Roboto: the Android font, history and pairings
Google's Android system font since 2011.
Roboto
ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
- 48Quartz
- 32Judge my vow
- 24Sphinx of black quartz
- 18Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
- 14Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Roboto is on Google Fonts, so the preview is the real thing.
In use, with Roboto
Edit the words to try your own. The pairing tool has more body fonts.
Some roads only go one way.
The Long Way Home
Two brothers, one borrowed car and a thousand miles of coast between them and the funeral. In cinemas this spring.
History
- Christian Robertson designed Roboto at Google. It was released in 2011 as the system font of Android Ice Cream Sandwich.[1]
- It was redesigned in 2014 for Android 5.0 Lollipop.[1]
Who uses it
- Google Play, YouTube, Google Maps and Google Images[1]
- Nintendo Switch packaging[1]
- The United Nations website[1]
Sources
Pairings
Body fonts that go with Roboto:
- RobotoOne family throughout, the way Android apps do it.
- LoraA warm serif body for editorial pages under a neutral heading.
- MerriweatherLarge x-height serif that holds up on small screens.
Other fonts
- TrajanRoman inscription capitals, and the movie poster font.
- HelveticaThe Swiss sans that ended up on subway signs and airline logos.
- ArialDrawn to the same widths as Helvetica, shipped with Windows.
- FuturaThe 1927 geometric sans of circles and straight lines.
- GothamWide geometric capitals taken from New York building signs.
- ImpactA 1965 Sheffield display face that became the meme font.
- GaramondSixteenth century Paris type, revived many times since.
- Times New RomanMade for a London newspaper in 1932, then shipped with Windows.
- DidotHigh contrast French type, and the look of fashion magazines.
- BaskervilleA Birmingham printer’s sharper, lighter serif from the 1750s.
- Comic SansDrawn in 1994 for the speech bubbles in Microsoft Bob.
- CourierAn IBM typewriter face that screenplays never gave up.