DIN shines through as a defining typeface of the modern grotesque genre and is in fact one of the most popular fonts used today. Born in Germany during the early 20th century and perfected by the Deutsches Institut für Normung in the 1930s, the font was initially designed for railways, road signs, house numbers, and general signage. Its unique nature—one of simplicity and conciseness with a touch of roughness—comes from its geometric, practical, and space-saving design.
DIN-inspired fonts are now employed far beyond their original applications, however, and are of great appeal in the corporate world—with contemporary versions well-suited for continuous text and user interfaces, specifically. DIN (more mechanistic than, say, Helvetica) can appear either cool and detached or warmly industrial, depending on the application at hand. It’s this versatility, combined with its simplicity and clarity, that makes it a lauded designer fave.
DIN 2014 specifically stands out with several unique features such as a range of narrow styles, straight vertical segments in lowercase (not just uppercase) ovals, and the option to switch between oblique and italic styles via a stylistic set. The core DIN 2014 typeface family, meanwhile, includes three different width variations (Regular, Narrow, Condensed) and 24 styles: six upright weights (ranging from Extra Light to Extra Bold) based on DIN Mittelschrift, six matching italics, six narrow styles proportionally between DIN Mittelschrift and DIN Engschrift, and six condensed options.
Each and every DIN 2014 style features an alternative stylistic set for lowercase characters with an italic design (Latin a, e + Cyrillic а, е, т, ц, и, and й), giving users the ability to choose between oblique and italic in italics and to use straightened italic characters in upright styles as necessary. Each style also includes a set of pictograms that match the font’s weight.
DIN 2014 supports over 150 languages, including Extended Latin and Cyrillic scripts, and boasts two complementary versions that enhance its versatility: DIN 2014 Stencil and DIN 2014 Rounded. The typeface was designed by Vasily Biryukov and released by Paratype in 2015. The set of Condensed styles was added by Alexander Lubovenko and Isabella Chaeva in 2022.
Primary font characteristics are as follows:
- 3 widths: Regular, Narrow, Condensed
- 24 styles, each with 630+ glyphs
- 14 OpenType features, including stylistic alternates
- Extended Latin and Cyrillic support
If you need font files in different formats or would like to try this font, just drop us a line at info@paratype.net, and we’ll make it happen.
