Shantell Sans (2023)

Artist and designer Shantell Martin has released Shantell Sans, a new open-source font inspired by her personal handwriting, making it freely accessible through Google Fonts and GitHub in 2023. This move aims to foster inclusivity and inspire creative uses of typography.

Shantell Sans is a typeface that mixes variable axes for weight, italics, informality, and bounce, allowing for a wide range of styles from friendly and readable to experimental and energetic. The font was created based on Martin’s own handwriting, digitized with the help of type designer Stephen Nixon, and is released under an open font license, making it free for personal and commercial use.

Martin’s motivation for creating the font stems from her personal experiences with dyslexia and her desire to make words more accessible and expressive. She was inspired by playful fonts like Comic Sans and aimed to develop a typeface that feels approachable, especially for those with reading challenges. The font has already been adopted in various projects, including branding for the Whitney Museum, a Cash App product, and a web app called tldraw.

Why It Matters

This release is significant because it promotes accessibility and inclusivity in typography, enabling a broader audience—including children, young adults, and artists—to engage with and create using a professional-grade font at no cost. It also encourages artists and designers to experiment with personal, expressive typefaces, potentially influencing future typographic trends and tools.

Background

Shantell Martin is known for her large-scale murals, drawings, and multimedia art, often emphasizing line work and spontaneity. Her interest in typography grew from her personal challenges with dyslexia and her desire to redefine how words can be perceived and used creatively. The release of Shantell Sans follows a trend of artists creating open-source tools to democratize design and promote artistic expression in digital spaces.

“Words are drawings, and words can exist on our own terms. I wanted to make a font that feels accessible and open, reminding people that words are playful and expressive.”

— Shantell Martin

“Creating Shantell Sans was a fascinating process, transforming her handwriting into a versatile digital font that captures her unique style.”

— Stephen Nixon

“I hope children and young artists will use Shantell Sans to learn about its origins and to express themselves freely.”

— Shantell Martin

What Remains Unclear

It is still unclear how widely Shantell Sans will be adopted in commercial or artistic projects beyond initial uses. The long-term impact on typography and accessibility trends remains to be seen.

What’s Next

Next steps include monitoring how artists, designers, and brands incorporate Shantell Sans into their work. Further updates may include new adaptations or collaborations inspired by the font’s open license. The creator encourages sharing projects using the hashtag #shantellsans to track its influence.

Key Questions

Where can I access Shantell Sans?

The font is available through Google Fonts, GitHub, and other platforms offering open-source fonts.

Can I use Shantell Sans for commercial projects?

Yes, the font is released under an open font license, allowing free use for personal and commercial purposes.

What inspired Shantell Martin to create this font?

Her experiences with dyslexia, her love of playful typography like Comic Sans, and her desire to make words more accessible inspired the creation of Shantell Sans.

How has Shantell Sans been used so far?

It has been used in branding for the Whitney Museum, on Cash App’s physical cards, in a web app called tldraw, and in web design templates.

Source: Hacker News