Keeping type consistent in changing conditions elliotjaystocks.com

A run-through of grade with variable fonts.

At first glance, grade might seem very much like weight. But where weight serves to differentiate (adding emphasis and contrast to text), grade’s purpose is to unify (bringing consistency to text that looks different when it shouldn’t). It allows designers to adjust type precisely so that it appears the same across different materials, backgrounds, and lighting conditions without changing spacing, line breaks, or layout. And once you notice the problem grade addresses, it’s hard to not see it everywhere.