Dec 07, 2021

Announcing Google Fonts Knowledge

A new resource to help designers and developers choose and use type with purpose

Posted by


Today we’re announcing Google Fonts Knowledge: a rich library of guides to the world of typography, created by typographic experts from around the globe. This supplement to the Google Fonts catalog covers universal principles of typography for any medium, enabling designers and developers of all skill sets to choose and use type with purpose.

It’s possible to ruin a meal if we have great ingredients but don’t know how best to cook them. Similarly, it’s possible to create something awful with a good typeface — and, of course, possible to do great design work with a less-than-ideal typeface.

In many scenarios, the default settings in our design apps or even word processing apps can get us quite far, but an understanding of how to customize them allows us to do a much better job for our readers. Deliberate typeface choices and thoughtful typographic decisions serve to honor the content, whether it’s an entire book, a portfolio website, an e-commerce app, a resume, an annual report, or even just a one-word logo. Great typography can enhance the meaning of text in branding work, aid the user’s intent in wayfinding, and allow our readers to read better.

On the flip side, lazy or clumsy typography can ruin the reading experience for the reader and can very easily cause them to disconnect from the content. If time isn’t taken to consider the way our message is presented to the reader, we run the risk of sending the wrong message, or suggesting that we don’t really care about the message at all.

The Google Fonts Knowledge library, as it stands today, consists of 30+ lessons spread out over three modules — Introducing Type, Choosing Type, and Using Type — in addition to 100+ glossary definitions. This content will evolve with new lessons, new definitions, and whole new modules, as well as updates to the launch content based on your feedback — so please feel free to let us know your thoughts. Positive or negative, specific or general, we’d love to know what you’d like to see covered on Google Fonts Knowledge so that we can make it a valuable typographic resource online.

It’s not hard to become a good typographer, but it can sometimes be hard to demystify the art and science of typography itself. Google Fonts Knowledge aims to make these skills accessible to all.