Ubuntu + Open Sans

friendlytechnicalmodern

Grumpy wizards make toxic brew

A standfirst set in Open Sans, one size up — where a pairing starts earning trust.

The five boxing wizards jump quickly over the lazy dog, mixing jugs of quiet vodka while the jury watches. Click anywhere in this preview and type your own text to try the pairing.

“Type is a beautiful group of letters, not a group of beautiful letters.”

— Matthew Carter

Fig. 1 — Ubuntu over Open Sans, in the wild.

Ubuntu 700 / Open Sans 400 — click any section and type your own copy.

Why it works

Ubuntu's distinctive angled terminals give headlines just enough personality to register, and its open-source pedigree makes it a natural signal for developer-facing products. Open Sans, more neutral and slightly more generous in width, carries body copy without echoing the heading face's quirks. Both are humanist designs tuned for screens, so the pairing feels cohesive — technical but personable, the tone most documentation and community sites are actually reaching for.

More about each face: Ubuntu · Open Sans

Use this pairing

HTML — Google Fonts embed
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Ubuntu:wght@700&family=Open+Sans:wght@400;600&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
CSS
h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: 'Ubuntu', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
  font-weight: 700;
}

body {
  font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
  font-weight: 400;
}
Next.js — next/font
import { Ubuntu, Open_Sans } from "next/font/google";

const heading = Ubuntu({
  subsets: ["latin"],
  weight: "700",
  variable: "--font-heading",
});

const body = Open_Sans({
  subsets: ["latin"],
  weight: "400",
  variable: "--font-body",
});
From usKeychord— keyboard shortcuts for every app

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