The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Free font
Barlow Condensed
A free alternative to Destroyed Aero.
About Barlow Condensed
Barlow Condensed is the narrow cut of Jeremy Tribby's 2017 grotesque, a slightly rounded, signage-bred sans in nine weights with true italics. The rounding takes the edge off the flat-sided gothic model without softening its utilitarian character, and the condensed fit packs a lot of headline into very little measure. Terminals stay flat and the joins stay clean, so it holds at poster sizes.
It is the natural stand-in for Interstate Condensed and Compressed — the widths that made the original a sports-graphics and wayfinding staple — with the same signage lineage packed tighter. It answers Knockout on similar terms, softer than those flat-sided gothics but bred for the same work. Nine weights with italics give it more range than most free condensed faces, enough to carry a whole hierarchy rather than a single headline.
- Designer
- Jeremy Tribby
- Released
- 2017
- Available at
- Google Fonts →
Barlow Condensed is also a free alternative to…
- Destroyed Aero → A slightly rounded, low-contrast grotesk inspired by Californian public signage, available in nine weights. Its Bold and ExtraBold condensed cuts approximate Destroyed Aero's mass with a friendlier, more utilitarian tone and a complete lowercase for longer lines.
- Interstate → The narrow cut of Barlow is the natural stand-in for Interstate Condensed and Compressed, the widths that made the original a sports-graphics and wayfinding staple. Same signage lineage, packed tighter.
- Knockout → A slightly rounded grotesque in nine weights with true italics; softer than Knockout's flat-sided gothics but with the same utilitarian, signage-bred character.
- RB Neue Rational Condensed → A rounded, slightly softened condensed grotesque with nine weights and italics, matching Neue Rational Condensed's full Thin-to-Black span. The rounded stroke terminals and lower contrast give it a friendlier, more Californian feel than the crisp neo-grotesque terminals of Bieder's design.
- Trade Gothic → A low-contrast condensed grotesk inspired by California public signage, carrying the same utilitarian, unfussy tone as Trade Gothic Condensed. Its corners are slightly softened and its rhythm is more even, so it reads a little friendlier than the original's crisp, irregular cut.
Display + body that work together
A grammar of empty space
A pairing is a relationship: one voice speaks first, the other answers, and the contrast between them sets the tone for the whole page.
Display · Editorial Barlow Condensed + Lora
Quiet type that does the work
The display sets the register; the body follows through. When both halves of a pair pull in the same direction, the design disappears and the words come forward.
Display · Editorial Barlow Condensed + Source Serif 4