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Variable font
Variable font
Variable font
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The "design space" of the variable font Recursive Sans & Mono,[1] illustrated as the nets of two cubes

A variable font (VF) is a font file that is able to store a continuous range of design variants. An entire typeface (font family) can be stored in such a file, with an infinite number of fonts available to be sampled.[2]

The variable font technology originated in Apple's TrueType GX font variations. The technology was adapted to OpenType as OpenType variable fonts (OTVF) in version 1.8 of the OpenType specification.[3][4][5] The technology was announced by Adobe, Apple, Google, and Microsoft in September 2016. Making such a feature standardized in OpenType paved the way for support in many software platforms.[3][6][7][8]

Variable fonts should not be confused with variable-width fonts. A variable font may be either variable-width or fixed-width.[9]

Technology

[edit]

OpenType variable fonts are an adaptation of Apple's TrueType GX font variations to OpenType, with integration into key aspects of the OpenType format including OpenType Layout tables and both TrueType and CFF glyph outline formats. It also surpasses TrueType GX by providing better interoperability, both between different fonts, and between variable fonts and font-formatting specifications such as those found in Cascading Style Sheets. The technology allows software to access any design instance for a continuous range of designs defined within the font. When a specific design instance has been selected, the glyph outlines or other data values for that design instance are computed as font data is being processed during text layout and rasterization.

The technology uses interpolation and extrapolation mechanisms that have been supported in font-development tools and used by font designers for many years.[10] In that paradigm, the font designer creates a variable design, but then chooses specific instances to generate as static, non-variable fonts that get distributed to customers. With variable fonts, however, the font produced and distributed by the font designer can have built-in variability, and the interpolation mechanisms can now be built into operating systems and Web browsers or other applications, with specific design instances selected at time of use.

One of the key benefits of the technology is that it can significantly reduce the combined size of font data whenever multiple styles are in use. On the Web, this may allow a site to use more font styles while at the same time reducing page load times. A further benefit is that it gives access to a continuous range of style variations, which can provide benefits for responsive design.

The technology has been compared to Adobe's multiple master fonts (MM fonts) technology, also from the 1990s, which used on-the-fly generation of font designs from master files by interpolation and extrapolation.[11][12][13][14] Multiple master fonts, however, required the user to generate a specific "instance" of the font for particular variation-axis values before it could be used. This is not required for OpenType variable fonts, however: Named or arbitrary design instances can be selected and used on demand.

Adoption

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Operating systems

[edit]

In Windows 10, version 1709 (or known as "Windows 10 Fall Creators Update") released in 2017, official support for variable fonts is provided by Microsoft,[15] along with the first variable font in Windows: the "Bahnschrift" font, which is a digitisation of DIN 1451.[16][17] However, support for CFF2 fonts using OpenType outlines had caused issues with Windows text rendering engine, sometimes making UI text blank out; this was later fixed in 2023 with the KB5032278 update.[18]

Android started to provide variable font support for mobile app developers in Android Oreo[19] or API level 26.[20]

Apple provided variable font support in its operating system since macOS 10.5/iOS 3.2,[21] but usage in Safari through WebKit only comes in macOS 10.13/iOS 11 with Safari 11.[22][23]

FreeType, the font rendering program used by most Unix-like systems, including Linux, received variable font support in May 2017 (FreeType 2.8).[24]

Editors

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Adobe Creative Cloud 2018 version, released 18 October 2017, includes support for variable fonts in Photoshop[25] and Illustrator[26] and includes variable concept versions of the fonts Acumin, Minion, Myriad, Source Code, Source Sans, and Source Serif.

