Computer Modern

Name: Computer Modern
Author: Donald E. Knuth

Computer Modern delivers clean, contemporary letterforms optimized for digital interfaces and modern design systems.

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Sans Serifby Donald E. Knuth72% Accessible

Characters846

Glyphs1,015

Typography Tools

Best Ways to Use Computer Modern

Best Font Pairings for Computer Modern

TypeSmith curates 5 expert font pairings for Computer Modern, including combinations with Ribeye Marrow, Tiro Gurmukhi and Sumana.

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

Explore 5 Pairings for Computer Modern

Test Computer Modern Font Pairings Live

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

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

Test Computer Modern Pairings Live

In Context

Computer Modern Specimen Gallery

EditorialUI ComponentsPosterWordmark

Computer Modern Editorial Specimen

Computer Modern in Editorial Context

Computer Modern is a sans serif typeface by Donald E. Knuth suited for editorial layouts and long-form reading.

Donald E. Knuth

Typeface Designer • Sans Serif

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

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

Designed by Donald E. Knuth, Computer Modern balances personality with function — providing enough character to establish visual identity without compromising the legibility that editorial contexts demand.

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Computer Modern Typography

A sans serif typeface for UI components.

Active2 weights available

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Computer Modern Specimen

Computer Modern

Computer Modern is a sans serif typeface by Donald E. Knuth built for display contexts.

2 WeightsSans Serif Typeface

Available on TypeSmith

Wordmark Explorations

Computer Modern

COMPUTER MODERN

COMPUTER MODERNTYPE

Tagline Pairings

Computer Modern— sans serif typeface

Computer ModernBy Donald E. Knuth

Computer ModernTYPE

Editorial

Magazine-style headline and body text layout

Character Set

Computer Modern Glyphs & Characters

Size48

Showing 62 of 187 charactersDouble-click to copy • Click for details

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789

Heading Examples

Body Text Table

Body Copy

Computer Modern Body Typography

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

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

When setting Computer Modern 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.

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

Element	Weight	Size	Line Height	Tracking	Preview
Body Text	Regular	16px	24px	0.5px	Computer Modern delivers excellent readability for body copy
Italicized	Regular Italic	16px	24px	0.5px	Computer Modern italic provides elegant emphasis
Bold	Bold	16px	24px	0.5px	Computer Modern bold creates strong visual hierarchy
Small Caps	Regular	16px	24px	0.5px	Computer Modern typography specimen
Secondary Text	Medium	14px	20px	0.5px	Computer Modern typography specimen

.your-class { font-family: 'Computer Modern'; }

Quick Start

Using Computer Modern in Your Design

HTML Link Tag

Add to your <head> section

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

CSS @import

Add at top of your stylesheet

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

CSS @font-face

Self-host the font files

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Computer Modern';
  src: url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Computer+Modern:wght@400;700&display=swap');
  font-display: swap;
}

Implementation

Styling with Computer Modern

Standard CSS

css

Apply directly to any CSS class or selector.

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

SCSS Variable

scss

Define once, use throughout your stylesheet.

 1$font-primary: 'Computer Modern', 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        'computer-modern': ['Computer Modern', 'sans-serif'],
 7      },
 8    },
 9  },
10}
11
12// Usage in HTML
13<p class="font-computer-modern">Your text here</p>

About

Exploring Computer Modern's Design

Donald E. Knuth

Sans Serif

Open Source

Computer Modern is a free font from Donald E. Knuth.

Computer Modern comes from the work of Donald E. Knuth. The typeface reflects a focus on typographic detail, visible in its letterform construction and optical balance.

As a Sans Serif typeface in the Vox-ATypI Lineal classification, Computer Modern features no serif extensions on stroke terminals and stroke contrast ranging from monolinear to subtly modulated. These optical characteristics make it well-suited for corporate identity systems requiring neutrality.

Computer Modern is available in a single weight, offering focused typographic consistency spanning screen and print contexts, with 5 curated font pairings available. Extended language support spanning Cyrillic, Greek, and Latin Extended ensures reliable rendering across global audiences.

Computer Modern

Typography Judgment

Expert Analysis of Computer Modern

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

Classification

Sans Serif analysis. From a classification standpoint, Computer Modern within the Lineal (Grotesque, Neo-grotesque, Geometric, Humanist) tradition, characterized by No serif extensions on stroke terminals and Stroke contrast ranging from monolinear to subtly modulated. The first commercially successful sans-serifs appeared in the 1810s-1830s as display types. Key technical strength: widest variable-font support with weight and width axes.

