My thoughts on Palanquin

One of the first questions you should ask yourself when choosing a typeface is what languages should it cover? And here you might need to think beyond the Latin alphabet. This is why I also included typefaces from other writing systems in the UI Fonts Checklist. On Font Fridays I want to highlight this more as well, with Palanquin – a clean sans-serif typeface that is also covering Devanagari.

What I like about Palanquin most is that it keeps the balance. The typeface is unobtrusive enough in long format reading and yet interesting enough in larger text. It has rather narrow proportions, mixes simplicity with a certain edge. A recurring theme with Palanquin are the beveled horizontal strokes. They seem to be cut off with a sword or something, adding a unique dynamic to it. Even at the M you can discover this angle.

The typeface is grouped in two families, Palanquin and Palanquin Dark. The dark style is more contrasting and aimed towards headings or other, larger text. So if Palanquin is too light for some use cases, check out the dark family. Quick side note – When using it for Latin script only, set it a bit larger. The vertical metrics are a bit different, because it has to work with Devanagari in combination.

So compared to typefaces like Open Sans, Palanquin shows more character. I dive into this in the Font Friday Digest, which will be available to Patrons at the end of June.

What do you think of this week’s typeface? Write it in the comments! Also, if you have a suggestion for an upcoming Font Friday 😉.