Splatoon Font: Nintendo’s UI Lettering Story

Nintendo’s first-person UI-design account explains that the original Splatoon font began with countdown numerals when existing faces did not fit. The designer initially drew bold, organic forms by hand, linking the brief to sport and ink. Treat this as documented custom UI lettering, not a claim that an unrelated rounded or paint-like family is the original game font.

The account describes expanding into hiragana, katakana, alphabetic characters and symbols, while omitting kanji from that creation effort. For a reference sheet, separate those character groups and record which actual source specimen you inspect. Do not turn the description into an assertion that the whole game lacks kanji or that every later localization and logo uses one identical file. Check the specific text role and game version before labeling a match.

The designer says Splatoon 2 needed a thinner weight for longer text alongside bolder headings, and sharper forms to suit its changed art direction. For your own unrelated interface, place a short countdown, a title and a longer message together. Compare the reading roles separately instead of making every line equally heavy. Fredoka and Permanent Marker here are independent specimens. The homepage’s portable Unicode lettering changes characters; it does not supply Nintendo’s custom font, recreate game-logo artwork or implement the original character mapping.