Google Fonts

Last updated
Google Fonts
Google Fonts logo.svg
phr`m kuuekilf`nt Prompt a Tha font Sample.jpg
Prompt, [1] a Thai typeface from Google Fonts
Developer Google
TypeFont embedding service
Launch date2010 (2010)
Website fonts.google.com

Google Fonts (formerly known as Google Web Fonts) is a computer font and web font service owned by Google. This includes free and open source font families, an interactive web directory for browsing the library, and APIs for using the fonts via CSS [2] and Android. [3] Google Fonts is also used with Google Workspace software such as Docs, Sheets, Drawings and Slides.

Contents

Popular fonts in the Google Fonts library include Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Oswald, Montserrat, and Source Sans Pro. [4]

History

Google Fonts was launched in 2010 [5] and revamped in 2011, [6] 2016, [7] and 2020. [8]

On March 3, 2020, Google updated the catalog website with support for variable fonts.[ citation needed ] On March 2, 2021, the Google Fonts team announced they were adding support for open source icons. [9]

Font library

As of May 2024, Google Fonts had 1640 font families, including 374 variable font families. [10]

The library is maintained through Google Fonts' GitHub repository, where all font files can be obtained directly. Source files for many of the fonts are available from git repositories within the Google Fonts' GitHub organization, along with libre software tools used by the Google Fonts community.

Licenses and distribution

Most of the fonts are released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, while some are released under the Apache License; [11] both are libre licenses.

The font library is also distributed by Monotype's SkyFonts and Adobe's Edge Web Fonts and Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit) services.

Privacy issues

In February 2022, a German court ruled that a website using Google Fonts violated the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by passing personally identifiable information (IP address) to Google without the user's consent or a legitimate interest in doing so. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghostscript</span> Interpreter for the PostScript language

Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format (PDF) page description languages. Its main purposes are the rasterization or rendering of such page description language files, for the display or printing of document pages, and the conversion between PostScript and PDF files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roboto</span> Open-source sans-serif typeface family

Roboto is a neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface family developed by Google as the system font for its mobile operating system Android, and released in 2011 for Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zotero</span> Open-source reference management software

Zotero is free and open-source reference management software to manage bibliographic data and related research materials, such as PDF and ePUB files. Features include web browser integration, online syncing, generation of in-text citations, footnotes, and bibliographies, integrated PDF, ePUB and HTML readers with annotation capabilities, and a note editor, as well as integration with the word processors Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, and Google Docs. It was originally created at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and, as of 2021, is developed by the non-profit Corporation for Digital Scholarship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JavaFX</span> Java software platform for GUI

JavaFX is a software platform for creating and delivering desktop applications, as well as rich web applications that can run across a wide variety of devices. JavaFX has support for desktop computers and web browsers on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, as well as mobile devices running iOS and Android, through Gluon Mobile.

HarfBuzz is a software development library for text shaping, which is the process of converting Unicode text to glyph indices and positions. The newer version, New HarfBuzz (2012–), targets various font technologies while the first version, Old HarfBuzz (2006–2012), targeted only OpenType fonts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droid (typeface)</span> Typeface family

Droid is a font family first released in 2007 and created by Ascender Corporation for use by the Open Handset Alliance platform Android and licensed under the Apache License. The fonts are intended for use on the small screens of mobile handsets and were designed by Steve Matteson of Ascender Corporation. The name was derived from the Open Handset Alliance platform named Android.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Web typography</span> Publishing considerations for the Web

Web typography, like typography generally, is the design of pages – their layout and typeface choices. Unlike traditional print-based typography, pages intended for display on the World Wide Web have additional technical challenges and – given its ability to change the presentation dynamically – additional opportunities. Early web page designs were very simple due to technology limitations; modern designs use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript and other techniques to deliver the typographer's and the client's vision.

A CSS framework is a library allowing for easier, more standards-compliant web design using the Cascading Style Sheets language. Most of these frameworks contain at least a grid. More functional frameworks also come with more features and additional JavaScript based functions, but are mostly design oriented and focused around interactive UI patterns. This detail differentiates CSS frameworks from other JavaScript frameworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromium (web browser)</span> Open-source web browser project

Chromium is a free and open-source web browser project, primarily developed and maintained by Google. It is a widely-used codebase, providing the vast majority of code for Google Chrome and many other browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Samsung Internet, and Opera. The code is also used by several app frameworks.

