The Best Fonts

Normally, when you customize your computer's look, you might just change the wallpaper or rearrange a few panels. I decided to take it a bit further! I recently wrote an automation script for my personal Gnome (Linux) setup, and while I was at it, I started looking for a new font for my interface. I don't dislike Adwaita Sans, but I really wanted something more unique and personal.

And guess what? I found three fonts.

A Clear Interface

For the Gnome UI itself, I wanted a font that was well-known and reliable. After a little searching, I found Clear Sans by Intel. It was perfect! It's simple and modern, but still different enough from the default font. Honestly, it's a solid choice, no complaints here.

A Vision from the Visually Impaireds

For the text in documents, like in Word, on websites, or in PDFs, I was looking for something special, not just another generic font. I wanted something unique that was also super easy to read and nice to look at. And boy, did I find a gem! This font is so perfect, it's become my new favorite. In fact, I love it so much, I added it to this site!

I'm talking about Atkinson Hyperlegible. Just like the name says, this font was designed to be as legible as possible, with no ambiguity. For instance, the "B" and the "8" are very distinct to prevent confusion. The same goes for the "O" and the "0," which has a bar in the middle to make it stand out. It's brilliant!

A Jet-Propelled Brain

For the "mono" font, which is the fixed-width one used in code editors, I went with an old favorite: JetBrains Mono. It's simple, efficient, and just beautiful to work with. Here's a quick example:

    
function greet(name: string): string {
  return `Hello, ${name}!`;

}

const message = greet("Loïc");
console.log(message); // Output: Hello, Loïc!
    

To be perfectly honest, I use a "Nerd Font" version. It's just a modified version of the font that includes extra icons and characters.

A Quest for Perfection

Let's be real, you don't have to change your fonts. In fact, you barely ever need to customize your operating system's interface at all. I did this because I'm on a mission to create the perfect setup, the one that works best for me. Even though I had to make a few compromises (I share my computers with family sometimes), you can totally push your personalization beyond what's reasonable. Here are a few examples of abusive customisation.