An ode to OpenType: Fall in love with the secret world of fonts | Figma Blog

OpenType features reveal that fonts often contain far more than their default bold, italic, and character shapes. The post describes how these hidden options—such as alternate digits, ligatures, small caps, swashes, and ornaments—can solve practical typography problems while expanding creative possibilities. Figma’s support for OpenType features makes these capabilities accessible across local, Google, and organization-shared fonts.

Discovering the Hidden Capabilities of Fonts

• The author first encountered OpenType features while studying Warnock Pro.
• The font included:
  • Old-style and tabular figures for better integration with text and tables
  • Small caps for introductions and emphasis
  • Alternate letterforms with decorative flourishes
  • Fractions, ordinals, and the numero sign
  • Stylistic alternates and ornamental symbols
• These options were traditionally hidden in technical menus, making them difficult to discover.
• The author initially used them enthusiastically and indiscriminately, comparing OpenType features to spices that could transform otherwise ordinary typography.

Learning When Features Are Useful

• Over time, font PDFs were increasingly replaced by online type specimen pages documenting available features.
• Fonts vary widely:
  • Some offer only a single alternate character.
  • Others provide dozens of features that can make the typeface appear substantially different.
• The author gradually learned to use features intentionally rather than simply enabling them because they were available.
• Technical terminology became meaningful in context, including:
  • Tabular figures for tables
  • Discretionary ligatures for optional letter combinations
  • Alternate glyphs and stylistic sets for different visual treatments

Applying OpenType to Design Problems

• At Medium, the team selected different numeral styles for different contexts:
  • Subdued figures for body text
  • More expressive, headline-like figures and a flamboyant ampersand for pull quotes
• Many fonts also include punctuation and symbol variants optimized for all-caps text.
• These adjusted glyphs help uppercase designs feel more balanced and cohesive.

OpenType Features in Figma

• Figma now supports OpenType features for:
  • Local fonts
  • Google Fonts
  • Fonts shared within organizations
• Users can access additional ligatures, numeral styles, alternate letterforms, and other font-specific adjustments through Figma’s interface.
• The feature is intended not only to expose advanced typography controls, but also to make discovering and experimenting with them approachable.

Figma’s OpenType support encourages designers to look beyond a font’s default appearance. The practical recommendation is to treat these features as purposeful tools: choose them according to the context, hierarchy, and visual problem being solved rather than applying them indiscriminately.