What Customisation Options Does Universal Sans Offer for Designing a Typeface?

Universal Sans lets you customise a sans serif typeface across six variable axes — geometry, alternates, weights, italics, optical size and name — then download a trial version or license the result for commercial use. The platform is aimed at designers who want custom type without the usual cost and lead time, and it uses automation to make production "instantaneous and cost-effective." The options below are the ones the site itself presents in its design flow.

The six customisation axes

The site's design flow lists seven numbered steps, six of which are design decisions (the seventh is download):

Because these are variable axes rather than fixed presets, the combinations multiply: the site describes "an infinite number of unique outcomes" from the six axes plus "an extensive range of stylistic alternates."

Geometry and alternates

Geometry sets the structural character of the letters, while alternates let you swap in different stylistic versions of characters. These two axes are where most of the visible personality of the typeface is decided — the site frames the system as connecting "the related yet diverse landscape of sans serif styles," building on 20th-century pioneering typefaces while adding design features enabled by current technology.

Weights, italics and optical size

These are the axes that make the output usable as a working family rather than a single style: a weight range, italic styles, and optical sizes tuned for different scales of use. If your project needs, for example, a light weight for large headlines and a regular for body text, this is the part of the system that covers it.

Naming your typeface

Before downloading, you name the typeface. This is a customisation step in its own right — the output is presented as your typeface, not a stock font — and it is also the point where you choose between a trial download and a commercial licence.

What the system guarantees, and what it doesn't

The site states that despite the limitless combinations, "the typeface system adheres to fundamental typographic principles to ensure the end product is cohesive and functional." In practice that means the axes are constrained to produce coherent families rather than arbitrary distortions — you are choosing within a designed system, not drawing glyphs from scratch.

What the page does not specify: the exact number of weights, the range of optical sizes, how many alternates exist per character, or any pricing for commercial licences. Those details would need to be confirmed in the design flow itself or by contacting Family Type at [email protected].

Who this suits

Universal Sans is a fit if you need a custom or distinctive sans serif on a short timeline and want control over family structure (weights, italics, optical sizes) without commissioning a bespoke typeface. It is less suited if you need to draw or edit individual glyph outlines — the customisation is parametric, not a full type-design editor. The project was designed by Briton Smith for Family Type and won a D&AD Black Pencil in 2020; the current release is v2.0.0.7, following an open beta.

To try it, work through the seven steps on universalsans.com in order, name your typeface at step 6, and use step 7 to download a trial or complete a licence checkout — after which you receive a download link for the font files.