Public Sans: A New Open-Source Typeface for Government

The U.S. government has released Public Sans, a new open-source typeface designed specifically for federal websites and digital services. Developed by the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) team, it aims to provide a consistent, neutral, and modern typographic voice across all federal digital properties. The font is a modified version of the popular Inter typeface, tailored to meet the specific needs of government communication.

Public Sans is intended to replace older fonts such as Helvetica and Franklin, which were previously used across various government sites. It is available for free under the SIL Open Font License, allowing for broad use and modification. The release is part of a larger effort to standardize the visual identity of federal digital services, improving user experience and accessibility for the public.

Public Sans is a free and open-source typeface that serves as the new standard for U.S. government websites. It was created to establish a single, cohesive typographic system for federal digital presence. The font is designed to be highly legible on screens of all sizes, from mobile devices to large desktop monitors.

The typeface is a fork of Inter, a widely respected open-source font family known for its excellent readability in user interfaces. The USWDS team adapted the Inter font to create Public Sans, making specific adjustments to better suit the formal and informational nature of government content. These modifications include adjustments to letterforms and spacing to ensure clarity and a professional appearance.

The design of Public Sans prioritizes neutrality and clarity. It avoids overly decorative elements, ensuring that the focus remains on the content itself. The font family is comprehensive, offering a wide range of weights and styles to create a clear visual hierarchy in documents and web pages.

Key features of the Public Sans font family include:

• 9 different weights, from Thin (100) to Black (900)
• Italics for each weight
• Optimized kerning and spacing for screen rendering
• Support for multiple languages and special characters

By providing a full suite of typographic tools, Public Sans allows designers and developers to build accessible and visually consistent web experiences. The font is available for download and can be used in any project, not just government work, thanks to its open-source license.

Public Sans is distributed under the SIL Open Font License, which permits free use, modification, and distribution for any purpose. This license ensures that the font can be widely adopted without restrictive fees or legal barriers. It can be downloaded directly from the U.S. Web Design System website or integrated into projects via common package managers.

The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) is the underlying design system that powers many federal websites. Public Sans is a core component of this system, which provides a collection of principles, guidance, and code to help government teams build accessible, mobile-friendly websites. By standardizing on Public Sans, federal agencies can ensure their sites look and feel like part of a unified government ecosystem, improving trust and usability for the public.

The launch of Public Sans represents a significant step forward in the modernization of U.S. government digital services. By providing a single, high-quality, and open-source typeface, the government is addressing the long-standing issue of visual inconsistency across its hundreds of websites. This standardization helps create a more predictable and trustworthy experience for citizens seeking information and services online.

As an open-source project, Public Sans invites collaboration and continuous improvement from the design community. Its release underscores the government's commitment to modern, accessible, and user-centric digital design. For designers and developers working on federal projects, adopting Public Sans is now the recommended practice for building clear and effective communications.