typov

Typov is a typographic framework and collaborative project that aims to standardize how typography is described, rendered, and scaled in digital media. Initiated by an international group of designers and researchers in the early 2010s, typov seeks to bridge gaps between font design and on-screen typography by providing a formal specification and open tooling.

The core of typov consists of a modular glyph architecture, a continuous weight axis through variable fonts, and a set of features for typographic control such as ligatures, fractions, and small caps. It also introduces guidelines for metrics, line height, and rendering behavior to promote consistency across devices and platforms. The framework emphasizes accessibility and legibility, with recommendations for contrast, text sizing, and responsive layout.

Tools and resources associated with typov include reference font families, test suites, and a renderer that demonstrates how typov specifications are applied at different scales and on varying displays. The project is maintained in open repositories, encouraging community contributions and discussions around implementation details and interoperability with existing standards such as OpenType and CSS font-variation settings.

Adoption has been incremental; some publishers and UI libraries experiment with typov concepts to improve cross-platform consistency, while others integrate typov ideas within broader typography workflows rather than adopting the full specification. The project is typically described as a complementary approach rather than a replacement for established typography practices.