Knockout Font
Knockout font by Jonathan Hoefler is a 32-style sans serif collection released through Hoefler&Co. in 1994 that revives pre-Modernist American typography. Building on his Champion Gothic headline series from 1991, Hoefler studied the varied sans serifs American job printers used from the late 1800s, tall poster woodtypes and miniature engraver’s faces for stationery. The New York Times Magazine debuted it in 1994 as a preservation effort for American vernacular typography.
The family includes nine widths and four weights, each drawn individually rather than interpolated. You can see the extreme range from ultra-condensed bolds perfect for tabloid headlines to wide light weights suited for pharmaceutical branding. Styles like the ultra-narrow forms echo wood type posters, while the wider cuts reference engraver’s faces. This isn’t a mathematically derived family where everything relates to a master design; each of the 32 styles was optically adjusted for its specific proportion and weight.
Hoefler designed Knockout to reject Modernist conventions where families follow predictable patterns (roman, italic, bold, bold italic). Before Helvetica standardized sans serifs, American type foundries produced unrelated widths and weights that coexisted without trying to match each other. A supercondensed bold served its purpose without needing to relate to a wide light. Knockout font captures this independence offering organized access to individually crafted styles that span from delicate light weights to aggressive ultra-bold condensed forms, each maintaining its own character rather than compromising for family cohesion.
Preview Section
Glyphs Section
License Section
Related Fonts Section
Knockout 29 Junior Lightweight
Knockout 29 Junior Lightweight
Knockout 49 Lightweight
Knockout 49 Lightweight
Knockout 69 Full Lightweight
Knockout 69 Full Lightweight
Knockout 26 Junior Flyweight
Knockout 26 Junior Flyweight
Knockout 27 Junior Bantamweight
Knockout 27 Junior Bantamweight
Knockout 28 Junior Featherweight
Knockout 28 Junior Featherweight
Knockout 30 Junior Welterweight
Knockout 30 Junior Welterweight
Knockout 31 Junior Middleweight
Knockout 31 Junior Middleweight
Knockout 32 Junior Cruiserweight
Knockout 32 Junior Cruiserweight
Knockout 34 Junior Sumo
Knockout 34 Junior Sumo
Knockout 46 Flyweight
Knockout 46 Flyweight
Knockout 47 Bantamweight
Knockout 47 Bantamweight
Knockout 48 Featherweight
Knockout 48 Featherweight
Knockout 50 Welterweight
Knockout 50 Welterweight
Knockout 51 Middleweight
Knockout 51 Middleweight
Knockout 52 Cruiserweight
Knockout 52 Cruiserweight
Knockout 54 Sumo
Knockout 54 Sumo
Knockout 66 Full Flyweight
Knockout 66 Full Flyweight
Knockout 67 Full Bantamweight
Knockout 67 Full Bantamweight
Knockout 68 Full Featherweight
Knockout 68 Full Featherweight
Knockout 70 Full Welterweight
Knockout 70 Full Welterweight
Knockout 71 Full Middleweight
Knockout 71 Full Middleweight
Knockout 72 Full Cruiserweight
Knockout 72 Full Cruiserweight
Knockout 74 Full Sumo
Knockout 74 Full Sumo
Knockout 90 Ultimate Welterweight
Knockout 90 Ultimate Welterweight
Knockout 91 Ultimate Middleweight
Knockout 91 Ultimate Middleweight
Knockout 92 Ultimate Cruiserweight
Knockout 92 Ultimate Cruiserweight
Knockout 94 Ultimate Sumo
Knockout 94 Ultimate Sumo
Knockout 33 Junior Heavyweight
Knockout 33 Junior Heavyweight
Knockout 53 Heavyweight
Knockout 53 Heavyweight
Knockout 73 Full Heavyweight
Knockout 73 Full Heavyweight
Knockout 93 Ultimate Heavyweight
Knockout 93 Ultimate Heavyweight
Extended Characters
Knockout is free for personal use only. Commercial use, redistribution, or modification without permission is prohibited. All rights, trademarks, and copyrights belong to Hoefler & Co. For commercial licensing and extended rights, please click here.
