# Ubuntu (typeface)

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ubuntu_(typeface)
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ubuntu_(typeface).md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(typeface)
> Source revision: 1350700168
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Open-source sans-serif typeface family}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Distinguish|text=an earlier typeface named [Ubuntu Titling](/source/Ubuntu_Titling)}}
{{Infobox font
| name = Ubuntu Font Family
| image = Ubuntu typeface sample.svg
| style = [Sans-serif](/source/Sans-serif)
| classifications = [Humanist](/source/Humanist_script) sans-serif
| creationdate = {{Start date and age|2010}}
| creator = [Vincent Connare](/source/Vincent_Connare), others
| commissioned_by = [Canonical](/source/Canonical_(company))
| foundry = [Dalton Maag](/source/Dalton_Maag)
| license = Ubuntu Font
| variations = Ubuntu Monospace,<br/>Ubuntu Condensed
| latin = yes
| greek = yes
| cyrillic = yes
| website = {{URL|github.com/canonical/Ubuntu-Sans-fonts}}
| arabic = 
| hindi = 
| ipa = 
}}

'''Ubuntu''' is an [OpenType](/source/OpenType)-based [font family](/source/font_family), designed to be a modern, [humanist-style](/source/Humanist_sans-serif) typeface<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mark Shuttleworth » Blog Archive » Light: the new look of Ubuntu |url=https://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/308 |access-date=2022-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627044044/https://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/308|archive-date=2022-06-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> by London-based [type foundry](/source/type_foundry) [Dalton Maag](/source/Dalton_Maag), with funding by [Canonical Ltd](/source/Canonical_Ltd). The font was under development for nearly nine months, with only a limited initial release through a beta program, until September 2010. It then became the new default font of the [Ubuntu](/source/Ubuntu) operating system in Ubuntu 10.10.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Humphrey |first=Benjamin |date=2010-09-28 |title=New Ubuntu font lands in Maverick for all users |url=http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/09/new-ubuntu-font-lands-in-maverick-for-all-users |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=OMG! Ubuntu! |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= Andrew |title=The Ubuntu Font Family Is Now Available In Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat (Officially) |url=http://www.webupd8.org/2010/09/ubuntu-font-family-is-now-available-in.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=WebUpd8 |language=en-US}}</ref> Its designers include [Vincent Connare](/source/Vincent_Connare), creator of the [Comic Sans](/source/Comic_Sans) and [Trebuchet MS](/source/Trebuchet_MS) fonts.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Peters|first1=Yves|title=Ampersand Conference 2011 Focuses on Web Typography|url=http://fontfeed.com/archives/ampersand-conference-2011-focuses-on-web-typography/|website=Font Feed|access-date=16 July 2015}}</ref>

The Ubuntu font family is licensed under the Ubuntu Font Licence.<ref name="announcements">{{Cite web |title=ttf-ubuntu-font-family package in Ubuntu 10.10 "maverick" archiv... : Ubuntu Font Family |url=https://launchpad.net/ubuntu-font-family/+announcement/6844/+index |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Launchpad |language=en}}</ref>

== History and features ==

The font was first introduced in October 2010 with the release of [Ubuntu 10.10](/source/Ubuntu_version_history) in four versions: Regular, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic in English. With the release of [Ubuntu 11.04](/source/Ubuntu_version_history) in April 2011, additional fonts and expanded language coverage were introduced.<ref name="UbuntuWiki">[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Ubuntu%20Font%20Family Ubuntu Font Family]</ref><ref name="OMG02Aug11">{{cite news|url = https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/08/ubuntu-condensed-font/|title = Condensed Variant of Ubuntu Font Debuts|access-date = 20 August 2011|last = Sneddon|first = Joey|date=August 2011| work = OMG Ubuntu}}</ref> The final development is intended to include a total of thirteen fonts, consisting of:
* Ubuntu in Regular, [Italic](/source/Italic_type), [Bold](/source/Emphasis_(typography)) and Bold Italic<ref name="UbuntuWiki" /><ref name="OMG02Aug11" />
* Ubuntu [Monospace](/source/Monospaced_font) in Regular, Italic, Bold and Bold Italic<ref name="UbuntuWiki" /><ref name="OMG02Aug11" />
* Ubuntu Light in Regular and Italic<ref name="UbuntuWiki" /><ref name="OMG02Aug11" />
* Ubuntu Medium in Regular and Italic<ref name="UbuntuWiki" /><ref name="OMG02Aug11" />
* Ubuntu Condensed in Regular only<ref name="UbuntuWiki" /><ref name="OMG02Aug11" />

The monospace version, used in terminals, was initially planned to ship with Ubuntu 11.04. However, it was delayed and instead shipped with Ubuntu 11.10 as the default system monospace font.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thanks a billion! Ubuntu on Google Webfonts |url=https://ubuntu.com/blog/one-billion |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Ubuntu |language=en}}</ref>

The font is fully [Unicode](/source/Unicode) compliant and contains Latin A and B extended character sets, [Greek polytonic](/source/Greek_alphabet), and [Cyrillic extended](/source/Cyrillic_(Unicode_block)). In addition, it has become the first native operating system font to include the [Indian rupee sign](/source/Indian_rupee_sign).<ref>{{Cite web |title=MaverickMeerkat/ReleaseNotes - Ubuntu Wiki |url=https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickMeerkat/ReleaseNotes?action=recall&rev=105 |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=wiki.ubuntu.com}}</ref> The font has been designed primarily for use on screen displays, and its spacing and [kerning](/source/kerning) is optimized for body copy sizes.<ref name="UbuntuWiki" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ubuntu Font Family in Launchpad |url=https://launchpad.net/ubuntu-font-family/+index |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Launchpad |language=en}}</ref>

