Inspect the g and u in the designer’s account
Riley Cran’s first-person Lettermatic case study identifies the double-storey lowercase g and symmetrical u as deliberate SoDo Sans choices. The g was drawn to distinguish it at small sizes; the u connects indirectly to the brand’s visual identity. Cran explicitly says the family was not literally based on the Starbucks logotype. Use the illustrated original specimens to compare “growing” and “useful”, attending to those two letters rather than reducing the family to a generic geometric-sans label.
Compare the actual width system instead of stretching a line
The case study documents Normal, Narrow and Condensed widths, developed to give designers progressively more economical line fitting. For an analytical proof, record which original width is shown in each reference and compare the o proportions illustrated by the designer. For your own independent exercise, set “a longer mobile heading” in a font you can legitimately use and try three text-box widths. Record where the heading wraps before changing size. This reveals the layout pressure a width family addresses without suggesting that horizontal scaling reproduces SoDo Sans’s narrower drawings.
Keep the original brand resource distinct from a substitute
Starbucks’ own typography guide identifies SoDo Sans as its versatile body-copy face and gives Pike a separate condensed-headline role. Lettermatic labels the project’s typefaces exclusive Starbucks fonts. The case study is an original design reference, not a general retail download or a license to extract working files from a brand website. In an independent project, compare Inter and Open Sans using the same g/u words and full paragraph. Name the selected alternative in your document; neither on-site preview supplies SoDo Sans or guarantees its metrics.
Your questions, answered.
Who documents the original SoDo Sans design?
Riley Cran’s Lettermatic case study documents the custom Starbucks project and illustrates its development. It includes specific explanations of the lowercase g, u and three-width system.
Do the previews here show SoDo Sans itself?
No. Inter and Open Sans are separately identified independent comparison families. Follow the original case-study link to inspect SoDo Sans specimens.
Sources & background
Sources supporting this page’s explanations. Practical examples are our editorial suggestions.