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Discover beautiful fonts and perfect pairings for your next project. Browse 8,500+ fonts with accessibility ratings.

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  1. Fonts
  2. /
  3. Serif
  4. /
  5. Bona Nova

Bona Nova

Bona Nova brings classic elegance to your typography with refined serifs that guide the eye through extended reading.

Scroll to explore
Serifby Mateusz Machalski90% Accessible
Characters256
Glyphs307
Typography Tools

Best Ways to Use Bona Nova

01

Best Font Pairings for Bona Nova

TypeSmith curates 7 expert font pairings for Bona Nova, including combinations with 42dot Sans, Aime Mx and Lato.

Each pairing includes accessibility ratings, expert reasoning, and usage recommendations for web and print design.

Explore 7 Pairings for Bona Nova
02

Test Bona Nova Font Pairings Live

TypeSmith's interactive testing tool lets you preview Bona Nova with any font combination in real-time, optimized for serif characteristics.

Adjust font sizes, weights, and see live typography specimens including editorial layouts, code editors, and UI components.

Test Bona Nova Pairings Live

In Context

Bona Nova Specimen Gallery

EditorialUI ComponentsPosterWordmark

Bona Nova Editorial Specimen

Bona Nova in Editorial Context

Bona Nova is a serif typeface by Mateusz Machalski suited for editorial layouts and long-form reading.

Mateusz Machalski

Typeface Designer • Serif

Bona Nova demonstrates editorial readability through balanced proportions and consistent stroke weight. As a serif typeface, it delivers clear letterforms that sustain reader engagement across extended passages of text.

The weight range of Bona Nova supports typographic hierarchy within editorial layouts. Headline weights establish visual anchors while lighter weights maintain comfortable reading rhythm in body text columns.

Designed by Mateusz Machalski, Bona Nova balances personality with function — providing enough character to establish visual identity without compromising the legibility that editorial contexts demand.

Bona Nova
ProductsSolutionsResourcesPricing

Bona Nova Typography

A serif typeface for UI components.

Active2 weights available
DefaultInfoSuccessWarningError
Bona Nova Specimen

Bona Nova

Bona Nova is a serif typeface by Mateusz Machalski built for display contexts.

2 WeightsSerif Typeface
Available on TypeSmith

Wordmark Explorations

Bona Nova
Bona Nova
BONA NOVA
BONA NOVATYPE
B

Tagline Pairings

Bona Nova— serif typeface
Bona NovaBy Mateusz Machalski
Bona NovaTYPE

Editorial

Magazine-style headline and body text layout

Character Set

Bona Nova Glyphs & Characters

Size48
Showing 62 of 187 charactersDouble-click to copy • Click for details
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789

Type Scale

Bona Nova Typography Scale

Heading Level 1<h1>
64px
Bold
72px
Bona Nova primary headline
Heading Level 2<h2>
48px
SemiBold
56px
Bona Nova section heading
Heading Level 3<h3>
32px
Medium
40px
Bona Nova subsection title
Heading Level 4<h4>
24px
Regular
32px
Bona Nova content heading
Heading Level 5<h5>
18px
Regular
26px
Bona Nova minor heading
Heading Level 6<h6>
14px
Medium
20px
Bona Nova smallest heading
Font SizeWeightLine Height
Body Copy

Reading Text in Bona Nova

TypeSmith provides optimized body text specifications for Bona Nova, including recommended sizes, line heights, and letter spacing for long-form content. These settings ensure maximum readability across devices and screen sizes.

Bona Nova demonstrates exceptional body text performance with balanced proportions and consistent stroke widths that enhance readability across paragraph lengths.

When setting Bona Nova for body copy, TypeSmith recommends these optimized specifications. The carefully tuned metrics ensure comfortable reading at extended lengths while maintaining the typeface's distinctive character.

Bona Nova small text sizes retain legibility through well-defined letterforms. Caption and footnote applications benefit from the font's clear x-height and open counters.

