Barlow Condensed

sans-serif · Designed by Jeremy Tribby

Barlow Condensed: Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

Available weights

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What do I do with this?

Just want to use the font? Click "Get this font on Google Fonts" to download it or add it directly to a document, design tool (like Canva or Photoshop), or your computer's font list.

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Barlow Condensed is a narrow, low-contrast sans-serif with a slightly rounded, grounded feel. It draws from the visual language of California highway signage, which gives it a utilitarian yet approachable character. The condensed proportions make it highly space-efficient without feeling cramped, and its clean geometry keeps it readable at both large display sizes and smaller text blocks. It has enough personality to stand out but stays neutral enough to work across a wide range of contexts without clashing with other design elements.

This font works well as a display typeface for sports branding, where its athletic, compact silhouette fits naturally with bold visual identities. It is also a strong choice for editorial headers in magazines or news sites, particularly those with a modern or technical focus, since the condensed format allows long headlines to fit in tight column widths. Additionally, it performs well in UI contexts like dashboards, data-heavy interfaces, or navigation menus where labels need to be descriptive but space is limited.

Best suited for: Consider Barlow Condensed for compact headlines, sports branding, data-dense interfaces, and navigation systems where space efficiency and readability are priorities.

Design considerations: The extensive weight range from 100 to 900 with matching italics supports flexible typographic hierarchies and emphasis strategies across layouts. Its low-contrast geometry and rounded terminals suit modern, technical, or utilitarian design contexts while maintaining legibility in both display and text sizes.

Pairing guidance: Pair Barlow Condensed with Barlow as a regular-width companion for body text and extended reading, Source Serif 4 to introduce serif contrast for editorial sophistication, or Space Mono to reinforce technical or data-focused contexts with monospace precision.

Pairs well with

Barlow Source Serif 4 Space Mono

Barlow Condensed at a glance

Designer

Jeremy Tribby

License

SIL Open Font License 1.1

Added to Google Fonts

October 2017

Last updated

September 2025

Styles

18 (9 weights + italics)

Classification

Sans Serif

Character sets

3

Distributed via

Google Fonts

All 18 Barlow Condensed styles

Weight Name Upright Italic
100 Thin Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
200 ExtraLight Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
300 Light Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
400 Regular Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
500 Medium Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
600 SemiBold Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
700 Bold Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
800 ExtraBold Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
900 Black Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123

Barlow Condensed character map

Uppercase

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Lowercase

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Numbers and punctuation

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! ? & @ # % $ € £ ( ) [ ] { } . , : ; " ' - / * + =

Latin Extended (sample)

Ā Ă Ą Ć Č Ď Đ Ē Ę Ě Ğ Ī Į İ Ĺ Ľ Ł Ń Ň Ő Œ Ř Ś Ş Š Ť Ů Ű Ź Ż Ž

Vietnamese (sample)

Ạ Ả Ấ Ầ Ẩ Ẫ Ậ Ắ Ằ Ặ Ẹ Ẻ Ẽ Ế Ề Ệ Ỉ Ị Ọ Ỏ Ố Ồ Ộ Ơ Ớ Ờ Ụ Ủ Ư Ứ Ừ Ự Ỳ Ỵ

Which languages does Barlow Condensed support?

Barlow Condensed includes 3 character sets:

  • Latin: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and other Western European languages
  • Latin Extended: Central and Eastern European languages such as Polish, Czech, Turkish, Romanian and Hungarian
  • Vietnamese: Vietnamese, including its stacked tone marks

It does not include Cyrillic or Greek characters, so it can't set Russian, Ukrainian or Greek text.

Can I use Barlow Condensed commercially?

Yes, it's free for personal and commercial use. Barlow Condensed is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. You can use it in logos, websites, apps, videos, printed products and merchandise without paying or asking permission. The one thing you can't do is sell the font file on its own.

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Barlow Condensed FAQ

Is Barlow Condensed free for commercial use?

Yes. Barlow Condensed is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, so you can use it in commercial projects, including logos, client work and products you sell.

Which weights does Barlow Condensed include?

Barlow Condensed includes 9 weights, from Thin (100) to Black (900), each with a matching italic, for 18 styles in total.

Does Barlow Condensed support Cyrillic?

No. Barlow Condensed supports Latin, Latin Extended and Vietnamese, but not Cyrillic.

Who designed Barlow Condensed?

Barlow Condensed was designed by Jeremy Tribby. It was added to Google Fonts in October 2017.