Sans serif · Jamie Wilson

Norwester

Q: Is Norwester free for commercial use?

Yes. Norwester is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included; a changed version may not be called “Norwester”.

Your words – they follow you round the site

Case

Size72 px

Weight400 RegularThe only weight it comes in

Letter spacing0 em

Line height1.10

Find the font. Find its kind.

CSSfont-family: 'Norwester', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;

01 / Light table

Laid on top of Tanker

Norwester on one light table with its two closest fonts, Tanker (88 out of 100) and Denk One (87). Tanker is 14% narrower and 16% heavier, with an x-height 7% taller; Denk One is 15% heavier, with more stroke contrast and an x-height 16% shorter.

Layout

Letters

Show

Size auto

Ink shared with NorwesterTanker…

Most different letters first; the figure is the share of ink the fonts have in common. Where the fonts agree the letters cancel to black: every white sliver is a real difference.

Open in the compare tool →

02 / Letters

The Norwester alphabet

Capitals, lowercase, figures and signs · weight 400

Tap the letters you like, here and in other fonts, to find the fonts whose letters look most like them.

a
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03 / Sizes

Norwester at every size

1 weight (400) · six sizes, in your words

12 px
16 px
24 px
36 px
48 px
72 px

04 / Facts

Who made Norwester, and can you use it?

Designer: Jamie Wilson
Kind: Sans serif
Styles: 1 weight (400)
From: Fontsource
Character sets: latin
Licence: SIL Open Font License 1.1

Can I use it?

Commercial use: Yes.
Logos: Yes.
Websites and apps: Yes. Self-hosted or loaded from Fontsource.
PDFs and documents: Yes.
Changes: Yes, under another name. Not as “Norwester”: the licence reserves the name.
Sharing the files: Yes, but not for sale. With the licence.

Norwester is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. This is a plain summary, not legal advice: the licence itself decides.

What each licence allows →

Read the licence

Already in your apps?

Google Docs: Not verified. Docs adds Google Fonts, and Norwester comes from Fontsource. Google’s guide
Word, PowerPoint: No. Install it from Fontsource first. Microsoft’s list
Figma: No. Norwester comes from Fontsource: install it first. Figma’s help
Canva: Not verified. Search its font menu for Norwester, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
Cricut: Once installed. Design Space lists Norwester under System. Fonts for Cricut →

From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.

How each app gets its fonts →

Get Norwester on Fontsource

05 / Measurements

Norwester, measured

Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style

Hxgp in Norwester. Lines at the measured heights, as a share of the em · The parts of a letter, named

x-height: 70.0% of the emlowercase x
Cap height: 80.0% of the emcapitals
x / cap: 0.88lowercase against capitals
Width: 51.3% of the emaverage lowercase
Ink: 53%letter box filled
Contrast: 0.99 : 1nearly even strokes

How we measure →

Where it stands among sans serifs

Ranked against all 697 sans serifs on FontKind

x-heightLarger than 98% of sans serifs
WidthNear the middle of sans serifs
InkDarker than 86% of sans serifs
ContrastMore even than 96% of sans serifs

06 / Similar fonts

Fonts similar to Norwester

Matched letter by letter · its own family apart

All 100 fonts similar to Norwester →Compare side by side →Get Norwester on Fontsource

07 / Swap

Swap Norwester without a jump

Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%

None of the fonts that look most like Norwester sets text to its width and x-height: a swap would move lines.

Fallback while it loads

Until Norwester loads, this sets Arial in its place at 102.3% of its size, so running text keeps Norwester’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Norwester Fallback';
  src: local('Arial');
  size-adjust: 102.31%;
  ascent-override: 85.53%;
  descent-override: 16.94%;
  line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}

font-family: 'Norwester', 'Norwester Fallback', sans-serif;

08 / Pairs

Used together with Norwester

Of the 754 home pages that load Norwester, the share that load each font too, and how that compares with chance.

Same page, not which sets the headings · HTTP Archive , 1 September 2026

Not all of Roboto with Google Sans is design: Google’s maps and other widgets load Roboto and Google Sans into the pages they sit on.

More than chancePlayfair Display 8.7×Google Sans 5.4×Open Sans 1.9×

The pairs sites choose most →

Pair checkerNorwester + any fontHow many of the 6,276,350 home pages counted load the two together, and how that compares with chance.Check this font with any other

09 / Questions

Questions about Norwester

Answered from its licence, Fontsource and each app’s own font list

Is Norwester free for commercial use?

Yes. Norwester is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 , which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included; a changed version may not be called “Norwester”.

How do I download and install Norwester?

FontKind doesn’t host Norwester’s files: it isn’t on Google Fonts, and comes free from Fontsource , a library of open fonts. On its page there, choose Get font, then Download complete family, and unzip the file: it holds desktop fonts for every weight and style. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install. For a website, npm install @fontsource/norwester adds it in one line.

Is Norwester in Microsoft Word?

Not until you install it: Norwester isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.

Is Norwester in Google Docs?

Probably not: the More fonts list in Docs draws on Google Fonts, and Norwester comes from Fontsource. Docs can’t add a font of your own, so set it in an app on your computer, such as Word, instead.

Is Norwester in Figma?

Not built in: Figma includes Google Fonts, and Norwester comes from Fontsource. Install it on your computer and Figma lists it.

How many weights does Norwester have?

Norwester comes in one weight, Regular (400). Ask for bold and most apps thicken the letters themselves: a faux bold, not a drawn one.

Who designed Norwester?

Norwester was designed by Jamie Wilson.

What fonts are similar to Norwester?

The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Tanker (88), Denk One (87) and Kanalisirung (83), out of 100. Next to Norwester, Tanker is 14% narrower and 16% heavier, with an x-height 7% taller. See all 100 fonts like Norwester.