ElementWeightSizeLine HeightTrackingPreview
Body TextRegular16px24px0.5pxBona Nova delivers excellent readability for body copy
ItalicizedRegular Italic16px24px0.5pxBona Nova italic provides elegant emphasis
BoldBold16px24px0.5pxBona Nova bold creates strong visual hierarchy
Small CapsRegular16px24px0.5pxBona Nova typography specimen
Secondary TextMedium14px20px0.5pxBona Nova typography specimen
.your-class { font-family: 'Bona Nova'; }

Quick Start

Using Bona Nova in Your Design

HTML Link Tag

Add to your <head> section

<link href="https://fonts.bunny.net/css?family=Bona+Nova:400,700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

CSS @import

Add at top of your stylesheet

@import url('https://fonts.bunny.net/css?family=Bona+Nova:400,700&display=swap');

CSS @font-face

Self-host the font files

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Bona Nova';
  src: url('https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Bona+Nova');
  font-display: swap;
}

Implementation

Styling with Bona Nova

Standard CSS

css

Apply directly to any CSS class or selector.

 1.my-text {
 2  font-family: 'Bona Nova', sans-serif;
 3  font-weight: 400;
 4}

SCSS Variable

scss

Define once, use throughout your stylesheet.

 1$font-primary: 'Bona Nova', sans-serif;
 2
 3.my-text {
 4  font-family: $font-primary;
 5}

Tailwind CSS

config

Configure once, apply with utility classes.

 1// tailwind.config.js
 2module.exports = {
 3  theme: {
 4    extend: {
 5      fontFamily: {
 6        'bona-nova': ['Bona Nova', 'sans-serif'],
 7      },
 8    },
 9  },
10}
11
12// Usage in HTML
13<p class="font-bona-nova">Your text here</p>

About

Inside Bona Nova

Mateusz Machalski
Serif
Open Source

Bona Nova balances natural flow and human touch, making it well-suited for editorial design. Its stroke contrast and traditional elegance contribute to its versatile character. Particularly effective for print publications and book typography, Bona Nova adapts confidently across design contexts. Extended language coverage includes Bona Nova is a font that supports Latin and Polish language characters, offering a versatile range o....

Bona Nova was crafted by Mateusz Machalski. The typeface reflects a focus on typographic detail, visible in its letterform construction and optical balance.

As a Serif typeface in the Vox-ATypI Classicals classification, Bona Nova features bracketed or hairline serifs terminating each stroke and modulated stroke contrast from axis of stress. These optical characteristics make it well-suited for brand identities conveying authority and heritage.

Bona Nova is available in a single weight, offering focused typographic consistency across digital and print workflows, with 7 curated font pairings available. Standard Latin character coverage serves the majority of Western typographic workflows.

Bona Nova

Typography Judgment

Expert Analysis of Bona Nova

TypeSmith evaluates every font across classification, accessibility, and design heritage. This analysis helps designers understand Bona Nova's strengths and ideal use cases before committing to a typography decision.

1

Classification

Serif analysis. TypeSmith classifies Bona Nova within the Classicals (Humanist, Garalde, Transitional) and Moderns (Didone) tradition, characterized by Bracketed or hairline serifs terminating each stroke and Modulated stroke contrast from axis of stress. Serif letterforms trace to Roman square capitals carved into stone. Key technical strength: extensive weight and optical-size ranges in superfamilies.

2

Accessibility

Readability assessment (grade: 90). Bona Nova performs strongly for sustained reading across digital and print contexts. Serifs guide horizontal eye movement along the baseline, making text sizes above 9 pt highly readable in print.

3

Design Heritage

Designed by Mateusz Machalski. The designer's attention to letterform construction and spacing rhythm produces a Serif with a single focused weight suited to both digital and print workflows.

Overview

About Bona Nova

Bona Nova represents a Classicals typeface, anchored in the tradition where serif letterforms trace to Roman square capitals carved into stone. Its distinctive bracketed or hairline serifs terminating each stroke and modulated stroke contrast from axis of stress make it well-suited for brand identities conveying authority and heritage. TypeSmith indexes Bona Nova in a single weight variant and 7 curated font pairings.