Creative Cloud 2020 has added variable font support for InDesign.[27]

Inkscape version 1.0 has added variable font support.[28]

LibreOffice version 7.5 has added variable font support.[29]

Browsers

[edit]

Variable fonts are controlled in the web browser using both existing properties for well-known options such as weight and a raw font-variation-settings control. Refer to the MDN pages of the CSS property for support history.[2]

See also

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References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Variable font

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
A variable font is a single font file format that enables the storage and interpolation of a continuous range of design variations within a typeface, such as adjustments to weight, width, slant, and optical size, all within one efficient resource. This evolution of the specification, known as OpenType Font Variations, allows designers to define multiple axes of variation, where each axis represents a that can be finely tuned between minimum and maximum values. Variable fonts originated from earlier technologies like Adobe's Multiple Master fonts and Apple's TrueType GX variations in the 1990s, but were standardized in 2016 through a collaborative effort by , Apple, , and to integrate these concepts into the 1.8 specification. The 'fvar' table in the font resource defines the available axes, including registered ones like 'wght' for weight (ranging from 1 to 1000) and 'wdth' for width (typically 75% to 125%), while custom axes can be added by designers using four-letter tags. This framework uses variation tables, such as 'gvar' for glyph outlines and 'MVAR' for metrics, to interpolate designs dynamically across a multi-dimensional variation space. In practice, variable fonts offer significant advantages for web and digital , including reduced file sizes compared to loading multiple static font files—often consolidating what would be several files into one—and fewer HTTP requests, improving page load performance. They provide precise typographic control via CSS properties like font-variation-settings, enabling subtle adjustments without causing layout reflows, and support formats like WOFF2 with variations for broad browser compatibility on such as macOS 10.13 and later. By eliminating rigid distinctions between styles, variable fonts empower designers with greater flexibility, fostering innovative applications in responsive design and animation.

History

Origins in TrueType GX

The origins of variable fonts trace back to developments in the early 1990s, including Adobe's Multiple Master fonts—introduced in 1992 as an extension to Type 1 fonts—and Apple's multiple master-like technology, with GX emerging as a pioneering extension to the outline font format for Macintosh systems. Released in 1994 as part of the QuickDraw GX graphics and printing architecture, GX introduced mechanisms for generating continuous variations within a single font file, addressing the limitations of static fonts by allowing dynamic between design "masters." This innovation was driven by Apple's typography team, including key engineers such as Tom Rickner, Mike Reed, and Dave Opstad, who aimed to enhance typographic flexibility without requiring separate files for each style variation. TrueType GX specifically enabled variation along design axes such as weight, width, and optical size, using quadratic Bézier curves to define scalable outlines that could be interpolated in real-time by the font engine. Developers created fonts with multiple master designs—endpoint styles defining the extremes of an axis—and the system computed intermediate instances on demand, supporting up to 65,535 axes per font for complex families. Early implementations included Matthew Carter's Skia, the first TrueType GX variation font, which demonstrated weight and width adjustments and has been bundled with macOS since its release. This approach leveraged the existing structure while adding new tables like 'avar' for axis variations and 'gvar' for glyph variation data, ensuring compatibility with Apple's hardware constraints. In the historical context of the , GX was motivated by the need to curb font file proliferation on storage-limited Macintosh systems, where maintaining dozens of static weights and widths for a single family consumed valuable disk space and memory. By consolidating variations into one file, it reduced redundancy and improved performance for applications like , while fostering creative control for designers. Although proprietary to Apple and limited in adoption due to platform specificity, GX laid essential groundwork for later cross-platform standards, influencing the revival of variation technology in two decades later.

OpenType Standardization

In September 2016, , Apple, , and jointly announced the introduction of variable fonts as part of the 1.8 specification at the ATypI conference in . This collaboration marked a significant advancement in font technology, building upon earlier variation systems like Apple's GX to create a unified, cross-platform standard. The 1.8 specification, finalized in September 2016, integrated variable font support by adding several new tables to the format, including 'avar' for axis variations, 'fvar' for font variations, 'gvar' for glyph variations, 'cvar' for composite variations, '' for horizontal metrics variations, and 'VVAR' for vertical metrics variations. These tables enable the storage and interpolation of multiple font styles within a single file, allowing for dynamic adjustments along defined variation axes. The specification was developed to extend the existing framework, ensuring compatibility with legacy systems while introducing capabilities for more expressive . Initial implementations of variable fonts began appearing in 2017, with integrating support into Windows and browser vendors like those behind Chrome, , and adding rendering capabilities. This rollout facilitated broader adoption across operating systems and web environments. The primary rationale for this was to address demands on the web by reducing the need for multiple static font files, while unifying disparate variation technologies such as Apple's Advanced Typography (AAT) with TrueType GX and Adobe's Multiple Masters (MM) into a single, interoperable format. This approach aimed to streamline font delivery, enhance loading efficiency, and enable designers to create more fluid, responsive typographic experiences without platform-specific limitations.

