Color Fonts Coming to Illustrator CC

We’ve heard from our users that there is a strong desire to add color font* support to Illustrator. Well, we’re excited to let you know that we’re currently working on making it available in Illustrator! Technically known as OpenType-SVG fonts, this new feature means you will be able to design with whole new sets of fonts in Illustrator. Adobe’s CoreType team led the effort to develop and standardize the technology where fonts can have now have unique colors, patterns, and gradients.

One of the best examples to illustrate how OT-SVG fonts are different is the Gilbert font. Designed by Ogilvy & Mather, the font is named in honor of Gilbert Baker, the designer ofthe iconic LGBTQ rainbow flag. The first thing you’ll notice is that each character in the Gilbert font is uniquely colored. Secondly, the colors have blended transparencies at the joints. That’s the benefit of OT-SVG fonts — typefaces can now have built-in colors, gradients, or even patterns.

In the next update of Illustrator, you will be able to design with beautiful, color typefaces like the Gilbert font. We’re also working on bundling some some free fun color fonts, such as EmojiOne, as part of the next update of Illustrator. The best way to stay up to date is to follow us on the Creative Cloud blog, or follow Illustrator on Facebook or Twitter. Keep your feedback coming!

In the meantime, you can use OT-SVG fonts in Photoshop today. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, you should try your hand at producing your own OT-SVG font. Ogilvy & Mather designed the Gilbert font with an Illustrator plugin called Fontself. Design your own OT-SVG font and share it with @Illustrator. We might feature your OT-SVG fonts on this blog!

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