Lab / site typography / current system

The site’s working type system.

Three selected typefaces divide display, reading, and interface roles. Google Sans remains a narrowly scoped brand exception rather than a fourth system font.

01 / production system

Three selected faces, one semantic exception

01 Selected

PP Telegraf

Display grotesk

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Used for page titles, section headings, card titles, and other non-monospace display text.

Role: Display, headline, and title roles
Why: Carries the site’s expressive title and headline roles without becoming excessively heavy.
Source: /fonts/pp-telegraf/PPTelegraf-Regular.woff2
License: Licensed production webfont

02 Selected

Commit Mono

Reading monospace

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Used for prose, introductions, descriptions, and dense reading surfaces at weights 300, 400, and 700.

Role: Body large and body medium
Why: Keeps reading copy technical and precise while remaining lighter and calmer than the interface labels.
Source: @fontsource/commit-mono
License: Free / OFL via Fontsource

03 Selected

Inky Mono

Interface monospace

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Used for navigation, structural labels, metadata, compact UI, and the compatibility mono token.

Role: Label large and label medium
Why: Gives navigation, metadata, and compact controls a more authored interface voice than the reading face.
Source: /fonts/inky-mono/Inky-Mono.woff2
License: Licensed production webfont

04 Brand exception

Google Sans

Semantic brand exception

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Used only by InlineTerm kind="google" on the homepage; it is not one of the three selected system typefaces.

Role: Google inline term only
Why: Preserves the Google wordmark character in one contextual inline term without entering the general type system.
Source: @fontsource/google-sans
License: Package-provided webfont

02 / comparison archive

10 real webfonts retained from the exploration

01 free / shortlist anchor

Shippori Mincho — 600

Japanese editorial serif

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: Quiet Japanese print quality with enough elegance for a designer portfolio title system.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

02 free / strong mincho

Shippori Mincho — 800

Japanese editorial serif / stronger

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: A stronger version of the favorite when the hero needs more authority.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

03 free / editorial alt

Newsreader

Editorial serif / modern reading system

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: A calmer editorial alternative to Shippori: less Japanese texture, more magazine/article credibility.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

04 free / expressive serif

Fraunces

Editorial serif / expressive

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: More designerly and playful than Shippori. Useful if the site needs warmth without going cute.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

05 free / archivo softer

Archivo — 700

Brutalist grotesk / less bold

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: Keeps the Archivo Black architecture, but removes the over-bold blockiness.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

06 free / technical brutal

Chivo

Brutalist grotesk / utilitarian

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: A more technical brutalist option: blunt, but not as bald as Archivo Black or Dela.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

07 free / dela dosage

Dela Gothic One — restrained

Japanese signage / wild card

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: Same flavor as the first-round pick, but tested smaller and looser. Probably an accent face.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

08 free / metro alt

M PLUS 1

Japanese metro sans / softer than Dela

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: Keeps the Japanese signage/metro direction, but becomes more usable as a real title font.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

09 free / opened up

Bricolage Grotesque — opened

Expressive grotesk / less jammed

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: Same personality as the one you liked, but lighter and with more air between letters.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.

10 free / wildcard refined

Syne — moderated

Art-school grotesk / less overkill

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

UX designer / builder for AI infrastructure, developer tools, and code-first design practice. The title should carry visual ambition while Commit Mono keeps the system precise.

Why: Preserves the interesting studio energy, but pulls back the weight, scale, and tight spacing.
License: Free / OFL via Google Fonts
Cost note: Commercial-safe free font.