Technical Foundations

Interpolation and Masters

In variable font design, master fonts serve as the foundational endpoint designs that delineate the boundaries of a family's variation space. Typically ranging from 2 to 10 masters, these include complete outlines for specific instances, such as a thin and a bold , enabling the generation of intermediate styles through blending. The process derives shapes between masters by linearly blending their outline coordinates, ensuring smooth transitions along defined . For a basic two-master setup along a single axis, the position of an interpolated point PP is computed as P=(1−t)⋅P1+t⋅P2P = (1 - t) \cdot P_1 + t \cdot P_2, where P1P_1 and P2P_2 are corresponding points in the first and second masters, respectively, and tt is a normalized value from 0 to 1 representing the position along the axis. This blending requires compatible topologies, meaning corresponding points must align across masters to avoid distortions. In more advanced multi-master scenarios, uses a default master outline combined with scalar-weighted deltas from other masters, calculated as the product of per-axis scalars and summed adjustments. Extrapolation extends the variation beyond the master-defined range by applying the same logic outside the [0,1] parameter bounds, though font engines often clamp values to the axis minimum and maximum to prevent . Glyph variations are represented differently based on outline format: for outlines, adjustments are stored as deltas to point coordinates in the 'gvar' table, which specifies point numbers and regional deltas for efficient runtime application. For CFF curves in CFF2 fonts, variations integrate blend operators within CharStrings to interpolate coordinates, with delta sets managed in the 'VVAR' table linked to a VariationStore. These mechanisms store compact delta values rather than full master outlines, optimizing while supporting precise outline .

Variation Axes and Mechanisms

Variable fonts utilize a set of predefined, registered variation axes to ensure consistency across different fonts and applications. These axes are defined in the specification and include the following: the Weight axis ('wght'), which controls stroke thickness with values ranging from 1 (thinnest) to 1000 (blackest), where 400 represents Regular and 700 Bold; the Width axis ('wdth'), which adjusts width interpreted as a of normal (100 for normal, ranging from 1 for ultra-condensed to 1000 for ultra-expanded, commonly 50 to 200); the Optical size axis ('opsz'), which tailors shapes for specific text sizes in points (typically from 6 to 72 or unbounded upward); the Slant axis ('slnt'), representing oblique angle variation from greater than -90 degrees (backslant) to less than +90 degrees (forward slant), with 0 for upright; and the Italic axis ('ital'), a binary-like variation from 0 (upright) to 1 (italic). In addition to registered axes, variable fonts support custom axes defined by designers for unique variations, with the OpenType 'fvar' table allowing up to 65,535 axes in total (though practical implementations typically use far fewer). Examples of custom axes include 'grad' for Grade, which adjusts stroke weight without altering glyph width or spacing to maintain consistent text flow across instances, and experimental tags like 'XTRA' for bespoke traits such as custom serifs or contrast levels. The mechanisms enabling these axes are implemented through specific OpenType tables. The 'fvar' (Font Variations) table defines the axes, including their tags, minimum/default/maximum values, and named instances like "Bold" or "Condensed." The 'avar' (Axis Variations) table allows non-linear mapping of user coordinates to internal normalized values (-1 to +1), enabling designers to create perceptual linearity or custom progressions along an axis. For glyph metrics, the 'HVAR' (Horizontal Variations) table provides data for varying horizontal advances and side bearings in TrueType-outline fonts, while 'VVAR' (Vertical Variations) handles vertical metrics, essential for vertical writing modes. These tables work together to support interpolation between master designs along the axes. In practice, variations are accessed programmatically; for example, in CSS, the property font-variation-settings: "wght" 700; sets the Weight axis to a bold value on a compatible font.

