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Typography

We rely on a handful of custom fonts to carry forward our brand message, centered on Mona Sans and Mona Sans Mono.

Mona Sans

Our typographic approach centers around Mona Sans, an open source super family with an optical size, 5 widths, italics, and a mono companion. Mona Sans is always improving and expanding, so make sure you’re always using the latest version.

Mona Sans character set showing uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters

Type scale

Our typographic system comes in three sizes: title, headline, and body styles. Each category has its own type scale, suited for its placement and usage. While the font styles and relationships should be consistent across the brand, the point sizes and line-heights are simply a starting point and should be customized for each new environment.

Type scale examples showing H1 Mona Sans Display, H2 Mona Sans Bold Medium, and Body Large Mona Sans Medium

Pairing type depends heavily on content and context. But we do have a few defaults that can help you take the first step in a design choice. See the layout section for more on type setting.

Examples of type pairing defaults

Usage

Here’s a selection of bad examples paired with their recommendations. Font pairing is tricky, especially with our complex layout system. When in doubt, bias toward readability and clear hierarchy.

Don't use the other width styles available in Mona SansDon’t use the other width styles available in Mona Sans. These are reserved for special events like Universe.
Don't use the mono style in uppercase multiline text treatmentsDon’t use the mono style in uppercase multiline text treatments. As an uppercase monospace, the texture and readability gets awkward.
Don't use ligatures in headlines and body copyDon’t use ligatures in headlines and body copy. Ligatures can be distracting and make words harder to read.
Don't use letterspacing to track lettersDon’t use letterspacing to track letters. Mona Sans v2.0+ includes an OPS2 feature which tightens and loosens letterspacing by size.