Serif typeface

from Indian Type Foundry
designed by Noopur Choksi, Barbara BigosiƄska

Variable Font

1 axis: Weight

10 Styles

5 Weights: Extra Light to Bold
with matching italics

Best for

  • Headings (display text)
  • Long reading text (body text)
  • User Interfaces (functional text)

License

Free

Specialty

Clean, robust, and versatile: This free, modern serif font with classic vibes, is perfect for extended reading.

My Sentient Font Review

You are looking for a modern, free, serif typeface for extended body text? Then I got a wonderful treat for you: Sentient is a robust, clean free font and with its five weights plus matching italics just made for text heavy use cases.

A Modern Serif. Classic vibes that still feel fresh. Sentient is based on old-style forms, but made for modern use cases. It’s ideal for extended reading experiences, due to its short ascenders and descenders, large x-height and sturdy strokes. Performs well in both small and large sizes. Very Energetic Italics. Even in small functional text, such as captions, Sentient remains convincing and readable.
I love how stable Sentient looks in body text, while the Extra Light Italics feels so vibrant!

You may wonder: what exactly is a modern serif font? “Don’t all serif fonts look the same?” I dare you to say that again after looking at the examples below. When comparing Sentient with EB Garamond, you will feel and see what I mean.

EB Garamond feels more historic, Sentient feels simpler and cleaner.
Both typefaces have serifs, and yet they seem very different.

The biggest differentiators are the stroke contrast, the length of the ascenders and descenders, and even the exact look of the serifs. As always, these details add up and create a very distinct picture. Which of the two samples feels more contemporary to you?

A short sample text shown in EB Garamond at 22px font size. It feels classic, the typeface seems very contrasting and delicate.
A short sample text shown in Sentient at 18px font size. This feels modern. Sentient is wider, less contrasting and more compact. Less elegant but still with a classic touch.

Even though Sentient is best for body text, it still convinces at larger sizes, especially in the Light or Extra Light weight. I recommend activating the rare ligatures to make your headings and big pull quotes more charming. Also remember to reduce the letter spacing, like I did in the right column below.

Sentient comes with optional rare ligatures that add a certain finess to it.

Exploring Sentient’s possibilities makes me eager to use it in an upcoming project, perhaps for a blog design? Its modern yet classic touch, paired with smooth readability, makes it a versatile choice for both body text and elegant headings. It’s definitely worth a closer look!

Font Pairings with Sentient

Sentient is a dynamic, slightly contrasting serif typeface. Pair it with one of my suggestions for exciting headings or UI text.

Sentient (free)
Sentient (free)
  • Headings
  • Copy
  • UI Text

Learn more about pairing typefaces using the Font Matrix.


How do you like Sentient? Tell me in the comments, also what cool typeface I should review next!

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Edition #178, published

One Comment

  1. Great find, thanks! I really like the cleanliness of Sentient, while the italics and especially the ligatures give it a distinctive look. This puts Sentient in a preferable position compared to other contenders in the “modern serif” field, such as PT Serif – which might have been a better comparison? 😉

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