Benefits and Challenges

Advantages

Variable fonts offer substantial reductions by encapsulating multiple static font instances—such as various weights, widths, and styles—into a single file, often resulting in 50-90% smaller payloads compared to traditional font families. For instance, the Flex family demonstrates this efficiency, where a comprehensive set of variations is delivered in a remarkably compact package, replacing what would otherwise require dozens of separate files. This consolidation not only minimizes storage needs but also streamlines distribution across platforms. Performance benefits arise directly from these efficiencies, as variable fonts require fewer HTTP requests—typically one per family versus multiple for static variants—leading to faster page load times and reduced bandwidth usage, which is especially advantageous for web and mobile environments. In practice, this can decrease overall data transfer by up to 88% in scenarios involving extensive font variations, enhancing on resource-constrained devices. Creatively, variable fonts provide unprecedented flexibility by supporting continuous interpolation along variation axes, allowing designers to create responsive typography that adapts seamlessly—for example, adjusting font weight in response to size or user interactions without discrete file switches. This enables fluid, context-aware designs that enhance readability and visual harmony across diverse screen sizes and orientations. From a efficiency standpoint, variable fonts simplify by eliminating the need to handle and version numerous individual font files, fostering more streamlined workflows in projects. They also facilitate dynamic effects, such as , where real-time adjustments to font properties support expressive animations and interactive elements with minimal overhead.

Limitations and Compatibility Issues

One significant limitation of variable fonts arises from the process used to generate intermediate styles between master designs. If the master glyphs are not precisely aligned or compatible—such as having mismatched point counts or incompatible curve structures—interpolation can produce visual artifacts, including uneven stroke widths, kinks in outlines, or overlapping elements. This issue is particularly pronounced in early variable fonts, which often yielded mediocre results due to the nascent state of design tools and techniques at the time of their introduction. Compatibility challenges have historically affected variable fonts, especially those using the Compact Font Format version 2 (CFF2) outlines. On Windows, DirectWrite—the text rendering engine—does not support variable fonts with CFF2 data, leading to rendering failures or crashes in applications relying on it, a limitation persisting from the Windows 10 Creators Update onward. Additionally, many older applications, such as legacy versions of or tools like After Effects, exhibit limited or no support for variable fonts, often requiring workarounds or third-party extensions to access variations. In web contexts, browsers lacking full support for properties like font-variation-settings will ignore variation directives and render the variable font's default instance, which may not match the intended design and thus disrupt layout or aesthetic consistency. Designers must provide static font fallbacks in CSS stacks to mitigate this, but selecting an appropriate default or nearest static equivalent remains a common pitfall. Creating high-quality variable fonts demands considerable design complexity, including meticulous tuning of multiple masters to ensure smooth across axes. This process requires expertise in compatible construction and testing at numerous locations along the design space, making it unsuitable for all typefaces—particularly those with highly decorative or intricate features, where can exacerbate distortions rather than enhance flexibility.

Creating Variable Fonts

Design Process

The design process for variable fonts begins with type designers sketching multiple master designs, typically representing the extremes of intended variation axes, such as a light and a bold , to establish the foundational styles for . These masters serve as anchor points, with designers carefully aligning structures across them to facilitate smooth blending. Following this, designers define the variation axes—such as , width, or optical size—along with their numeric ranges, ensuring that the axes align with the creative goals of the font family. Once masters and axes are established, the process advances to interpolating intermediate forms between the masters, where designers test glyphs for visual consistency across the defined ranges. This interpolation generates continuous variations, but initial results often require scrutiny to maintain stylistic . Key considerations include ensuring harmonious variations that work seamlessly across multiple languages and scripts, where differences in character shapes demand balanced adjustments to avoid inconsistencies in or aesthetics. Additionally, designers address optical adjustments, particularly for size-related variations, by incorporating features like the optical size axis to adapt stroke weights and proportions for optimal at different scales. Iteration forms a core part of the workflow, involving proofing at axis extremes and intermediate points to identify distortions or artifacts in the interpolated glyphs. Designers then refine these issues using delta instructions, which apply targeted corrections to specific points along the variation paths, restoring intended design nuances without redrawing entire masters. This iterative testing and adjustment cycle is repeated until the font exhibits fluid, predictable behavior across its full range. For complex multi-axis fonts, the process often involves among type designers, engineers, and sometimes linguists to manage the increased intricacy of coordinating multiple variation dimensions. Team-based workflows allow for divided responsibilities, such as one specialist focusing on script-specific while others handle axis tuning, ultimately yielding a cohesive variable font.

