In 2021, Xiaoyuan became intrigued by the phenomenon of ink bleed as seen in the printed text on mass-produced items, such as the text on eggshells, capacitors, and expiration dates on food packaging. Initially, she wanted to emulate this ink bleed effect on typeface, but due to her technical limitations at the time, she was unable to find a satisfactory way to replicate it. The idea persisted in her mind for a loooong time, and finally, through continuous practice in and sheer stubbornness, she made another attempt. This led to the creation of commonSans.
字体灵感来源于「在批量生产的产品表面上印刷的实用信息」，例如鸡蛋壳上的字，小型电容器上的信息，以及各种食品包装上的保质期。这些字多少都会有点晕墨。Xiaoyuan 非常喜欢这个晕墨后字体所呈现的型态，2021年的时候她就想做有晕墨感觉的字了。由于当时自己技术有限，没能找到合适的方法做出来，但是她没放弃，这几年一边做着比较实验型的字体设计，一方面也在练习做一点可读性比较好的字⋯⋯于是就有了今天的 commonSans ：）
Xiaoyuan Gao (She/Her) is a Rotterdam-based freelance graphic designer, image-maker, type designer and the initiator of “notyourtype foundry”. In her practice, she loves experimenting with unconventional approaches to type design and typesetting. She sees type design (making custom characters into a font file) as making a tool for typing, just like a customised typewriter. She also enjoys creating visuals out of found images , which allows her to combine typography and imagery in playful ways.
If you'd like to support Xiaoyuan in operating the NotYourType foundry, assisting FLINTA designers in publishing their type design work, and contributing to open-source type design, please consider making a donation via
This PayPal Link. Thank you! <3
Sizes preview
150px
- notRegular30px
- notRegular200px
- notRegular (ss02)30px
- notRegular (ss02)400px
- notRegular (ss01)80px
- notRegular100px
- notRegular (ss02)60px
- notRegular (ss01)60px
- notRegular (ss02)30px
- notRegular (ss01)240px
- notRegularGlyphset
Type Tester
Specimen
In Use
Buy commonSans (1.1)
This is a retail typeface. To use it in your project(s), you will need to purchase a license. Note that each license is project-specific, so you will have to purchase a new license each time you apply the font to a new project.
This form is intended for generating invoices based on the provided information; it is not an automatic payment system. Please ensure that you fill in the correct information before submitting. We do not appreciate misuse behaviors, such as filling in “fsdfdsifjs”-like text. Please do not abuse this form. notyourtype foundry is small, and there is a human behind it managing all the work, so be respectful and mindful of your actions. Thank you for your understanding.
這是一款零售字體，若要在您的專案中使用，您需要購買授權許可證。請注意，每個授權都是專案專用，因此每次將字體應用於新專案時，都需要購買新的授權許可證。
此表格旨在根據用戶填寫並提交的信息生成發票，並非自動支付系統。請在提交前確保填寫正確的信息。我們不欣賞濫用行為，例如填寫類似於 fsdfdsifjs 之类的的文字，請不要濫用此表格。notyourtypefoundry 是一個非常小的獨立字體開發工作室，僅有兩個人來管理所有網站相關的維護工作，請尊重我們的工作並注意您的行為。感謝您的理解。
TO PURCHASE A LICENSE, PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND ENSURE ALL REQUIRED INFORMATION IS TRUTHFULLY PROVIDED.
Not sure yet? Request a trial version of commonSans
After more than two years of offering trial fonts, we have concluded that this initiative does not provide any tangible benefits. Our experience has shown a problematic lack of transparency in how people treat the trial fonts. As a small type foundry, we have very limited control over this situation. Individuals who download our trial fonts seldom engage with our follow-up communications, often lacking courtesy. Consequently, we have decided to discontinue offering trial fonts at NotYourType Foundry. This decision is final and will remain unchanged regardless of any inquiries or emails we receive.
However, you can still try the font by clicking on the "Text Editor" to type and experiment there. Please understand that as designers, our earnings from our experimental type design endeavors are minimal. The offering of trial fonts has only placed us in a more vulnerable position, with some individuals exploiting this generosity by using the fonts without purchasing the necessary licenses. This situation is disheartening, and as a result, we will no longer provide trial fonts.