Outpact

It all started because I wanted to make a font for memes.

Living in Mexico City and being a frequent market-goer, I see Impact out in the world every day — on signs, banners, tarps, awnings. It’s almost always distorted: stretched across uneven surfaces, warped by odd angles, or blown up and viewed from below as you walk past. Sometimes it was already pre-stretched by a designer who didn’t care, then warped again by the print shop or how it’s mounted. You end up looking up at a meter-tall word in Impact, twisted by both perspective and production — and somehow, it still works.

And then there’s Arial, that ever-present background actor — just as likely to be squished, curved, outlined, shadowed, or slapped with some bizarre bevel or 3D effect. A favorite of plumbers, painters and intercom repairpeople, proudly featured on one-color, quarter-page flyers beautifully offset-printed on cheap paper.

Outpact comes from all that.

It’s what happens when you take the spirit of Impact — especially its tightly packed, mechanical rhythm and punchy counterforms — and mix it with the child-safe curves of the post-Arial, Frutiger Aero era.

Now add one more ingredient: A designer (hi, Romina here) who grew up in the early internet era, who’s read more Arial MS than most people ever will, and who’s spent a lifetime noticing wonky vinyl lettering stretched across market stalls — sun-faded, crooked, and still weirdly beautiful.

Outpact is flexible, good-vibes only, and always ready to help. Simple. Chill. Like a smooth chicken breast of a font. It’ll get you out of a jam. It’s always there.

Duplexed Widths

Outpact keeps the same character widths across all weights. That means no layout shifts when switching from Light to Bold — perfect for web menus, hover states, or print designs where color tweaks shouldn’t break alignment. Also? It animates real smooth.

And that’s not easy. Maintaining the boldness of Black weights without letting the Light weights feel empty takes some serious balancing.

Tight Vertical Proportions

You can get the ultra-tight line spacing you’ve always wanted. It looks great in 2- or 3-line headlines, and stays punchy even in small paragraphs.

Also Good for Text

With just a little tracking it does really well in text. Clean, open shapes keep it readable, even when things get dense.

Just look how well it sets this bit of Frankenstein:

Nor were these my only visions. The raising of ghosts or devils was a promise liberally accorded by my favourite authors, the fulfilment of which I most eagerly sought; and if my incantations were always unsuccessful, I attributed the failure rather to my own inexperience and mistake, than to a want of skill or fidelity in my instructors.

The natural phænomena that take place every day before our eyes did not escape my examinations. Distillation, and the wonderful effects of steam, processes of which my favourite authors were utterly ignorant, excited my astonishment; but my utmost wonder was engaged by some experiments on an air-pump, which I saw employed by a gentleman whom we were in the habit of visiting.

Familiar but Not Generic

Outpact has that almost-anonymous personality — it reminds you of every other sans, but somehow doesn’t feel like any of them.

That’s thanks to practical, intentional design choices. There’s a strong influence from Roger Excoffon’s Antique Olive and others — where bold departures from standard proportions still read as “normal.” There’s a kind of genius in that restraint.

Smart-Dumb

Every shape is only as clever as it needs to be — and not a pica more. In other words, this font is kind of dumb… in a smart way.

No ligatures. One set of widths across the entire designspace. Stroke endings and curves that are about as exciting as new tram cars on the city’s oldest line: clean, new seats, reliable. You’re grateful for the citrusy smell, but honestly? The rest of your commute is more interesting. Still — the tram gets you there on time, and that’s the point.

Other Notes

• Caps are nice and tight.

• General proportions are condensed and economical.

• It does what it’s supposed to do. Reliably. Quietly.

• But you can still feel the care in every shape.

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Try it out:

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