Open Sans is the ever present internet font that has come to outline and dominate the typography of the web. If you wish to discover out what font is much like Open Sans, you are in luck—you will discover all kinds of fonts much like Open Sans, which pay tribute to its minimal, legible character.
Whereas there are many related fonts to Open Sans, no different font can match its decade of supremacy throughout internet design. Created in 2011 by Steve Matteson and commissioned by Google, Open Sans went hand in hand with the rise of ‘flat design’ throughout web sites and apps within the 2010s.
The Open Sans household now has greater than 29 billion web page views every week, and it is the second most used font on Google Fonts. It is ultra-legible on even small screens, and plenty of have recognized Open Sans as the brand new Arial—a impartial but pleasant font with a versatility and recognition that has remained largely unchanged over ten years of use.
Right here, uncover the historical past of the Open Sans font household, discover out what’s an analogous font to Open Sans, and obtain advisable options to the world’s favourite internet font.
Discover minimal sans serifs and different fonts much like Open Sans on Envato Components.
What Is Open Sans?
Open Sans is a minimal sans serif font with a big x-height and an open, ethereal look (therefore the identify). It’s classed as a humanist sans serif, and was designed with small screens in thoughts. For a lot of designers, Open Sans is the ‘flat design’ font, because it was broadly utilized in flat consumer interface design in the course of the 2010s.
Consisting of a variety of weights (together with Open Sans gentle font, Open Sans Daring, and Open Sans Semibold), the font is broadly adaptable for each internet and print design.
At present, Open Sans is without doubt one of the most generally used fonts in internet design, second solely to Roboto (a detailed relative of Droid Sans, Open Sans’s predecessor) on the checklist of most-used typefaces on Google Fonts. Learn on to find extra concerning the historical past of Open Sans, in addition to our selection of the font closest to Open Sans.
The Historical past of the Open Sans Font
In 2011, Google commissioned American kind designer Steve Matteson, now Artistic Sort Director at Californian foundry Monotype, to create a variation of his older font design, Droid Sans. Used throughout Android cellular gadgets, Droid Sans had been designed as an ultra-legible font for small screens.
Matteson’s redesigned font, Open Sans, is much more legible, with wider apertures and a big x-height, in addition to an italic variant. Described by Google as having ‘open kinds and a impartial, but pleasant look’, the Open Sans font shortly grew to become one of the crucial broadly used internet fonts, championed by Google as certainly one of their default fonts for internet pages and cellular gadgets, but in addition utilized by different platforms together with Mozilla (which used Open Sans as its default typeface till 2019) and WordPress.
Enjoyable reality: Steve Matteson is an enormous fan of the work of American kind designer Frederic Goudy. Matteson lectures about Goudy’s work and labored on revivals of Goudy’s Bertham, Friar, and Tory Textual content typefaces.
Open Sans is a humanist sans serif, that means that it has extra heat than strictly geometric sans serifs, in addition to natural roots within the type of its letterforms. This, mixed with its distinctive legibility, has made it into one of the crucial fashionable fonts on the planet, with over 4 billion views per day on greater than 20 million web sites.
In 2016, Matteson added a companion slab serif, Open Serif, to the Open household, which was additionally created with the purpose in thoughts of enhancing the legibility of serif fonts on screens.
The Open Sans Font in Use: Flat Design and Political Branding
Flat design, which champions the usage of minimal graphics and pointless styling, continues to be a broadly fashionable type in consumer interface design as a result of it permits for speedier load instances and cleaner code. Open Sans was launched at a time when app and internet designers had been selling flat design, and with its legible and minimal type, the font shortly grew to become a near-permanent fixture on flat designs throughout the online.
With a broad vary of weights, from Open Sans Mild and Open Sans Semibold to the physique text-friendly Open Sans Common font, the font household Open Sans shortly grew to become a agency favourite of internet designers within the 2010s.
Open Sans can be broadly utilized in model design. Its impartial and pleasant character has made it fashionable in company, instructional, and political identities, in addition to being a standard selection for physique fonts in a variety of name identities.
The UK’s Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Co-Operative events use Open Sans as their official font, as do a broad vary of universities, together with Carnegie Mellon College (CMU), Washington College, and Tel Aviv College (which makes use of the Hebrew extension of the font developed by Israeli kind designer Yanek Iontef in 2014).
Easy methods to Use Open Sans in Your Designs
There’s a cause why the Open Sans font household nonetheless tops internet font lists at this time, a decade after it was created. It’s exceptionally versatile, impartial, and legible, making it adaptable for a variety of functions. Utilizing Open Sans in your internet and app designs is a no brainer, and the font will complement minimal or flat designs significantly effectively.
Whereas Helvetica may appear slightly impersonal, Open Sans will carry heat and friendliness to textual content and communications, making it an important various to neo-grotesque and geometric sans serifs.
