# Contrail One font

> A slanted, narrow sans with rounded corners, based on hand-made lettering from UK posters.

Contrail One is a slanted, condensed display sans credited to Riccardo De Franceschi and published by Sorkin Type Co, based on hand-made letters seen on UK posters. Contrail One has one style with 231 glyphs and is not a variable font. It is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits headlines at medium and large sizes.

## Facts

- Classification: [Display](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/display)
- Designed by: Riccardo De Franceschi
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 1 (Regular 400)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 231
- Character sets: latin
- Last updated: 2025-09-08
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Contrail+One
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/contrail-one
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Retro, Condensed

## About Contrail One

Contrail One is a display typeface drawn from hand-made sans serif lettering found on posters in the United Kingdom. Every letter leans forward, the proportions are narrow, strokes are heavy and nearly even in thickness, and the corners are rounded off. In the specimen the stems flare a little toward the top and the baseline is not rigid, which gives a line of text a slight bounce; the official notes connect that slant and bounce with the early jet age. Contrail One was made as a web font and, being low in contrast, is meant for medium to large sizes. The family has one style, named Regular although it is slanted and heavy, with 231 glyphs covering Western European Latin. Riccardo De Franceschi is credited as the designer and Sorkin Type Co holds the copyright.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 2011 by Sorkin Type Co (www.sorkintype.com), with Reserved Font Names "Contrail" and "Contrail One".

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

- **Web headlines**: Contrail One was built for the web, and its narrow letters keep a long headline on one line.
- **Travel and aviation themes**: The forward slant and springy baseline echo mid-century poster lettering about speed and flight.
- **Sports and event banners**: Heavy slanted capitals read as motion on scoreboards, banners and promotional tiles.
- **Buttons and badges**: Rounded corners soften the heavy strokes, so a short label looks friendly instead of severe.

## Things to know

- **Slanted only**: The single style is already oblique; there is no upright version to pair it with.
- **Not for small text**: The official notes place the face at medium to large sizes.
- **Western European Latin**: The font has 231 glyphs; French is covered except for the rare capital Ÿ.

## FAQs

### Is Contrail One free for commercial use?

Yes. Contrail One is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, so it can be used in personal and commercial projects, modified and redistributed. The fonts cannot be sold on their own, and a modified version keeps the same license and may not use a Reserved Font Name without permission.

### Who designed Contrail One?

Contrail One is credited to Riccardo De Franceschi. The copyright notice and the manufacturer field name Sorkin Type Co.

### How many weights does Contrail One have?

Contrail One has one weight, labelled Regular 400, in a single slanted style. It is not a variable font.

### Is Contrail One an italic font?

Contrail One has only one style, and that style is slanted. There is no separate upright or italic file.

### Which languages does Contrail One support?

Contrail One includes the letters needed for English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, the Nordic languages and Catalan. French lacks only the rare capital Ÿ.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/contrail-one (trendhub)