# Cairo Play font

> The colour version of Cairo: an Arabic and Latin variable sans whose marks are drawn in colour through COLRv0.

Cairo Play is a colour-font edition of the Cairo sans serif, credited to Mohamed Gaber and Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino, in which marks are coloured using COLRv0 and CPAL tables. Cairo Play is variable, with eight named weights from ExtraLight to Black and a slant axis. It is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## Facts

- Classification: [Sans Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/sans-serif)
- Designed by: Mohamed Gaber, Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 8 (ExtraLight 200, Light 300, Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600, Bold 700, ExtraBold 800, Black 900)
- Variable font: Yes (wght 200–1000, slnt -11–11)
- Glyphs: 1898
- Character sets: arabic, latin, latin-ext
- Last updated: 2025-09-16
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Cairo+Play
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/cairo-play
- Tagged for: Headlines, Branding, Bold, Social media

## About Cairo Play

Cairo Play is a sans serif colour font derived from Cairo. The official notes describe it as a version of Cairo featuring coloured marks, built with the COLRv0 and CPAL font tables, so the colours travel inside the font file itself. Structurally it follows its parent: an Arabic and Latin design in which the Latin letters, as the specimen shows, are slightly narrow with squared curves, flat terminals and low contrast. The single variable file exposes a weight axis running from 200 to 1000, with eight named instances from ExtraLight 200 to Black 900, and a slant axis from −11 to 11 in place of separate italic files. It holds 1,898 glyphs across the Arabic, Latin and Latin Extended subsets. Mohamed Gaber and Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino are credited, and the license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright 2009 The Cairo Project Authors (https://github.com/Gue3bara/Cairo)

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Arabic headlines with coloured marks**: Marks are stored as colour layers, so a headline set with its marks gains a second colour without manual editing.
- **Teaching and reading material**: Coloured marks stand apart from the base letters, which helps on pages where the marks themselves are being taught.
- **Bilingual brand graphics**: Arabic and Latin share one design, and the weight axis reaches a heavy Black for short social media titles.
- **Motion and interactive titles**: Weight from 200 to 1000 and slant from −11 to 11 can be animated from one variable file.

## Things to know

- **Colour needs COLRv0 support**: The colours live in COLR and CPAL tables. Software that does not read them shows the glyphs in one colour.
- **Slant axis instead of italics**: There are no italic files. The slant axis leans the letters up to 11 degrees in either direction.
- **Axis goes beyond the named weights**: The eight named instances stop at Black 900, while the weight axis itself extends to 1000.

## FAQs

### Is Cairo Play free for commercial use?

Yes. Cairo Play is published under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows personal and commercial use, modification and redistribution. It may not be sold by itself, and a modified version has to keep the same license.

### What is the difference between Cairo and Cairo Play?

Cairo Play is a colour-font version of Cairo. Its marks are drawn in colour through COLRv0 and CPAL tables, while Cairo is a conventional single-colour family.

### Is Cairo Play a variable font?

Yes. Cairo Play has a weight axis from 200 to 1000 and a slant axis from −11 to 11.

### Who designed Cairo Play?

Cairo Play is credited to Mohamed Gaber and Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino. The copyright notice names The Cairo Project Authors.

### Does Cairo Play support Arabic?

Yes. Cairo Play contains an Arabic character set alongside Latin and Latin Extended.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/cairo-play (trendhub)