Font Pairings Available
7 curated pairings for Bona Nova
View Pairings

Categories

Browse by Classification

DisplayHandwritingMonospaceSans SerifSerif

Explore More

Alternatives to Bona Nova

View all fonts

TypeSmith identifies 5 fonts with similar visual characteristics to Bona Nova based on classification, x-height ratio, and stroke weight. These alternatives maintain the same typographic personality while offering different weight options and language support.

Aa
Abhaya Libre
Serif
Aa
Gloock
Serif
Aa
Aleo
Serif
Aa
Faustina
Serif
Aa
Alice
Serif

Inclusive Design

Accessibility & Usability

90
Accessibility Score
Excellent Accessibility

Accessibility Features of Bona Nova

Bona Nova scores in the excellent accessibility tier, making it well-suited for body text, UI labels, and long-form reading across devices. High-contrast Didones can cause halation for readers with astigmatism. Prefer Garalde or Transitional cuts at text sizes for inclusive readability.

Bona Nova Legibility Characteristics

Bona Nova draws legibility from its bracketed or hairline serifs terminating each stroke and modulated stroke contrast from axis of stress. These characteristics help readers distinguish similar glyphs such as I, l, and 1 at a range of sizes.

Readability Profile: Bona Nova

Serifs guide horizontal eye movement along the baseline, making text sizes above 9 pt highly readable in print. On screen, hinting quality determines legibility below 14 px. Set body text at 16 px or larger on screen, with line heights between 1.4 and 1.6 for sustained reading comfort.

Bona Nova: Comfort in Extended Reading

Bona Nova provides a focused weight range that maintains consistent typographic color across paragraphs. High stroke contrast can cause halation for some readers, so pair with ample line spacing on bright backgrounds.

Bona Nova Accessibility Recommendations

Maintain a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text when setting Bona Nova. Use font sizes of at least 16 px for paragraph copy and line spacing of 1.5 or greater. Test Bona Nova at 200% browser zoom to confirm line breaks and layout integrity remain intact.

Working with Bona Nova: Best Practices

Pair with geometric or grotesque sans-serifs for contrast. Avoid pairing two serifs from the same Vox sub-class to prevent visual redundancy. Curated pairings are available to guide complementary typeface selection for Bona Nova. Establish hierarchy through size, spacing, and color rather than multiplying font families. Serve Bona Nova in WOFF2 format for optimal load performance and broad browser compatibility.

Get the Font

Download Bona Nova

Available on Google Fonts
4 weights available for download
Download

Available Weights

400
Regular
400
Regular Italic
700
Bold
700
Bold Italic

Weight Reference

Aa
100
Aa
200
Aa
300
Aa
400
Aa
500
Aa
600
Aa
700
Aa
800
Aa
900

Internationalization

Bona Nova Language Coverage

Extended Latin Coverage
Supports 100+ languages with Latin script

Western European

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • Portuguese
  • Dutch

Nordic

  • Swedish
  • Norwegian
  • Danish
  • Finnish
  • Icelandic

Central European

  • Polish
  • Czech
  • Hungarian
  • Romanian
  • Slovak

Baltic

  • Lithuanian
  • Latvian
  • Estonian

Bona Nova is a font that supports Latin and Polish language characters, offering a versatile range of typographic options for both languages.

Legal

Usage Rights for Bona Nova

SIL Open Font License (OFL) 1.1
Free for personal and commercial use
View License

What you can do

  • Personal projects
  • Commercial projects
  • Web embedding
  • App embedding
  • Modification
  • Redistribution

Restrictions

  • Selling as standalone

Modified versions must use a different name and be distributed under the same OFL license.

Bona Nova is available under the SIL Open Font License (OFL), Version 1.1. This license is a free, libre, and open source license specifically designed for fonts and related software. The OFL allows the fonts to be used, studied, modified, and redistributed freely as long as they are not sold by themselves. This makes Bona Nova ideal for web projects, applications, documents, and print materials of any kind.