Source Sans (known as Source Sans Pro before 2021)[1] is a sans-serif typeface created by Paul D. Hunt, released by Adobe in 2012.[2] It is the first open-source font family from Adobe, distributed under the SIL Open Font License.[3][4]

Source Sans
CategorySans-serif
ClassificationGrotesque, Humanist
Designer(s)Paul D. Hunt
FoundryAdobe Inc.
Date created2012
LicenseSIL Open Font License
Design based on
VariationsSource Han Sans
Websitegithub.com/adobe-fonts/source-sans
Latest release versionv3.052
Latest release dateMarch 30, 2023; 20 months ago (2023-03-30)

The typeface is inspired by the forms of the American Type Founders' gothics by Morris Fuller Benton, such as News Gothic, Lightline Gothic and Franklin Gothic, modified with both a larger x-height and character width and more humanist-influenced italic forms.[5] It is available in seven weights (Regular, ExtraLight, Light, Medium, Semibold, Bold, Black) in upright and italic styles, and is also available as a variable font with continuous weight values from 200 to 900.[6] The typeface has wide language support for Latin script, including Western and Eastern European languages, Vietnamese, pinyin romanization of Chinese, and Navajo.[3] Adobe's training material highlights it as having a more consistent colour on the page than the rather condensed News Gothic it is based on.[7][8]

See also

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  • Benton Sans – another commercial Benton revival, optimised for various weights, widths and optical masters for various sizes of text
  • Trade Gothic – Linotype's competing design

Adobe's open source family

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References

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  1. ^ "Comparing 5b44992...1cac893". adobe-fonts/source-sans. Adobe Inc. 21 January 2021 – via GitHub.
  2. ^ Paul, Ryan (3 August 2012). "Adobe releases Source Sans Pro, a new open source font". Ars Technica. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b Hunt, Paul D. (2 August 2012). "Source Sans Pro: Adobe's first open source type family". Adobe Typekit Blog. Adobe Systems Incorporated. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  4. ^ Gilbertson, Scott (3 August 2012). "Source Sans Pro: Adobe's First Open Source Type Family". Webmonkey. Wired. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  5. ^ Rugen, Chris. "Source Sans review". Typographica. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Variable Fonts — Source Sans Variable".
  7. ^ "Source Sans Pro: Adobe's first open source type family". TypeKit. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  8. ^ Brown, Tim. "Selecting Typefaces for Body Text". Typekit Practice. Adobe Systems. Retrieved 28 July 2018. Source Sans has an obviousness and toughness similar to News Gothic, but with a much more even color. Its letterforms are wider and more widely spaced, more modest than monumental, which makes sense in a body text setting....News Gothic is not a good choice of body text typeface. Certain letter combinations are very dense, and the overall color is not even.
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