Tools and Software

Several professional font editors support the creation and editing of variable fonts through features like multi-master and axis management. Glyphs, available for macOS, provides robust tools for defining variation axes and interpolating between multiple masters, enabling designers to build complex variable fonts efficiently. FontLab 8, a cross-platform editor for macOS and Windows, offers advanced axis tools for customizing per-glyph variations and generating variable fonts from static sources. RoboFont, a scriptable font editor for macOS, allows Python-based automation for designing sources, creating designspace files, and compiling variable fonts using extensions like Batch. For testing and inspecting variable fonts, online tools facilitate quick previews and analysis without local installation. FontDrop is a web-based application that enables users to upload and preview font files, including interactive variation previews along defined axes. Wakamai Fondue serves as a web-based inspector that analyzes uploaded fonts to reveal available variation axes, generate CSS snippets for testing, and demonstrate the font's dynamic capabilities. Integration tools aid in exporting and optimizing variable fonts for specific uses. The Adobe Font Development Kit for OpenType (AFDKO) includes command-line utilities for building and validating variable OpenType fonts from PostScript or TrueType data, ensuring compliance with the format's specifications. Google Fonts' gftools library provides Python scripts for processing variable fonts in the collection, including subsetting, axis pruning, and optimization for web delivery to reduce file sizes while preserving functionality. As of 2025, emerging trends include AI-assisted tools that enhance efficiency in typeface creation workflows, including support for custom s with variable font capabilities, according to industry analysis.

Adoption and Implementation

Operating Systems and Platforms

Variable fonts have seen widespread adoption across major operating systems, with native rendering support integrated into core font engines starting in 2017. This enables seamless handling of font variations at the system level, allowing applications to access interpolated styles without requiring separate font files. By leveraging platform-specific rendering technologies, operating systems provide consistent support for font variations, though initial implementations focused primarily on TrueType-based formats. On Windows, variable font support was introduced in version 10 Fall Creators Update (build 1709, released October 2017) through the DirectWrite API, which handles font loading, glyph rasterization, and variation instance creation. DirectWrite enables applications to query and apply variation axes such as weight and width, with for static instances. However, support for CFF2-based variable fonts remained limited initially due to rendering inconsistencies, with improvements and fuller integration addressed in subsequent updates. macOS and iOS provide native support for variable fonts since macOS 10.13 High Sierra and , both released in 2017, via the Core Text framework. Core Text, Apple's advanced typography engine, supports font variations by bridging them with the legacy Apple Advanced Typography (AAT) model, which shares conceptual similarities with the Multiple Master and GX formats that inspired variable fonts. This integration allows for smooth along design axes in system-wide rendering, including in elements and text processing. Android introduced variable font support starting with version 8.0 Oreo in August 2017, utilizing the shaping engine for complex script handling and font variation application. , integrated into the Android graphics stack, enables dynamic adjustment of font axes during text layout, supporting features like weight and optical size variations in native apps and system fonts. For distributions, support arrived with 2.8 in May 2017, which completed implementation of variation fonts in this widely used rasterizer library. 's additions allow environments to load and render variable fonts consistently across desktop environments like and . By 2020, variable fonts achieved near-universal support across most desktop and mobile operating systems, including +, macOS 10.13+, +, Android 8.0+, and via updated and libraries, facilitating broad interoperability without significant compatibility hurdles in modern deployments.

