#32 – Inter-esting fonts

Awesome typefaces that aren't Inter.

Author

Jord Riekwel
March 12, 2024

Don’t get me wrong; I love Inter, but it is nice to have alternatives. Inter is rightfully the go-to font for interfaces and copy, but what if you want something with a bith more character? Well, that’s exactly what a friend recently asked me so I sat down and did some searching.

Continue reading to find 10 kick-ass Inter alternatives.

The Alternatives

As usual, the small image above does not do justice to everything this typeface has to offer. Sure, it’s a variable font with 6 weights, 600 characters, and plenty of alternative glyphs. But honestly I just like looking at it; it’s unique yet not distracting.

Sometimes I send clients branding proposals with fonts that to me seem very diverse, only for them to reply that it looks all the same to them. It’s often the small differences that make a typeface feel different. Anyway, I love Teka because it’s the same as many others yet it’s also not.

Don’t judge a typeface by its name. The name is a doozy but the letters are awesome and based on the New York Subway mosaics. They wrote about the design process and it is an awesome read.

Great letters, even better name. Absolutely love this one in smaller sizes, when used for copy for example. Plus, it’s a little less geometric/tech-y compared to the ones above (see the a for example).

If you felt the fonts so far were too similar, then surely this one breaks that streak. Right? It manages to be both human and industrial. Even comes in a condensed and extended version for even more variety.

If geometric fonts were food I’d have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Sorry if this sounds cheesy; I’m a designer, not a writer.) Looks great for any branding or UI work honestly. And would you just look at that y!

I could tell you about all the weights and variations of the typeface and that it comes in a Display version too. But all of that does not matter, this typeface is just damn fun to look at. Is it an Inter-killer? No. But does that mean it should not be included? Also no.

Absolute workhorse of a font that gets out of the way while doing the heavy lifting. But not bland, just look at the changing stroke width in some of these letters. Also I’ve run out of clever things to write, thanks for reading tho.

Look, if the image above didn’t convince you, nothing will. But I think this typeface is awesome. This typeface looks great no matter how and where you use it.

I saved this one for last for all the Inter and Helvetica lovers. This one oozes the Swiss style we’ve all come to love. But don’t be perceived, it’s not an Helvetica clone. It has its own character and it’s incredibly polished.

Interesting links

WAITLIST — missingfont

TOOL — FontDrop!

The End

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the theme of this newsletter. If you’d like me to cover a specific style or topic in these newsletters, send me a message.

If you have any other feedback, critique, or compliments, let me know. 👋