238: Abhaya Libre: An Incomplete History of Type
- Diana Varma
- Mar 26
- 3 min read
From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type.
Name: Abhaya Libre
Release Date: 2015
Designer: Sol Matas
Classification: Serif
Owned By: The Abhaya Libre Project Authors
Claim to Fame: It’s a redesigned version of the existing FM Abhaya typeface made suitable for the Latin alphabet.
My name is Joanne Liao, and I’ll be your host for today’s episode about a personal favourite typeface of mine, Abhaya Libre. I came across this typeface by chance one day while looking for a new way to spruce up my notes, and I’m excited to present it to you now.
Released in 2015, Abhaya Libre was designed by a small company located in Sri Lanka called Mooniak, which still holds ownership rights to this today (Abhaya Libre, n.d.). The name Abhaya refers to King Abhaya, who was the ruler of Sri Lanka in ancient BCE. It is classified as a serif typeface with an appearance similar to the likes of other famous serifs like Bodoni, Garamond, Didone and Baskerville. Abhaya Libre got its claim to fame through being a redesigned version of the existing FM Abhaya typeface made suitable for the Latin alphabet (more on this in a minute) (Abhaya Libre Font Free by Mooniak, 2016).
Alright, without further ado, let’s get to it!
History
Our story takes place in South Asia with a man by the name of Pushpanada Ekanayake. In 1970, Ekanayake designed a typeface called FM Abhaya, which eventually became one of the most popular and well-known typefaces catering to the language of Sinhala.
However, although useful and beloved for decades from the point of view of the locals and citizens within Sri Lanka, FM Abhaya faced one particular setback which prevented its name from reaching more of the world- it was only suitable for Sinhala characters (Abhaya Libre Font, 2021).
In the hopes of giving FM Abhaya a new life, an employee named Sol Matas from the aforementioned type foundry Mooniak reached out to Pushpanada Ekanayake with a proposal for a new idea: redesign the beloved typeface to accommodate the Latin alphabet. Ekanayake agreed, and so the team had their work cut out for them, taking care to preserve the characteristics of the original Abhaya typeface such as the boldness or thickness of its curves and lines, while also adjusting these measurements for the best possible legibility regarding Latin letters (Abhaya Libre Font Free by Mooniak, 2016). Some specific considerations were large counters and x-heights to mimic the Sinhala version, which in turn increased the legibility of the English letters by giving them a clean and uniform appearance.
Other members of the team were Pathum Egodawatta and Ayantha Randika, who contributed through consultations with Matas throughout each design phase. The project was definitely a labour of love because it was not easy to redesign a typeface for two alphabets with entirely different sets of glyphs.
Nevertheless, 1996 marked the year that the name of Abhaya Libre was officially born. The typeface is not only considerate of the Latin alphabet but pays homage to the name of the original FM Abhaya as well by carrying on part of the name itself. The word libre means “free” in French, representing a new twist on a once more reserved typeface (Abhaya Libre Font Family, 2021).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Abhaya Libre is an important typeface because it helped FM Abhaya reach its full potential. By bridging the gap between languages, Abhaya Libre opened the doors of usability to the global audience, inviting typographers and users worldwide to embrace and appreciate this wonderful typeface.
Thank you very much for tuning in to this episode of Talk, Paper, Scissors! I sincerely hope you enjoyed listening and were able to take away some cool new fun facts. Thank you Diana for having me. Until next time!
References
Abhaya Libre Font Free by Mooniak. (2016, October 26). Font Squirrel. https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/abhaya-libre
Abhaya Libre Font. (2021, July 21). Befonts. https://befonts.com/abhaya-libre-font.html
Abhaya Libre. (n.d.). Google Fonts. https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Abhaya+Libre
Abhaya Libre Font Family. (2021, July 15). Fontesk. https://fontesk.com/abhaya-libre-typeface/
E.M.M. (n.d.). Catchy and Cool. Jamendo. https://licensing.jamendo.com/en/tracks/lX5xgZYt1UH/catchy-and-cool
About Our Guest:
Joanne Liao is a fourth-year GCM student at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is a passionate learner at heart who is always looking to explore new mediums and projects (like featuring in a podcast). In her spare time, Joanne can be found reading, studying foreign languages, or working on her latest journal spreads.
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Music (public domain): TRG Banks - Above the Earth
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