Web Browsers and CSS

Variable fonts gained initial browser support in major web browsers starting in 2017 and 2018. Chrome and Edge (Chromium-based) version 62 and later provided support from September 2017, version 11 from September 2017, and version 62 from September 2018. In CSS, variable fonts are controlled primarily through the font-variation-settings property, which offers low-level access to variation axes by specifying axis tags and coordinate values. For example, to set a weight of 400 on the 'wght' axis, the syntax is font-variation-settings: 'wght' 400;. Setting this property to normal allows the browser to automatically interpolate values based on higher-level CSS properties like font-weight. For registered axes such as ('wght'), width ('wdth'), and optical ('opsz'), high-level CSS like font-weight, font-stretch, and font-optical-sizing provide a more semantic and accessible way to adjust variations, mapping directly to the underlying axis coordinates without needing font-variation-settings. Custom axes, however, require the low-level for control. Developers can detect support using CSS feature queries like @supports (font-variation-settings: 'wght' 400);. Best practices for implementing variable fonts on the web include preloading font files with <link rel="preload" as="font" crossorigin> to prioritize loading and reduce layout shifts, as well as subsetting the font to include only necessary glyphs, axes, and variations, which minimizes and improves . By 2025, variable fonts enjoy universal support across modern browsers, with global compatibility exceeding 95% on desktop and mobile platforms. Experimental features, such as querying axis ranges via the CSS Font Loading API's FontFace interface, continue to evolve for more dynamic font handling.

Typography and Design Applications

Professional design software has increasingly integrated variable fonts to enable designers to adjust typographic attributes like weight, width, and slant dynamically within a single font file, enhancing creative flexibility in layout and composition. In the suite, support for variable fonts was introduced in Photoshop and with the release, allowing users to manipulate font variations directly in the character panel. Full support arrived in InDesign with the 2020 version, featuring axis sliders for precise control over attributes such as optical and grade, which streamlines for print and digital publications. Open-source tools have also adopted variable font capabilities to democratize advanced . Inkscape version 1.0, released in 2020, includes support for variable fonts when compiled with library version 1.41.1 or later, enabling designers to adjust axes via the Text and Font panel for vector illustrations. Similarly, 7.5, launched in 2023, offers improved handling of variable fonts for text variations, including embedding and application in documents with PDF export compatibility. Other design applications provide varying levels of integration tailored to UI/UX workflows. Sketch, a Mac-based tool, added native variable font support in version 59 (2019), permitting manipulation of axes like weight and width in text layers, though advanced animations may require plugins. Figma introduced native support for variable fonts in 2022, facilitating their use in prototypes and design systems to create responsive typographic scales without multiple static files. gained variable font support in version 2.5 (2024), with the Font Variations panel allowing axis adjustments for intricate typographic designs across desktop and platforms. By late 2025, these tools continue to evolve, with broader integration of variable fonts in professional workflows supporting more efficient design iterations and reduced file sizes for collaborative projects.

Notable Examples and Applications

Prominent Variable Fonts

One of the earliest prominent variable fonts is Bahnschrift, developed by Aaron Bell for and released in 2017 as the default system font for Windows 10's Fall Creators Update. This typeface digitizes the standard, originally used for German road signage, featuring weight and width axes that enable smooth transitions across styles while maintaining consistent character widths through duplexing for better text reflow. Its clean, mechanical aesthetic supports over 200 Latin-based languages, Greek, and Cyrillic, making it versatile for UI and technical applications. Another classic is Recursive, a five-axis variable font family designed by the Arrow Type and first released in , tailored for coding and UI . It includes the CASL (Casual) axis, which interpolates between linear and curved strokes for expressive transitions from strict to casual forms, alongside , slant, , and monospace axes that ensure monospaced variants align perfectly for code legibility without shifting baselines. This makes Recursive particularly suited for developer tools and data-heavy interfaces, where its high legibility at small sizes enhances readability in terminals and editors. Adobe has contributed significantly with Acumin, a neo-grotesque family originally released in 2015 and later adapted into a multi-axis variable font under the Originals program. Designed for rational, balanced performance across display and text sizes, its variable version features weight, width, and slant axes, allowing precise adjustments for diverse projects while supporting extensive features and multilingual glyph sets. Similarly, Minion Variable Concept, a revival of Robert Slimbach's classic Minion 3 typeface, was introduced by in 2017 and bundled with tools like and Photoshop. This variable iteration spans weights from 400 to 700 with optical sizing, preserving the elegant, Renaissance-inspired proportions for body text and reviving the font's versatility in editorial and print design. Among modern examples, Roboto Flex stands out as Google's 2022 upgrade to its ubiquitous Roboto typeface, developed in collaboration with the Font Bureau. This variable font offers 12 axes, including the GRAD (grade) axis for subtle boldness adjustments without altering stroke contrast, alongside weight, width, optical size, and parametric controls for ascenders, descenders, and more, enabling extreme customization for Material Design interfaces across Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts. Its open-source nature and fine-tuning capabilities amplify expressiveness in digital products. Released in late 2023 by Reset Type Studio and designed by Fernando Díaz, RST Thermal is a variable serif exploring classical and contemporary contrasts with weight and optical size axes. Drawing from 16th-century typographer Robert Granjon for its warm rhythm in regular weights and 19th-century woodtype for bold extremes, it features 20° italic inclinations inspired by historical cursives, creating a sharp yet inviting aesthetic ideal for editorial and branding work. Recent notable releases include Evert (2024), a variable superfamily by Foundry5, designed by Kostas Bartsokas and highlighted for its modern versatility across three optical sizes and eight weights. With upright and italic variants in a single variable file supporting over 320 languages, it blends influences with functional precision, offering free variable fonts alongside 48 static styles for responsive design applications. In , PF Centura by Type Foundry, designed by Panos Vassiliou, emerged as a notable variable with weight and width axes, praised for its clean, versatile design suitable for branding and digital interfaces. Bion, a geometric display font from Type Forward released in 2022 but gaining prominence in trends, features a variable file with 40 weights from hairline to black, including upright, italic, and condensed options. Its high , vertically cut terminals, and minimal contrast provide a grounded yet precise personality, suitable for kinetic and animated displays where subtle variations enhance motion without overwhelming the composition.