Accessibility

Readability assessment (grade: 72). Computer Modern performs strongly for sustained reading across digital and print contexts.

Design Heritage

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

Overview

About Computer Modern

Computer Modern embodies the Lineal typeface, grounded in the tradition where the first commercially successful sans-serifs appeared in the 1810s-1830s as display types. Its distinctive no serif extensions on stroke terminals and stroke contrast ranging from monolinear to subtly modulated make it well-suited for corporate identity systems requiring neutrality. TypeSmith features Computer Modern in a single weight variant and 5 curated font pairings.

Font Pairings Available

5 curated pairings for Computer Modern

View Pairings

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Related Fonts: Computer Modern

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

Inclusive Design

Accessibility & Usability

Accessibility Score

Good Accessibility

Using Computer Modern Accessibly

Computer Modern achieves a good accessibility rating, performing reliably for both paragraph text and interface elements at standard sizes. Grotesques with ambiguous letterforms (I/l/1) reduce accessibility. Choose designs with distinct character differentiation and open apertures for inclusive typography.

Legibility Analysis: Computer Modern

Computer Modern draws legibility from its no serif extensions on stroke terminals and stroke contrast ranging from monolinear to subtly modulated. These characteristics help readers distinguish similar glyphs such as I, l, and 1 at a range of sizes.

Computer Modern in Context: Readability

Humanist sans-serifs offer the best body-text readability in the category. Geometric and neo-grotesque designs excel in short-form UI text but require careful sizing for sustained reading. Use at 16 px minimum for body text, and maintain 1.5 line-height to support comfortable reading rhythm.

Computer Modern: Comfort in Extended Reading

Computer Modern provides a focused weight range that maintains consistent typographic color across paragraphs. Balanced stroke modulation keeps visual noise low during sustained reading sessions.

Computer Modern Accessibility Recommendations

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

Getting the Most from Computer Modern

Pair with Garalde or Transitional serifs for classic contrast. A humanist sans body with a geometric sans display creates intra-category tension without conflict. Curated pairings are available to guide complementary typeface selection for Computer Modern. Establish hierarchy through size, spacing, and color rather than multiplying font families. Serve Computer Modern in WOFF2 format with its extended character set to ensure consistent rendering across global audiences.

Get the Font

Download Weights & Variants

Available Weights

400

Regular

Local

400

Regular Italic

Local

700

Bold

Local

700

Bold Italic

Local

Weight Reference

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Internationalization

Computer Modern Multilingual Support

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

This font encodes 682 glyphs covering Latin, Greek and Cyrillic. Latin coverage extends past the basic ASCII set into Latin Extended, so Central and Eastern European languages set correctly. Text outside these ranges falls back to another face in the stack.

Legal

License Type

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.

Computer Modern 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 Computer Modern ideal for web projects, applications, documents, and print materials of any kind.

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

Computer Modern

Best Ways to Use Computer Modern

Best Font Pairings for Computer Modern

Test Computer Modern Font Pairings Live

In Context

Computer Modern Typography

Computer Modern

Character Set

Type Scale

Computer Modern Body Typography

Quick Start

HTML Link Tag

CSS @import

CSS @font-face

Implementation

Standard CSS

SCSS Variable

Tailwind CSS

About

Typography Judgment

Classification

Accessibility

Design Heritage

Overview

Categories

Explore More

Inclusive Design

Using Computer Modern Accessibly

Legibility Analysis: Computer Modern

Computer Modern in Context: Readability

Computer Modern: Comfort in Extended Reading

Computer Modern Accessibility Recommendations

Getting the Most from Computer Modern

Get the Font

Available Weights

Weight Reference

Internationalization

Western European

Nordic

Central European

Baltic

Legal

What you can do

Restrictions

Computer Modern

Best Ways to Use Computer Modern

Best Font Pairings for Computer Modern

Test Computer Modern Font Pairings Live

In Context

Computer Modern Typography

Computer Modern

Character Set

Type Scale

Computer Modern Body Typography

Quick Start

HTML Link Tag

CSS @import

CSS @font-face

Implementation

Standard CSS

SCSS Variable

Tailwind CSS

About

Typography Judgment

Classification

Accessibility

Design Heritage

Overview

Categories

Explore More

Inclusive Design

Using Computer Modern Accessibly

Legibility Analysis: Computer Modern

Computer Modern in Context: Readability

Computer Modern: Comfort in Extended Reading

Computer Modern Accessibility Recommendations

Getting the Most from Computer Modern

Get the Font

Available Weights

Weight Reference