Between 2022 and 2023, the typeface was updated to a slimmer design and enhanced with variable axes. The revised family, named Ubuntu Sans, was released alongside Ubuntu 24.04.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) Release Notes |url=https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-24-04-lts-noble-numbat-release-notes/39890#p-99950-updated-ubuntu-font |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=discourse.ubuntu.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Usage ==

The Ubuntu Font Family is the default font for the current and development releases of the Ubuntu operating system and is used for the Ubuntu project branding.<ref name="announcements" />

Ubuntu has been included in the [Google Fonts](/source/Google_Fonts) directory, making it easily available for [web typography](/source/web_typography),<ref>[https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Ubuntu Ubuntu Font Family – Google Web Fonts]</ref> and as of 26 April 2011, it is included for use in [Google Docs](/source/Google_Docs).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-font-family/+bug/771443 |title=Bug #771443 Wishlist: Please add Ubuntu to Google Docs |publisher=bugs.launchpad.net |date=2011-04-26 |access-date=2012-03-12}}</ref>

Ubuntu Mono is one of the fonts used in  the 2014 video game [Transistor](/source/Transistor_(video_game)).<ref>[https://www.gamefontlibrary.com/games/transistor]</ref>

Ubuntu Bold Italic is also used in the [bitcoin](/source/bitcoin) logotype, alongside the bitcoin symbol.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/201597/how-to-create-a-bitcoin-accepted-here-button|title=How to create a "Bitcoin accepted here" button?|quote=The font is Ubuntu Bold Italic for the text.|date=17 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fontslogo.com/bitcoin-logo-font/|title=What font does Bitcoin use?|quote=The logo Bitcoin uses the Ubuntu Bold Italic font.|access-date=12 December 2014}}</ref>

Ubuntu Sans is the font used in the "[GIF](/source/GIF) Maker" by the popular GIF sharing app Tenor. The font has become very popular in [internet meme](/source/internet_meme) culture, being used commonly to caption GIFs and images.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GIF Maker |url=https://tenor.com/gif-maker |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Tenor |language=en}}</ref>

== Ubuntu Font Licence ==

{{Infobox software license
| name = Ubuntu Font Licence
| publisher = [Canonical Ltd.](/source/Canonical_(company))
| FSF approved = No
| Debian approved = No<ref name="license-debian">{{cite web
 | url = https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-font-licence/+bug/769874
 | title = Bug #769874 Naming restrictions in UFL considered non-free by Debian
 | publisher = bugs.launchpad.net
 | date = 2011-04-24
 | access-date = 2016-07-20}}</ref>
| OSI approved = No
}}

The Ubuntu Font Licence is an "interim"<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shuttleworth|first1=Mark|author-link1=Mark Shuttleworth|title=Something New and Beautiful: Ubuntu, distilled, in type|url=https://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/537|website=Mark Shuttleworth blog|access-date=14 February 2015|quote=So we came to the compromise of an interim license, which you can find at code.launchpad.net/+branch/ubuntu-font-licence bzr. While licence proliferation sucks, I’m optimistic we’ll converge in due course.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316072441/https://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/537|archive-date=2015-03-16|url-status=dead}}</ref> license designed for the Ubuntu Font Family, which has used the license since version 0.68.<ref name="announcements" /> The license is based on the [SIL Open Font License](/source/SIL_Open_Font_License).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ubuntu font licence |url=https://ubuntu.com/legal/font-licence/differences |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Ubuntu |language=en |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207014051/https://ubuntu.com/legal/font-licence/differences |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Ubuntu Font Licence allows the fonts to be "used, studied, modified and redistributed freely" given that the license terms are met. The license is [copyleft](/source/copyleft) and all derivative works must be distributed under the same license. Documents that use the fonts are not required to be licensed under the Ubuntu Font Licence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ubuntu font licence |url=https://ubuntu.com/legal/font-licence |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Ubuntu |language=en}}</ref>

[Fedora](/source/Fedora_(operating_system)) and [Debian](/source/Debian) have reviewed this license and converged on interpreting it as non-free due to incomplete or ambiguous use and modification permissions.<ref name="license-debian"/><ref name="license-fedora">{{cite web|url=https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=961642#c4 |title=Bug 961642 - Review Request: ubuntu-font-family - The fonts used in Ubuntu Linux |publisher=bugzilla.redhat.com/ |date=2013-05-13 |access-date=2016-07-20}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [FF Dax](/source/FF_Dax), a similar spurless sans-serif font
* [Ubuntu Titling](/source/Ubuntu_Titling) font
* [Open-source Unicode typefaces](/source/Open-source_Unicode_typefaces)
* [GPL font exception](/source/GPL_font_exception)
* [SIL Open Font License](/source/SIL_Open_Font_License)

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==

{{Commons category|Ubuntu font family}}
* [https://design.ubuntu.com/font/ Ubuntu Font Family main page]
* [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuFontFamily Ubuntu Font Family on the Ubuntu Wiki]
* [https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Ubuntu Google Fonts]

{{Ubuntu}}
{{Free and open-source typography}}
{{Monospaced fonts}}

Category:Humanist sans-serif typefaces
Category:Unicode typefaces
Category:Corporate typefaces
Category:Open-source typefaces
Category:Ubuntu
Category:Typefaces and fonts introduced in 2010
Category:Dalton Maag typefaces

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ubuntu (typeface)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(typeface)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(typeface)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
