Since the technology was first launched in 2016, all the foremost web browsers now support the so-called modern variable fonts. You have probably read a lot about what they are and some hacks on how to use them. Still, what are the hands-on benefits of variable fonts in your design projects?
Before exploring further advantages of variable fonts listed below, it would be better to pick up their definitions beforehand.
The Definition of Variable Fonts
Variable fonts are font files that can hold an endless variety of design variations. Such files can store a complete set of typefaces (font family) featuring an endless number of fonts ready for sampling.
A definition almost similarly states that variable fonts encompass the whole font family instead of focusing on a single style. Another one explains that variable fonts are those with one or more variant axes – width, weight, optical, or slant.
The latter implies that you can have a single font file with the ability to produce any style within those axes’ ranges rather than having separate font files for each style. For instance, a variable font with a width axis can generate any width – from condensed to expanded.
The Benefits of Variable Fonts
A revolutionary development in typography, variable fonts can significantly improve any communication to digital design. The relatively new technology enables designers to produce and apply fonts that adjust to diverse styles, sizes, or contexts.
The following are technical benefits of variable fonts that will broaden your insights.
The file size is smaller
As outlined earlier, a variable font is a single, compressed, and highly resourceful font file. Each file can encapsulate all the variants – weight, width, slant, and other features.
Only in a single font file
Variable fonts provide data savings to download, thanks to a smaller amount of HTTP requests for font files (assets). Simply put, they save storage and bandwidth.
Also, it may refer to more simplified file management that leads to enhanced efficiency – boosting the loading and rendering speed of the web pages by reducing the need for file sizes, server requests, and more.
Design ranges are flexible
Variable fonts, indeed, offer versatile design options. The typical implementation is to limit any design to 3-5 distinct fonts. The number signifies every characteristic of the design language and tone of a site, covering every variation for body text and headings.
Variable fonts, in its simplest application, offer flexibility to incorporate extra weights or styles for each tier of text. Again, by applying a single font file, designers can effortlessly tailor the width, weight, optical size, or slant to suit various styles and contexts or even resolutions and mediums.
Moreover, it allows you as designers to be more expressive, not to mention transforming viewers’ reading experience. You can explore more design possibilities and trigger your originality to create custom design projects.
Ultimately, we can conclude that the benefits of variable fonts span from efficiency to flexibility to creativity. They allow the designers to produce more customized and expressive typography in any communication design or digital project.