Real-World Use Cases

In web design, variable fonts enable responsive typography that adapts dynamically to user interfaces, such as headings whose weight scales fluidly with screen size to maintain visual hierarchy across devices. This approach enhances cohesive layouts without multiple font files, reducing load times while allowing precise control over stylistic variations like boldness or width. Google's Material Design incorporates variable fonts, such as Roboto Flex, to support expressive motion effects in animations, where font axes adjust in real-time for smoother transitions and adaptive UI elements. Major brands have leveraged variable fonts for innovative branding strategies. Audi's 2021 corporate identity refresh introduced a variable font for its logo, allowing adjustable ring thickness to toggle between refined and rugged aesthetics, which has been extended in subsequent campaigns for versatile digital applications. Burger King's renewed visual identity features a custom variable font by Colophon , enabling typography adjustments across formats and supporting animated transitions that align with dynamic marketing content from 2023 onward. Similarly, employs the "Chop" variable typeface by MCKL in its branding, adapting diagonal cuts and weights for sporty visuals in store displays and campaigns spanning 2023 to 2025. In print and digital publishing, variable fonts facilitate optical sizing to optimize legibility in diverse layouts, such as magazine spreads where larger display text features bolder strokes and smaller body text uses finer details for clarity. Applications like integrate variable fonts, such as the custom Spotify Mix typeface, to enhance UI adaptability, allowing weight, width, and slant variations that respond to interface needs and user interactions for a more immersive experience. By 2025, variable fonts have become mainstream in typography, powering kinetic effects like animated weight shifts in video content and AI-customized variants that generate personalized styles based on user data or contextual inputs. Their compact file sizes—often 50-70% smaller than static font sets—improve performance in low-bandwidth regions, enabling faster rendering of text-heavy sites in areas with limited connectivity. This trend underscores variable fonts' role in scalable, across global digital ecosystems.

