In 2016, Google’s global typeface Noto required an update of the fonts for Cham script. The existing typeface had only two weights and lacked a coherent design that coordinated with Noto’s other scripts. It was decided that a full redraw would be needed.

Starting with archive research at the British Library, and through online collections of digitised manuscripts, letterforms were examined and a concept was proposed that would translate the style of Noto Sans into Cham script across nine weights, while also harmonising with the Roboto fonts.

One key discovery was that the complexity of the Cham letterforms made the bold weights lose counterspace inside the letters, becoming clogged and making the overall size appear too small compared to the other weights. Optical compensations were needed to thin the loops, knots and crossing strokes, and the boldest weights were enlarged to make them feel the right size.

The open-source licence of the Noto fonts meant for the first time that Cham users had freely available, professionally made Unicode fonts. This enabling of online and offline communication could contribute towards the preservation of Cham language and script.

Noto Sans Cham can be freely downloaded from Google Fonts.