Getting Started With Variable Fonts

display of fonts displayed from a single variable font

Typography on the web has long been considered second to web page performance, leaving web designers unable to apply all but the most basic typographic principles to online content. Until now. With the recent emergence of the variable font format, designers can work with an entire font family as they do in print.

A variable font encapsulates the entire font family, not just one style or instance. With three out of the four major browsers already supporting variable fonts and the remainder soon to follow, the future is certainly bright for this new font technology. Explore the resources below and be ready to hit the ground running when it arrives.

Get FF Meta Variable Demo for free

Copy and paste the link below into your CSS to see how variable fonts transform your web page.

https://variablefonts.monotype.com/MetaVariableDemo-Set.css

Download FF Meta Variable Demo for desktop to see the benefit of flexible design ranges.

Be sure to visit the FF Meta Demo by Jason Pamental to see the font in action and get access to the entire sample HTML and CSS.

By downloading the FF Meta Variable Demo for Desktop or linking to the hosted FF Meta Variable Demo web fonts you agree to the terms of the End User License Agreement.

Benefits of Variable Fonts

Smaller file size

A variable font is a single font that acts as many: all the variations of width and weight, slant, and other attributes can be contained in a single, highly efficient compressed font file.

Only one file

With fewer HTTP requests for assets (font files) variable fonts offer an overall savings of data to download. While these freedoms allow us to become more expressive, some of the really interesting capabilities will help transform the reading experience itself.

Flexible design range

The typical scenario would be to constrain any given design to 3-5 different fonts to represent every aspect of a site’s design language and voice—including every permutation for body copy and headings. At its simplest implementation, variable fonts would give us the freedom to use additional weights/styles for every level of text.

Helpful Links

screenshot of code using CSS custom properties

FF Meta Demo by Jason Pamental

See FF Meta Variable in action and use the CSS to get started with your own design.

screenshot of Microsoft Edge Demo homepage

Demo by Microsoft Edge

Learn more about Variable Fonts and how to get started with them with some helpful tips by the team at Microsoft Edge.

Axis-Praxis

Explore the possibilities of multiple axes and other Variable Font designs.

Variable Fonts: making promise a reality

Bob Taylor, Monotype’s Font Technologies Director, offers his views on the promise of Variable Fonts and shares how Monotype and the tech industry are bringing this promise to reality.