Post #1490270
2026-03-17 22:45 UTC
@behdad I would not say that MOST new font families are designed variable-first. But variable fonts are nearly universally supported (although not always as well as one would like).
You may be influenced by the fact that Google Fonts is at over 27% of their families being variable fonts, and has a reasonably steady upwards trend.
But in contrast, Adobe Fonts seems to have more-or-less stalled in their adoption of variable fonts. They peaked at 7.6% in late 2024. Since then, they added 21 new variable font families and over 700 total font families.
According to https://www.congruencemarketinsights.com/report/font-and-typeface-market, 48% of newly launched websites, and 34% of all websites, use variable fonts. (Note, that is SOME variable fonts, not all fonts used by such a website need be variable to be counted)
Replies (1)
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@onpaperwings@typo.social 2026-03-17 22:55
@behdad I would agree with @tphinney and add that I am personally disappointed by the lack of adoption of VFs in the total design industry. I don't think VFs are widespread. I *do* think that many type designers (but certainly not all) work in a VF-compatible way (or at least consider VFs as they are designing) but I honestly hear many designers saying they are not actually *selling* VFs if they offer them. I do agree that upcoming VF tech is exciting, but I'm curious to see how much it will be accepted or adopted in the type industry or the broader design industry. Just my two cents.