Playfair Display is a serif font by Claus Eggers Sørensen, released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. A high-contrast transitional serif; elegant for two-letter and wedding monograms. Below are monograms made with it in the styles it suits best; open the monogram maker with Playfair Display selected to make your own with any initials and download SVG, PNG or PDF.
Make a Playfair Display monogram
Playfair Display monogram examples
Using Playfair Display for monograms
Playfair Display’s heavy stems and thin hairlines give a split monogram real presence, and the bold weight used here cuts at 1.5 inches. It is the safest serif for a two-letter monogram in a double circle.
About Playfair Display
Playfair Display, by Claus Eggers Sørensen, is a transitional serif for large sizes. Its description places it in the late 18th century, when pointed steel pens and better printing made high-contrast letters with fine hairlines fashionable; it takes influence from John Baskerville and Scotch Roman types without reviving any one of them. First published in 2011, it was updated in 2017.
Playfair’s hairline serifs are the thin strokes measured below. They are fine for printing and for vinyl over a few inches, but on a scroll saw or laser in wood use a heavier serif such as Abril Fatface.
Playfair Display measured from the font file
| Designer (Google Fonts record) | Claus Eggers Sørensen |
| Added to Google Fonts | November 2011 |
| Copyright line in the file | Copyright 2017 The Playfair Display Project Authors (https://github.com/clauseggers/Playfair-Display), with Reserved Font Name \ |
| File version we measured | Version 1.203 |
| Characters in the file | 659 (756 glyphs) |
| Thinnest strokes (10th percentile) | 3.2% of the capital height |
| Main strokes (90th percentile) | 22.8% of the capital height |
| Thick-to-thin ratio | 7.1 : 1, very high stroke contrast |
| Typical capital width | 93% of its height (widest 139%) |
| Deepest capital below the baseline | J, 27% of the capital height |
| Outline points in A to Z | 1,533 (most: E, 86; fewest: J, 31) |
Worked example: how small can a Playfair Display letter be cut?
Thin stroke = 0.032 x letter height. A 3 inch Playfair Display capital therefore has strokes down to 2.45 mm. Taking 1 mm as a cautious minimum for weeding adhesive vinyl: 0.032 x H = 1 mm gives H = 31.1 mm, or 1.22 in per letter (1.53 in for heat-transfer or glitter vinyl, about 25% more). Monograms shrink letters to fit frames and stacks, hence our 1.5 in overall minimum for Playfair Display.
Outline points: 1,533 across A to Z; E has 86, J only 31. A moderate outline that cuts at normal speed on any machine.
For names in the split and wedding styles, the file includes every accented letter we checked, so names such as René, Muñoz, Søren, Łukasz and Strauß set correctly.
For the name in a split monogram or the date under a wedding monogram, pair Playfair Display with Montserrat; the tool’s “Text font” control sets it.
Licence and download
Licence: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (commercial use allowed; the font may not be sold on its own). Files: Google Fonts and google/fonts.
Frequently asked questions
Is Playfair Display free for commercial use?
Yes. Playfair Display is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows you to use it commercially, including on products you sell, and to share the font file itself.
What is the smallest size Playfair Display cuts well at?
About 1.5 inches wide in standard adhesive vinyl. Add about 25 percent for heat-transfer or glitter vinyl. Serifs cut well from about 1.5 to 2 inches; the thin hairline serifs on Bodoni-style faces are the only fragile part.
Which monogram styles suit Playfair Display?
Split monogram, Two-letter monogram, Circle monogram. Playfair Display’s heavy stems and thin hairlines give a split monogram real presence, and the bold weight used here cuts at 1.5 inches.
Where do I download Playfair Display?
From Google Fonts. Our maker loads it for you, so there is nothing to install.
More serif fonts
- Cinzel
- Cinzel Decorative
- Cormorant Garamond
- Bodoni Moda
- Abril Fatface
- All monogram fonts
- Monogram maker
Styles to try
Last reviewed: 25 September 2026. The fonts are open-licensed (SIL OFL or Apache 2.0); see the font list for each licence. The frames are drawn by our own code. Something not working? Please let us know.