"Change" created the state GolosRF web font

2019: Creation of the GolosRF web font

On December 2, 2019 the Change company (AIC group) reported that it created the state GolosRF web font.

According to the company, a font the state will "talk". Thus the idea to call its Voice came. The prefix of the Russian Federation focuses attention that a font state and open for use.

The state font should correspond to communication problems which are solved on the state websites, and at the same time to be completely Russian product. We are obliged to include all essential aspects of design in the standard of the state websites. And a font here objectively on one of the first places. Alexander Pavlovich, the deputy director of development department of the electronic government of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications told

Creation of a functional font which considers requirements of the state (big difficult texts, long names of documents, small screens of devices) and requirements of modern interfaces (proportions, contrast, convenience) and also creation of the Cyrillic font distributed for free was a project objective.

The font is the cornerstone of any design system. Afterwards very few people pay attention to it, especially if it is good and really supports a system. The font is a starting point of any design project. And it should be a system basis, but not squeeze into it at the latest stages of work on creation of a system. As the basis a font sets many technical characteristics of a system, rules and proportions. It sets an emotional background and, is often imperceptible for users, is the identifier of a system.

Among the Cyrillic fonts there are a little most different permissions, qualitative, suitable for screens. The font developed within the concept on translation of sites of state agencies into the uniform design standard completely corresponds to modern criteria for correct work in the web environment: smoothing (for screens with the small permission), density and the drawing which affect readability set width (it is especially important for Russian with long words).

In the Golos RF font two main lines — interface and text. Outlines for interfaces narrower, modular. When changing fat content of a font length of a line does not change. The interface font looks strict and rational. Fonts of a text line — wider, with smoother lines.

When there is a question of the choice of a font, there is always an option to take already something ready and checked by time. And, of course, in case of a Design system it is not option. First, no existing font can be made the, and the state font should be sent only to official use entirely. Secondly, people created many fonts, solving different problems, but this task, at least, on Cyrillics and for the Russian world still nobody solved.

The average functional grotesque was one of the first ideas during the work on a font. Text fonts are not so emotional as they are created to transfer information. But they can report a certain additional sense to the text. Here experts faced several dilemmas. And, reflections over them, several times changed the concept.

Originally were guided, first, by possible low resolution of screens at users somewhere in the remote regions of the country and, secondly, on popular idea that the friendly font is a font with open forms of signs. Still there is an example, known in the font environment — Rijksoverheid Sans and Serif, the system of fonts for the Dutch government. Therefore, on the one hand, proportions of a font had to be adapted first of all for the screen (large lower case signs, short portable elements, the increased interalphabetic distances), and on the other hand, the font thought as open and humanistic. So there was the first version of a font — very open grotesque with traces of a calligraphical prototype in construction, but on proportions and in parts adapted for screens of low resolution: with vertical cuts of strokes and horizontals and verticals, identical on thickness.

The texts typed by it perfectly were read in the most severe conditions and at the same time remained compact, but there was an unexpected problem. Shortly before the beginning of development of the state font in mobile interfaces and operating systems the type of fonts from open grotesque (better than low resolution, suitable for screens) was replaced with the closed grotesque (as resolution of screens becomes higher and limits as a font are lifted). And for developers of a design system, against the background of already become daily Roboto and San Francisco, the font looked unusually. Developers removed a calligraphical basis, but it did not solve a problem. Then it became clear that the initial task should be offered for benefit of neutrality in realities of the end of the 2010th years. So the state font from open grotesque became closed.

For November, 2019 the font is used:

• TASS
• Emercom of Russia (Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation)
• Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Nature Management Supervision Service)
• Government of Murmansk region
• Government of the Samara region