# Libre Franklin font

> A grotesque sans in nine weights with italics, reinterpreting a 1912 design by Morris Fuller Benton.

Libre Franklin is a sans serif family from Impallari Type that interprets and expands a 1912 design by Morris Fuller Benton. Libre Franklin is a variable font with a weight axis from 100 to 900, nine named weights and italics, 18 styles in all, plus Cyrillic and Vietnamese. It is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## Facts

- Classification: [Sans Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/sans-serif)
- Designed by: Impallari Type
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 18 (Thin 100, ExtraLight 200, Light 300, Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600, Bold 700, ExtraBold 800, Black 900; with italics)
- Variable font: Yes (wght 100–900)
- Glyphs: 1012
- Character sets: cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, latin, latin-ext, vietnamese
- Last updated: 2025-09-08
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Libre+Franklin
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/libre-franklin
- Tagged for: Headlines, Body text, Editorial, Bold

## About Libre Franklin

Libre Franklin is a sans serif family described by its makers as an interpretation and expansion of the design Morris Fuller Benton drew in 1912. The specimen shows the traits of that grotesque model: a two-storey a and g, a compact lowercase with a tall x-height, strokes that thin slightly where curves meet stems, and a Black weight in which the counters become small. The family is a variable font with a weight axis from 100 to 900. Nine weights are named, Thin to Black, each with an italic, for 18 styles. The fonts hold 1,012 glyphs and cover Latin, Latin Extended, Cyrillic and Vietnamese. The project is led by Impallari Type, a foundry in Rosario, Argentina; the name table credits Pablo Impallari, Rodrigo Fuenzalida and Nhung Nguyen. The license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright 2020 The Libre Franklin Project Authors (https://github.com/googlefonts/Libre-Franklin)

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

- **News and magazine headlines**: ExtraBold and Black are dense and compact in the specimen, which lets a long headline fit a narrow column.
- **Body text beside heavy heads**: Regular and Medium share the same skeleton as the Black, so text and headline can come from one family.
- **Thin display lines**: Thin 100 and ExtraLight 200 give large titles a hairline look that the heavier cuts can then contrast with.
- **Russian and Vietnamese editions**: Cyrillic and Vietnamese character sets are built in, so a translated edition keeps the same typeface.
- **Captions and data labels**: The tall x-height and compact width keep short labels readable in tight spaces such as charts and photo credits.

## Things to know

- **Default instance is Thin**: The variable files open at weight 100. Software that ignores named instances will show the Thin cut until a weight is chosen.
- **One axis**: Weight is the only variable axis. Width does not vary and there is no optical size axis.
- **No Greek**: Latin, Cyrillic and Vietnamese are covered; Greek is not among the character sets.

## FAQs

### Is Libre Franklin free for commercial use?

Libre Franklin can be used in commercial work at no cost under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. The license also permits modification and redistribution; the font cannot be sold on its own, and any modified version must stay under the same license.

### Who designed Libre Franklin?

Libre Franklin is led by Impallari Type of Rosario, Argentina. The fonts name Pablo Impallari, Rodrigo Fuenzalida and Nhung Nguyen as designers.

### How many weights does Libre Franklin have?

Libre Franklin has nine weights from Thin 100 to Black 900, each with an italic, giving 18 styles.

### Is Libre Franklin a variable font?

Yes. Libre Franklin is a variable font whose weight axis covers 100 to 900, delivered as one upright and one italic file.

### Which languages does Libre Franklin support?

Libre Franklin includes the letters needed for English and other Latin-script languages such as German, Spanish, Turkish, Polish and Vietnamese, and for Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian.

### What fonts pair well with Libre Franklin?

Libre Baskerville is a natural partner for Libre Franklin: it comes from the same foundry and supplies a text serif for the paragraphs under Franklin headlines.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/libre-franklin (trendhub)