# Spinnaker font

> Low-contrast, slightly wide sans serif based on lettering from French and British ship travel posters.

Spinnaker is a sans serif display typeface designed by Elena Albertoni, based on French and British lettering from posters advertising travel by ship. Spinnaker has one Regular weight with 260 glyphs, low stroke contrast and slightly wide letters. Spinnaker is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and is intended for medium to large sizes.

## Facts

- Classification: [Display](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/display)
- Designed by: Elena Albertoni
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 1 (Regular 400)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 260
- Character sets: latin
- Last updated: 2025-09-05
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Spinnaker
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/spinnaker
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Branding

## About Spinnaker

Spinnaker is a sans serif typeface for display use. Its source, according to the official notes, is the lettering of French and British posters that advertised sea voyages. The letters are a little wider than in a standard sans and the strokes vary only slightly in thickness. The specimen shows generous round letters such as O, C and G, a splayed capital M, and stroke ends cut at a slight angle, which keeps a trace of hand lettering in an otherwise plain design. Elena Albertoni designed Spinnaker; the copyright notice names Sorkin Type Co. One Regular weight is available, with no italic or bold, and the font is not variable. The 260 glyphs cover Western European Latin; French is covered except for the rare capital Ÿ. The notes recommend medium to large sizes.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 2011 by Sorkin Type Co (www.sorkintype.com), with Reserved Font Name "Spinnaker".

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

- **Travel and tourism posters**: The design goes back to poster lettering for ship travel, and its wide capitals fill a headline line.
- **Website headlines and subheads**: The recommended range is medium to large sizes, which is where headings and intro lines sit.
- **Coastal and nautical branding**: A name set in the round, slightly wide capitals recalls shipping-line lettering.
- **Menus and shop signs**: Low contrast keeps the strokes solid on signs and printed menus read at arm's length or further.
- **Pull quotes**: A sentence or two at large size shows the angled stroke ends that disappear in small text.

## Things to know

- **One weight**: Spinnaker has Regular 400 only. Emphasis needs a second typeface or a change of size.
- **Drawn for medium and large sizes**: The official notes name medium to large sizes as the suitable range.
- **Western European Latin**: Only the Latin subset is present; French lacks the rare capital Ÿ.

## FAQs

### Is Spinnaker free for commercial use?

Yes, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Spinnaker may be used, modified and redistributed in personal and commercial work; it cannot be sold by itself, and a modified version stays under the same license and may not use a Reserved Font Name without permission.

### Who designed Spinnaker?

Spinnaker was designed by Elena Albertoni. The copyright notice in the license names Sorkin Type Co.

### How many weights does Spinnaker have?

Spinnaker has one weight, Regular 400, without an italic.

### What is Spinnaker based on?

According to its official description, Spinnaker takes its forms from French and British poster lettering that advertised voyages by ship.

### Which languages does Spinnaker support?

Spinnaker includes the letters needed for English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Catalan and the Nordic languages. French is covered except for capital Ÿ.

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