Free Font Friday: Figtree

by Taylor Slattery | February 9, 2023

Figtree is a geometric sans serif font created by UX/UI designer Erik Kennedy. Kennedy’s experience as a UX/UI designer lends him some unique insights into the sorts of usability issues that arise when designing for the screen. Figtree’s design features a few specific traits that give it a great degree of flexibility for on-screen use.

The first of which is its large x-height, which, when coupled with its generous apertures and uniform stroke weight, help it to maintain legibility at both large and small sizes. This makes Figtree a reliable choice whether you’re using it at larger sizes for display use, like headlines or hero images, or on the smaller end, for captions or button labels.

Figtree’s clean, simple geometry also lends it a different kind of flexibility in application. Its minimalistic, modern appearance feels clean and intentional on its own, but its lack of personality allows it to blend seamlessly into a number of different environments, yielding the spotlight instead to the unique branding of whichever app it finds itself in.

Figtree is available in 7 weights with italic versions as well as a variable weight version. You can find it for free here.