References

  1. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Fonts/Variable_fonts
  2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/otvaroverview
  3. https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/introducing_type/introducing_variable_fonts
  4. https://www.monotype.com/resources/articles/part-1-from-truetype-gx-to-variable-fonts
  5. https://atadistance.net/2017/04/21/from-truetype-gx-to-variable-fonts/
  6. https://developer.apple.com/fonts/TrueType-Reference-Manual/
  7. https://developer.apple.com/fonts/TrueType-Reference-Manual/RM06/Chap6fvar.html
  8. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/truetype/history
  9. https://eclecticlight.co/2025/05/03/a-brief-history-of-fonts-in-mac-os/
  10. https://medium.com/variable-fonts/introducing-opentype-variable-fonts-12ba6cd2369
  11. https://blog.typekit.com/2016/09/14/variable-fonts-a-new-kind-of-font-for-flexible-design/
  12. https://opensource.googleblog.com/2016/09/introducing-opentype-font-variations.html
  13. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/otspec180/changes
  14. https://www.axis-praxis.org/blog/2017-04-18/18/the-variable-state-of-the-browsers-early-2017
  15. https://medium.com/variable-fonts/one-year-in-an-update-on-variable-fonts-7e3b9b716e49
  16. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/gvar
  17. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/cff2
  18. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/dvaraxistag_wght
  19. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/dvaraxistag_wdth
  20. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/dvaraxistag_opsz
  21. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/dvaraxistag_slnt
  22. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/dvaraxistag_ital
  23. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/fvar
  24. https://variablefonts.io/about-variable-fonts/
  25. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/avar
  26. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/hvar
  27. https://web.dev/articles/variable-fonts
  28. https://github.com/googlefonts/roboto-flex
  29. https://css-tricks.com/a-new-responsive-font-format-for-the-web/
  30. https://www.lyquix.com/blog/variable-fonts-responsive-type-for-responsive-web/
  31. https://uxdesign.cc/the-performance-benefits-of-variable-fonts-79af8c4ff56c
  32. https://dev.to/braide/variable-fonts-for-dynamic-typography-ajm
  33. https://processtypefoundry.com/blog/2019/07/the-basics-of-variable-fonts/
  34. https://github.com/googlefonts/fontmake/issues/738
  35. https://typetype.org/blog/variable-fonts-whats-new-in-them-for-designers/
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  40. https://glyphsapp.com/learn/multiple-masters-part-1-setting-up-masters
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  45. https://www.fontlab.com/font-editor/fontlab/
  46. https://robofont.com/documentation/tutorials/creating-variable-fonts
  47. https://fontdrop.info/
  48. https://wakamaifondue.com/
  49. https://github.com/adobe-type-tools/afdko
  50. https://github.com/googlefonts/gftools
  51. https://www.transformmagazine.net/articles/2025/ai-setting-type-free/
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  53. https://atadistance.net/2018/02/16/time-for-apple-to-reboot-coretext/
  54. https://medium.com/over-engineering/variable-fonts-in-android-p-c5c918275646
  55. https://harfbuzz.github.io/fonts-and-faces-variable.html
  56. https://www.phoronix.com/news/FreeType-2.8-Released
  57. https://caniuse.com/variable-fonts
  58. https://www.browserstack.com/guide/browser-compatibility-for-variable-fonts
  59. https://web.dev/articles/font-best-practices
  60. https://iainbean.com/posts/2021/5-steps-to-faster-web-fonts/
  61. https://www.lambdatest.com/web-technologies/variable-fonts
  62. https://www.noupe.com/magazine/design/variable-fonts-are-now-available-in-adobe-and-chrome.html
  63. https://creativepro.com/variable-fonts-in-indesign/
  64. https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/7.5
  65. https://www.sketch.com/blog/variable-fonts-improved-opentype-support-and-a-new-data-plugin-whats-new-in-sketch/
  66. https://www.figma.com/typography/variable-fonts/
  67. https://affinityspotlight.com/article/working-with-variable-fonts-in-affinity-apps/
  68. https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/using/using-variable-fonts.html
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  73. https://m3.material.io/blog/roboto-flex
  74. https://www.reset-type.com/typeface/Thermal
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  81. https://developer.android.com/design/ui/wear/guides/get-started/apply
  82. https://bauertypes.com/variable-fonts-trend-brands/
  83. https://www.kimp.io/typography-trends-2025/
  84. https://www.creativeboom.com/insight/font-trends-2025/
  85. https://pixelambacht.nl/2021/optical-size-hidden-superpower/
  86. https://newsroom.spotify.com/2024-05-22/introducing-spotify-mix-our-new-and-exclusive-font/
  87. https://abcdinamo.com/news/spotify
  88. https://www.fontfabric.com/blog/top-typography-trends-2025/
  89. https://www.upskillist.com/blog/top-7-kinetic-typography-trends-2025/
  90. https://typographica.org/on-typography/variable-fonts/
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