ< / a > < / h2 >
< ul class = "faq" >
< li class = "q" id = "faq-roboto-similar" >
Some glyphs looks just like Roboto, is this typeface based on Roboto?
< / li >
< li class = "a" >
Since this font is very < em > similar to Roboto< / em > , glyph
outlines from Roboto are indeed being used, mainly as "placeholders"
while the glyph set is expanded. The Roboto license can be found in the
source directory.
< / li >
< li class = "q" id = "faq-naming" >
There's another font family with a similar name (InterFace).
How do I make sure I'm talking about the right font?
< / li >
< li class = "a" >
The world is a small place and just like all the
< a href = "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Erickson" > Eric Ericksons< / a > ,
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name alone sometimes does not suffice for unambiguous identity.
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The best way to be clear about what font you are talking about is to
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use the URL of this page (< q > rsms.me/interface< / q > ) when telling
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people about it.
< a href = "https://figma.com/" > Design tools< / a > and other software uses
< a href = "https://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/name.htm#nameIDs" > a set of information embedded into every font< / a > for identity, so names are only
important for humans, not computers, and so you need not to worry about
"conflicts." At least not with well-behaved software.
< / li >
< li class = "q" id = "faq-contribute" >
Can I help with improving Interface?
< / li >
< li class = "a" >
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Yes you can! Interface is an open-source project, meaning the source
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code—or "source design" if you will—that is used to build the font files
< a href = "https://github.com/rsms/interface" > are freely available< / a > to improve upon.
Font making requires a fair bit of technical work and
depending on what you'd like to do, some things might be more fun
depending on your technical skills.
The < a href = "https://github.com/rsms/interface/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md" > "Contributing" document< / a > is a great place to start. The document outlines where
you can have the biggest impact, how things are setup and how to get
started.
< / li >
< li class = "q" id = "faq-start-date" >
This website claims work started in 2016, but the git repository's log says it started later?
< / li >
< li class = "a" >
Interface was developed in an a private, internal git repository
starting in November 2016, prior to being published on August 22, 2017.
Between November 2016 and August 2017, there were 2  990  150 line edits made across 247 versions.
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The reason the public GitHub repository does not reflect this is the
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fact that the project was initially only internal at the company where
the author works and had some sensitive information "checked in",
like AWS server details and internal author identity in
all commit messages. Maybe one day we can write an elaborate git
filter-branch program and convert the filter the old repository to make
it public, but what would be the point of that? :—)
< / li >
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< li class = "q" id = "faq-using-features" >
How do I enable and disable < a href = "#features" > font features< / a > ?
< / li >
< li class = "a" >
In web browsers you'll want to use
< a href = "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/font-feature-settings" > < q > font-feature-settings< / q > < / a > .
In Figma you can access features via the
< a href = "https://help.figma.com/text/opentype-features" > Advanced Typography panel.< / a >
In Illustrator, Photoshop and friends, you can access features via the
< a href = "https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/special-characters.html#opentype_panel_overview" > Characters and OpenType panels.< / a >
Sketch doesn't provide a UI for configuring font features, but there's
< a href = "https://sketchtalk.io/discussion/comment/1478/#Comment_1478" > a workaround using macOS's native font UI.< / a >
< / li >
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< li class = "q" id = "faq-contact" >
I've made a cool thing that uses Interface, can I share it with you?
< dem > or< / dem >
< / li >
< li class = "q" >
I have a different question
< / li >
< li class = "a" >
Reach out on < a href = "https://twitter.com/rsms" > Twitter (@rsms)< / a > or over < a href = "mailto:rasmus@notion.se" > email< / a >
< / li >
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< / div > < / div >
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— < a href = "https://twitter.com/rsms" class = "plain" > @rsms< / a >
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< / body >
< / html >
