Ralphi Sans

Ralphi Sans is a friendly geometric typeface for use in interface design. It sets itself apart from other geometric typefaces with a design that introduces warmth and character to the otherwise austere genre. With Ralphi Sans designers can introduce a jovial note to their sleek, pixel perfect and gorgeous screen designs. The client’s business might be serious, but it’s still a welcoming startup, a useful app with a sociable tone, or a personable brand that has much to give. Generously wide and with a handful of carefully crafted characteristics Ralphi Sans is suited for screen design and branding projects that want to straddle a clean look with some personality.

Below, we explore some of the design decisions that shaped Ralphi Sans, delving a bit more into the technical specifics.

When type is rendered on screen joints can “clog up” due to the lower resolution. Ralphi Sans was designed with deep joints creating a thin line that connects to the stem. This way the joint stays “open” and the type is rendered crisp and clear, also and especially in small sizes. Automatic hinting is applied too, making the rendering even sharper.

Ralphi Sans achieves a warmth typically absent in purely geometric typefaces. It does this with exaggerated tails and finials that lend the typeface an informal vibe. For example the y’s long tail is nothing short of jolly, yet it blends in with the overall design. Another example is the lowercase a’s finial. Normally a thing of a Clarendon, but here in a simple sans serif it just adds a bit of wit. Other characters beside the a and the y that have exaggerated features are Q, f, q and t. Through OpenType Alternates the appearance of the a can be changed to a double storey a without a finial, or simply a single storey a that naturally would appear in a geometric typeface. With this you have the option to gradually adjust the typeface’s look to best serve your project.

Other OpenType features that are built into Ralphi are tabular figures, automatic fractions, case sensitive punctuation, and ligatures. Plus there are a range of symbols and icons including circled figures and arrows. Ralphi Sans’ character set covers Underwear’s Latin Plus and with it over 200 latin languages. It is carefully kerned and available in six weights with corresponding italics. The full family of 12 individual styles is also available as two variable fonts, one for uprights and one for italics.