Zed A Sans
Shares rank 24 of 26 typefaces by recommenders
People recommend it as a well-executed, nice-looking sans typeface. Critics say the lowercase s and other x-height letters look too tall, and that it is expensive.
People recommend it as a well-executed, nice-looking sans typeface. Critics say the lowercase s and other x-height letters look too tall, and that it is expensive.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Looks quite nice
“Looks quite nice except the lowercase s is too tall.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century” Well-executed design
“seems to be well-executed”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Zed: A sans for the needs of the 21st century”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Lowercase letters look too tall
“Looks quite nice except the lowercase s is too tall.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century” “clearly taller than other x-height letters like e, o or r”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”
Other typefaces people recommend
The four most recommended other typefaces, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times New Roman | 35 | 28 | 56% | 4 | — | — |
| Atkinson Hyperlegible | 23 | 2 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Shantell Sans | 19 | 1 | 95% | 2 | — | — |
| Calibri | 16 | 36 | 31% | 1 | — | — |
| Zed A SansThis page | 5 | 3 | 63% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it is motion-sickness inducing”
“Looks quite nice except the lowercase s is too tall.”
“clearly taller than other x-height letters like e, o or r”
“Capital I and lowercase L are identical, not ideal, but maybe not that much of a problem for the use cases of this font.”
“the price feels extremely expensive, and I don't like having to keep track of which of my library of typefaces are allowed to be used”
“seems to be well-executed”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.