# Catamaran font

> A Latin and Tamil sans serif led by Pria Ravichandran, variable across nine weights from Thin to Black.

Catamaran is a sans serif type family for the Latin and Tamil scripts, led by Pria Ravichandran. Catamaran is a variable font with a weight axis from 100 to 900, giving nine named weights from Thin to Black and no italics. Catamaran is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits bilingual interfaces, body text and headings.

## Facts

- Classification: [Sans Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/sans-serif)
- Designed by: Pria Ravichandran
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 9 (Thin 100, ExtraLight 200, Light 300, Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600, Bold 700, ExtraBold 800, Black 900)
- Variable font: Yes (wght 100–900)
- Glyphs: 462
- Character sets: latin, latin-ext, tamil
- Last updated: 2025-09-10
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Catamaran
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/catamaran
- Tagged for: Body text, Interfaces, Branding

## About Catamaran

Catamaran is a sans serif family that covers the Latin and Tamil scripts. According to the official notes, its Tamil letters are monolinear and were developed together with Palanquin, a related Latin and Devanagari family. In the specimen the Latin has fairly narrow proportions, open apertures, a single-storey g and stroke ends cut at a slight angle; the Thin is a hairline, while the Black turns compact and dark. The family is a variable font with one axis, weight, running from 100 to 900 across nine named steps, and it has no italic. The single file holds 462 glyphs with Latin, extended Latin and Tamil subsets. Pria Ravichandran, an Indian type designer, leads the project; the name refers to the twin-hulled boat long used in South India. Catamaran is published under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright 2014 The Catamaran Authors (pria.ravichandran@gmail.com)

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

- **Tamil and English side by side**: Both scripts were drawn as one family, so bilingual pages keep the same stroke weight and rhythm across languages.
- **App and web interfaces**: Narrow letters fit more characters into buttons and menus, and the weight axis separates labels from values.
- **Text with a full heading hierarchy**: Nine weights from 100 to 900 give captions, body copy, subheads and titles without a second family.
- **Posters built on weight contrast**: Setting Thin beside Black produces a strong contrast from one file.

## Things to know

- **No italic**: Catamaran has upright styles only; emphasis has to come from a change of weight.
- **Tamil yes, Cyrillic and Greek no**: The subsets are Latin, extended Latin and Tamil. Vietnamese, Cyrillic and Greek are not included.
- **One variable file**: The whole 100 to 900 range is delivered in a single TTF.

## FAQs

### Is Catamaran free for commercial use?

Yes. Catamaran is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which covers personal and commercial use, modification and redistribution. The font cannot be sold on its own, and modified versions remain under the same license.

### Who designed Catamaran?

Pria Ravichandran, an Indian type designer, leads the Catamaran project. The copyright notice names The Catamaran Authors.

### How many weights does Catamaran have?

Catamaran has nine named weights, from Thin 100 to Black 900. As a variable font it can also be set at any value in between.

### Is Catamaran a variable font?

Yes. Catamaran is a variable font with a weight axis from 100 to 900.

### Which languages does Catamaran support?

Catamaran includes the letters needed for English and other Latin-script languages such as French, German, Turkish, Polish and Romanian, and it carries a Tamil subset.

### Does Catamaran have an italic?

No. Catamaran is upright only; there is no italic file and no slant axis.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/catamaran (trendhub)