I could do some tests to see if we could, perhaps, eliminate one of those weights and get it down to 3 weights without greatly affecting the overall visual hierarchy. I'm not certain if limiting to 3 weights would make that significant of a difference? I'd be open to testing though if you think it's worthwhile.
volkswagenchick → credited jponch → .
Since I was involved in exploring the design ideas for Drupal's new admin UI, I wanted to share some thoughts that led to the choice of Inter for the font. This background information will hopefully be helpful for others interested in these design choices.
When choosing a font for Drupal's admin interface, the following requirements and goals were top of mind:
Requirements:
- It should be servable as a web font (not a system font). System fonts create the possibility (if not likelihood) that the interface will not appear the same for all users. Users have varied operating systems, installed fonts, etc. We want the experience not to change depending on those things.
- It should have an open-source license. Like the font for Olivero, we want to be able to package the web font with Drupal.
- It should be versatile. Ideally, it should be a variable font that can function well as both a display face and a text face. It also needs to provide an assortment of weights to support the visual hierarchy needs of a complex interface.
Desires:
- It should feel modern. The initiative to redesign Drupal's admin interface aims to modernize the interface and improve the user experience. Since a great deal of Drupal's interface is text, it's essential for the typeface to feel modern to achieve this.
- It should feel friendly and approachable. We want the new version of Drupal's interface to appeal to developers and content editors alike.
Inter fits the bill quite nicely for what we were looking for. Some of the qualities that stood out to us include:
- Versatility: It was designed to optimize screen-based reading for a font that needed to function as both a display and text face. Rasmus Andersson (and a team at Figma) were looking to replace Roboto with a typeface that could work well as a display face while still being readable at small sizes.
- Legibility: Due in part to its tall x-height, Inter maintains good legibility even at quite small sizes. Drupal's interface can be information-dense, and our goal in the redesign has been to maintain that density while also providing a clear hierarchy. Achieving this requires a range of type sizes within the design.
- Flexibility: Inter provides a wide range of weights, essential for achieving visual hierarchy in information-dense interfaces. It also has tabular figures for its numbers and slashed zeros, which improves clarity when things like counts are provided alongside textual content within the interface.
- Warmth: Inter has a friendly, approachable feel due to its open, smooth, and rounded shapes. Its consistent geometry makes it easy to parse while maintaining a modern feel.
All of that said, it's important to acknowledge there are MANY fonts one could make a case for using. Ultimately, a choice has to be made for one among the many. The group of designers contributing to the process researched and explored various options and wound up choosing Inter over the other options explored.