Free Font Friday: Sono

Sono is a monospace sans serif typeface family created by New York-based designer and musician Tyler Finck. Its roundness gives its characters a certain warmth and human-like quality that makes it stand out from other monospaced typefaces which more often than not tend to lean toward a more computerized aesthetic.

Another standout characteristic of Sono is the height of its uppercase characters, which are noticeably shorter than its ascenders at larger sizes, but likely contribute to its excellent readability which it maintains even at fairly small sizes. The roundness found in its strokes extends to the letter forms themselves, contributing to its more human-like feel and preventing the type from feeling overly sharp and pixelated as the type decreases in size, though the degree to which this effect is felt will depend on the resolution of your display.

Another great feature of Sono is the flexibility it grants users through its many variations. Not only is it available in 7 static weights, but it’s also variable as well, so you dial in its weight to perfectly suit your needs. Interestingly, due to its adjustable axis, you can also break free from the rigid, monospaced default spacing and opt for proportional spacing so you can kern the characters to your liking.

Sono is available in 7 weights as well as a variable version. You can find it for free here.