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Vietnamese Typography Showcases 100 Typefaces

April 7, 2025

For book design, the rule for setting a typical book is one to three typefaces. I broke this rule with Vietnamese Typography. Then again, Vietnamese Typography is not a typical book. Unlike a traditional book, my web book continues to be updated with new materials and expanded with new typefaces. Until the past weekend, I haven’t thought of keeping track of how many typefaces are used in the book.

Since all of the fonts on Vietnamese Typography are hosted on the server, I can easily audit the number of the font files. The site uses both static and variable fonts, however, it would be a daunting task to count the number of fonts. On the other hand, the number of typefaces are easier to figure out.

As of today, April 7, 2025, Vietnamese Typography uses 100 typefaces. Since the second edition of this book, the main text is set in Fern, designed by David Jonathan Ross. Headers and captions are set in Adapter, designed by William Montrose and Sláva Jevčinová. Those are the two typefaces that remain constant. Everything else changes.

For the title on the cover, I expand the random pool when I come across a nice display typeface. For type recommendations, I add a new text face when I can license it. For typographic samples, I use both commercial and open source typefaces. Here’s the list of typefaces being used on Vietnamese Typography:

It’s just a coincidence that Vietnamese Typography is using 100 typefaces. It’s definitely worth celebrating, but the site will continue to expand. Keep an eye out.

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