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Hacky0987
Participant
January 7, 2025
Answered

Letter 'J' of Assistant font is bolder than other characters, any alternate fonts?

  • January 7, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 840 views

I have to use the word 'project' multiple times on my dashboard screen and the 'j' looks bolder than the rest and looks quite off. I was using Assistant font which looked quite professional. Any alternate font that I can use?

Correct answer Frank Grießhammer
Assistant seems to be an extension of Source Sans – which would be the font to choose instead (FYI Ben Nathan is not a type designer at Adobe).
 
The j-bug in Assistant seems to be known and is tracked here, but the repo hasn’t been updated in 5 years:
https://github.com/hafontia-zz/Assistant/issues/25
 
Alternative choice if Hebrew is required:
https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/source-hebrew-sans
 
Alternative choice if Hebrew is not required:
https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/source-sans-3

1 reply

B
Community Expert
Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 7, 2025

I'm having trouble duplicating the problem with the Assistant typeface. The lowercase "j" looks normal to me, using both static and variable versions downloaded from the Google Fonts web site. However, I'm using graphics applications like Adobe Illustrator to preview the type family. The on-screen rendering there may differ from the dashboard application you're using. Are you using a static or variable version of Assistant?

 

As to alternatives, the typeface looks a little like News Gothic with a slight Officina Sans twist to it. Proxima Nova might be a good alternative.

 

I'm a little surprised Assistant isn't available at Adobe Fonts since a type designer at Adobe (Ben Nathan) created it.

E
estebanyzbh
Participant
March 20, 2025

Both versions have the same issue, which is especially noticeable when reading the font at small sizes on a low-density screen (non-Retina display or similar):



Upon closer inspection, the problem appears to be that the body of the letter "j" contains a duplicated vector, causing it to render with increased boldness:


Frank Grießhammer
Adobe Employee
Frank GrießhammerCorrect answer
Adobe Employee
April 7, 2025
Assistant seems to be an extension of Source Sans – which would be the font to choose instead (FYI Ben Nathan is not a type designer at Adobe).
 
The j-bug in Assistant seems to be known and is tracked here, but the repo hasn’t been updated in 5 years:
https://github.com/hafontia-zz/Assistant/issues/25
 
Alternative choice if Hebrew is required:
https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/source-hebrew-sans
 
Alternative choice if Hebrew is not required:
https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/source-sans-3
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