Iosevka Comfy version 1.0.0

2022-09-14

Iosevka Comfy is a customised build of the Iosevka typeface, with a consistent rounded style and overrides for almost all individual glyphs in both roman (upright) and italic (slanted) variants.

IMAGES HERE: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/iosevka-comfy-pictures.

• Git repo on SourceHut: https://git.sr.ht/~protesilaos/iosevka-comfy
  • Mirrors:
    • GitHub: https://github.com/protesilaos/iosevka-comfy
    • GitLab: https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/iosevka-comfy
• Mailing list: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/general-issues
• Backronym: Iosevka (Could Only Modify a Font, Yes)

Below are the release notes.

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Breaking change about vertical spacing

I no longer override the line height established by upstream Iosevka. This means that all the font families provided by the Iosevka Comfy project are the same as Iosevka in terms of vertical spacing.

This change is necessary to conform with recent developments upstream. Those affected Iosevka Comfy in two ways:

1. Capital letters with accents would no longer be rendered in full. The accent would be cropped. I tried some modest adjustments to the relevant variable, but the problem would still occur at certain point sizes.

2. The “wide” families no longer had the same vertical spacing as the others. This is a regression from what we used to have. I do not want the various families of this project to be radically different, so such a deviation is unacceptable.

New families and reorganisation into triplets

I added two new families: iosevka-comfy-motion-fixed and iosevka-comfy-wide-duo. These complete the set of the three stylistic variants provided by this project.

These triplets follow the naming scheme NAME{,-fixed,-duo}. The base name is monospaced and supports ligatures. The “fixed” one is strictly monospaced so as to work with all terminal emulators: it does not support ligatures. And the “duo” is quasi-proportionately spaced, while supporting ligatures.

1. The compact, sans-serif set:

   • iosevka-comfy is monospaced and supports ligatures. Apart from ligatures, it allows certain special glyphs, such as arrows, to occupy more than one block.

   • iosevka-comfy-fixed is like iosevka-comfy albeit strictly monospaced and thus does not support ligatures. All glyphs are exactly the same width. Use this if you prefer it or if your application (e.g. terminal emulator) does not recognise iosevka-comfy as a monospaced font.

   • iosevka-comfy-duo is quasi-proportional and supports ligatures. The naturally narrow glyphs, such as i, are allowed to occupy their natural width instead of one space.

2. The compact, serif set:

   • iosevka-comfy-motion is monospaced and supports ligatures. It is like iosevka-comfy but with lots of small tweaks that add serifs and tailed ends to relevant glyphs. Put simply, it is the serified counterpart of iosevka-comfy.

   • iosevka-comfy-motion-fixed is the serif equivalent of the aforementioned iosevka-comfy-fixed.

   • iosevka-comfy-motion-duo is the serif equivalent of iosevka-comfy-duo.

3. The wide, sans-serif set:

   • iosevka-comfy-wide is the same as iosevka-comfy except it is noticeably wider. It also looks taller than iosevka-comfy even though both variants fit the same number of lines on a screen.

   • iosevka-comfy-wide-fixed is the “wide” counterpart of the iosevka-comfy-fixed family.

   • iosevka-comfy-wide-duo is the “wide” counterpart of the iosevka-comfy-duo family.

Inter-font consistency

I ensured that all fonts feel part of the same project. The stylistic differences between them are subtle and, generally, only go in one direction (e.g. the “motion” triplet just adds some serifs while retaining the main skeleton).

Simplification of the README and update to the demo pictures

I rewrote the README to omit some of its more technical sections. It now is simpler as it focuses on describing what this project offers.

The README also includes links to all official sources of the project.

Furthermore, I updated the sample screen shots to better showcase the three variants mentioned above: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/iosevka-comfy-pictures.

Miscellaneous

The README now suggests a shallow clone of the git repo. Keeping a version history of lots of .ttf files is not ideal.

Advanced users who plan to tweak the private-build-plans.toml and then build their own fonts, may be interested in the shell one-liner I use to build the font files:

for i in iosevka-comfy{,-motion,-wide}{,-fixed,-duo} ; do npm run build -- ttf::$i ; done

This is invoked from the root of the iosevka.git repo and works with my private-build-plans.toml.

The backronym of Iosevka COMFY is: Iosevka (Could Only Modify a Font, Yes).