Modern HTML5 has feature-parity with the now-obsolete Adobe Flash. Both include features for playing audio and video within web pages. Flash was specifically built to integrate vector graphics and light games in a web page, features that HTML5 also supports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantarell (typeface)</span> Sans-serif typeface

Cantarell is the default typeface supplied with the user interface of GNOME since version 3.0, replacing Bitstream Vera and DejaVu. The font was originated by Dave Crossland in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open Sans</span> Sans-serif typeface

Open Sans is an open source humanist sans-serif typeface that was designed by Steve Matteson under commission from Google. It was released in 2011 and is based on his earlier design called Droid Sans, which was specifically created for Android mobile devices but with slight modifications to its width.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bootstrap (front-end framework)</span> Web design front-end

Bootstrap is a free and open-source CSS framework directed at responsive, mobile-first front-end web development. It contains HTML, CSS and (optionally) JavaScript-based design templates for typography, forms, buttons, navigation, and other interface components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brackets (text editor)</span> Editor for web development

Brackets is a source code editor with a primary focus on web development. Created by Adobe Inc., it is free and open-source software licensed under the MIT License, and is currently maintained on GitHub by open-source developers. It is written in JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Brackets is cross-platform, available for macOS, Windows, and most Linux distributions. The main purpose of Brackets is its live HTML, CSS and JavaScript editing functionality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noto fonts</span> Multilingual font family from Google

Noto is a font family comprising over 100 individual computer fonts, which are together designed to cover all the scripts encoded in the Unicode standard. As of October 2016, Noto fonts cover all 93 scripts defined in Unicode version 6.1, although fewer than 30,000 of the nearly 75,000 CJK unified ideographs in version 6.0 are covered. In total, Noto fonts cover over 77,000 characters, which is around half of the 149,186 characters defined in Unicode 15.0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Product Sans</span> Geometric product-sans typeface created by Google for branding purposes

Product Sans is a contemporary geometric sans-serif typeface created by Google for branding purposes. It replaced the old Google logo on September 1, 2015. As Google's branding was becoming more apparent on a multitude of kinds of devices, Google sought to adapt its design so that its logo could be portrayed in constrained spaces and remain consistent for its users across platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable font</span> Font file with many design variants

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM Plex</span> Open source typeface family

IBM Plex is an open source typeface superfamily conceptually designed and developed by Mike Abbink at IBM in collaboration with Bold Monday to reflect the design principles of IBM and to be used for all brand material across the company internationally. Plex replaces Helvetica as the IBM corporate typeface after more than fifty years, freeing the company from extensive license payments in the process.

Carbon Design System is a free and open-source design system and library created by IBM, which implements the IBM Design Language, and licensed under Apache License 2.0. Its public development initially started on June 10, 2015. Their components have multiple implementations, which includes a vanilla JS and CSS implementation and React, while the community maintains the frameworks developed in Svelte, Vue.js, and Web Components. The official typeface to be used according to the guidelines is the IBM Plex typeface, with alternative typefaces for CJK scripts are Noto Sans CJK SC, Noto Sans CJK TC, and Noto Sans JP.

References

  1. Cadson Demak. "Prompt - Google Fonts". Google Fonts. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. "How To Add Google Fonts Using CSS". fontsplugin.com. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  3. "How Oreo is better than Nougat : Downloadable fonts and adaptive icons". AndroidAuthority.com. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  4. "Analytics - Google Fonts". fonts.google.com. 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  5. "Google Fonts is Born - Can I get a Hallelujah!?". Sitepoint.com. 2010-05-20. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  6. "Google Fonts Blog: The new Google Web Fonts - Now fully launched". Googlewebfonts.blogspot.com. 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  7. "Reimagining Google Fonts - Library - Google Design". design.google. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  8. "Happy anniversary, Google Fonts!". design.google. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  9. Kunisch, Tobias; Lee, SeHee (2021-03-02). "Google Fonts ❤️ Material Icons - Material Design". Material Design. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  10. "Browse Fonts - Google Fonts". Google Fonts. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  11. "Google Fonts - Attribution". fonts.google.com. 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  12. Cushing, Tim (2022-02-07). "German Court Fines Site Owner For Sharing User Data With Google To Access Web Fonts". Techdirt. Retrieved 2022-02-28.