Though Open Sans is healthier identified for its use on web sites, it’s additionally obtainable as a print typeface, making it adaptable for model design, stationery, typesetting, posters, and different print media. Extremely legible set at a small measurement, Open Sans is a wonderful physique font and is impartial sufficient to pair effectively with different kind types set as headers.
The Open Sans font household is obtainable in a variety of weights, together with the usual Open Sans common font and Open Sans daring, in addition to Open Sans semibold, medium, and the Open Sans gentle font.
In all, the household has 5 weights (Open Sans Mild, Regular, Semi-Daring, Daring, and Further Daring), every with an Open Sans italic model, leading to a complete of ten variations. The broad vary of weights and types obtainable, in addition to the companion serif font, Open Serif, makes Open Sans extraordinarily versatile and usable throughout each internet and print.
Fonts Just like Open Sans
By way of what’s an analogous font to Open Sans, there are many options and tributes to select from. Whereas Open Sans will little doubt stay an internet design favourite for years to come back, you may select an analogous font to Open Sans which demonstrates extra up to date or distinctive options, to present your designs an edge.
So what font is much like Open Sans? The fonts closest to Open Sans display among the similar trademark traits of the unique, together with humanist styling, minimalist letterforms, and a impartial but open look.
Beneath, uncover our number of the 15 most related fonts to Open Sans, from near-identical tributes to typefaces which take styling cues from Steve Matteson’s creation. Once you’re finished try the part that provides Open Sans font pairings.
1. Aurel
A chunkier, squatter tribute to Open Sans with a decreased x-height, Aurel is suited to each headers and physique textual content and is available in 4 versatile weights and 4 italics.
2. Bergen Sans
A extra stylized tackle Open Sans’s minimalist type, Bergen Sans takes its influences from Scandinavian kind types and the geometric typefaces of the Bauhaus. The Bergen Sans household has a companion household, Bergen Textual content, which has a barely quirkier type.
3. Arkibal Sans
A member of a five-strong prolonged font household, together with Arkibal Serif and Arkibal Show, Arkibal Sans balances classic type with clear legibility. Primarily based on outdated Copenhagen retailer indicators, the font is readable and heat—a quirkier various to Open Sans.
4. Giga Sans
Searching for a extra geometric various to Open Sans? Giga Sans is a bouncy sans serif with a clear, elegant look. Out there in an enormous vary of 9 upright types and 9 italics, the font seems simply pretty much as good on sturdy headlines because it does set as physique textual content.
5. Rockyeah Sans
An all-caps sans serif with the identical clear, legible spirit of Open Sans, Rockyeah Sans has been designed with show in thoughts, and could be the right pairing for simply-designed logos or web sites. Ligatures that kick out from among the letterforms give the font a fun-loving persona.
6. Leo Sans
Fashionable, geometric, and clear, Leo Sans has an eye catching, graphic type and is obtainable in all caps for a placing look. It is a related font to Open Sans by way of character, however Leo Sans is healthier suited to poster or show functions.
7. Fibon Sans
A softer various to Open Sans with a extra hand-drawn high quality, Fibon Sans is the kooky youthful brother to Open Sans. Created by Hederae Artistic Store, the letterforms are rounded and ultra-legible, and are available six adaptable weights.
8. Monolith
Delicate and minimalist, Monolith is a lighter humanist sans serif appropriate for print and internet. Created by Unio, the emphasis of the font is on readability and readability, and it has an identical true italic.
9. Noirden
Noirden is a daring sans serif within the custom of neo-grotesque sans fonts like Helvetica. An exceptionally numerous font household of 12 weights and 60 internet font variations, this can be a complete, modernist various to Open Sans.
10. Maximus
Described as a ‘sporty’ sans serif by its designer NEWFLIX, Maximus is a characterful geometric sans serif with clear and stylized lettering and a dynamic look. This can be a enjoyable and bouncy sans serif appropriate for younger branding and editorials.
11. George Sans
A rounded sans serif, George Sans is rather more stylized than Open Sans, however it wins a spot on our checklist for its excessive legibility and open, pleasant letterforms. Apply it to logos, signage, and packaging design.
12. Avocado Sans
Optimistic, rounded, and youthful, Avocado is aptly named for its millennial-targeted type and character. Use the three-weight household for social pictures and branding aimed toward youthful audiences.
13. Electro Sans
Searching for a really related font to Open Sans? Electro is without doubt one of the closest matches for the unique Open household, with glorious legibility and a basic humanist type. Created by Adam Johns of Webhance Studio, Electro Sans is a improbable up to date replace on Open Sans.
14. Bolt
Fashionable and ultra-minimal, Bolt is a extra severe various to Open Sans however nonetheless retains the spirit of legibility and clear design that make Open so fashionable.
15. Ardent
With a extra exaggerated x-height than Open Sans, Ardent nonetheless is a detailed tribute to the Open household, taking its cues from the narrower Droid Sans. The household incorporates six weights and 6 italics, making it a various, versatile household that fits print and internet design.
