Unbounded: The First Decentralized Typographic Font by Web3 Foundation

  Typographic fonts are essential for any kind of design and nothing can be better than when it’s free and decentralized. The good news is that Web3 Foundation (a fund for research and development teams building the technology stack of the decentralized web) has successfully rolled out its first open-source, freely available, and on-chain funded typographic font with the name Unbounded. What is more exciting news is that Unbounded, which supports more than 400 languages, will immediately be put to work as the official font for the website of Polkadot, the flagship project of Web3 Foundation. The project was enabled through the Polkadot Treasury – an on-chain, decentralized and community-driven source of funding for Polkadot projects. Unbounded is ideal for members of the Polkadot network’s multilingual global community to make use of their marketing materials. Decentralization has been a unique aspect of blockchain technology and has acted as a driving force behind its substantial success and adoption. Decentralization means having no central authority. In the blockchain, it refers to having no single point of failure or no central authority to control the network. It enables a decentralized network wherein every node is of importance and there is transparency at all levels. This concept has been one of the key factors in the current Web3 wave where primarily, decentralized finance and decentralized applications are driving the ecosystem. Ignasi (Iggy) Albero, Design Lead at Web3 Foundation, said: “We were not satisfied with the options currently available, so we decided to build something unique from zero, and offer it to the community for free. Unbounded has a low entry barrier, is freely available, and can be used by all our community members across the world.” He also added, “We think of Web3 brands as ‘composable’, meaning its core elements can provide a framework for the community to build design upon. We developed a high-quality open-source font that will allow the Polkadot brand to evolve and at the same time grow the creative community.” Unbounded comes in six display weights ranging from light to black, as well as a single variable font. Both Latin and Cyrillic scripts are supported by this typeface with more than 1,300 individual glyphs, including a collection of symbols and a unique figure-building system. This works as an accommodation for a huge spectrum of languages, with special attention paid to African languages that have historically been overlooked. Unbounded, distributed under an open font license, is marked by distinctive forms and unconventional details, as disruptive as the movement that inspired them. The Unbounded project came together through a joint collaboration between the agencies Koto and NaN, plus Parity Technologies, and Web3 Foundation for Polkadot Network.