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0 pointsoneplusone7y ago0 comments

I have yet to see an open source font that comes even close to a professional font like Helvetica.

0 comments

luminarious7y ago

Inter UI is quite impressive as far as usability goes: https://rsms.me/inter/

jjeaff7y ago

Roboto is free, and very very close to Helvetica. http://theunderstatement.com/post/11645166791/roboto-vs-helv...

anoncake7y ago

What's wrong with Nimbus Sans?

mark-r7y ago

Nimbus Sans was designed to be a complete lookalike for Helvetica. I'm not sure how they got away with it, except that the IP laws protecting fonts are rather weak.

Besides, I don't think it's open source.

anoncake7y ago

Nimbus Sans is not a lookalike for Helvetica, it is a Helvetica. The visual appearance of fonts is not copyrightable. And it's GPL'd.

1 more reply

floatboth7y ago

Fira Sans, PT Sans/Serif, Roboto, Noto, Source Sans/Code Pro, Cantarell...

billfruit7y ago

I thought DejaVu Sans was pretty descent, especially as a terminal font.

amyjess7y ago

Noto. It feels like having access to an entire professional foundry as a FOSS download.

Though the sans is humanist and not neo-grotesk like Helvetica.

Hell, Noto Sans is available in more weights than Helvetica Neue LT Pro. I've actually found myself wishing that Helvetica Neue LT Pro had a real demi instead of jumping from medium to bold. Noto solves that problem.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

luminarious7y ago

Inter UI is quite impressive as far as usability goes: https://rsms.me/inter/

jjeaff7y ago

Roboto is free, and very very close to Helvetica. http://theunderstatement.com/post/11645166791/roboto-vs-helv...

anoncake7y ago

What's wrong with Nimbus Sans?

mark-r7y ago

Nimbus Sans was designed to be a complete lookalike for Helvetica. I'm not sure how they got away with it, except that the IP laws protecting fonts are rather weak.

Besides, I don't think it's open source.

anoncake7y ago

Nimbus Sans is not a lookalike for Helvetica, it is a Helvetica. The visual appearance of fonts is not copyrightable. And it's GPL'd.

1 more reply

floatboth7y ago

Fira Sans, PT Sans/Serif, Roboto, Noto, Source Sans/Code Pro, Cantarell...

billfruit7y ago

I thought DejaVu Sans was pretty descent, especially as a terminal font.

amyjess7y ago

Noto. It feels like having access to an entire professional foundry as a FOSS download.

Though the sans is humanist and not neo-grotesk like Helvetica.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse