---
title: "Roboto (2011) — Christian Robertson"
description: "Roboto was designed by Christian Robertson in 2011. What it signals, where you have seen it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/font/roboto/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Roboto

**Roboto: Christian Robertson, 2011**

Sans-serif · Android. Google. An app.

Released with Android Ice Cream Sandwich to replace Droid Sans, and criticised on arrival as a "Frankenfont" borrowing from Helvetica, Univers and DIN at once. It has been revised several times since. Its free licence and inclusion in Google Fonts made it one of the most widely served typefaces on the web almost immediately.

## The facts

- **Designed by:** Christian Robertson
- **Released:** 2011
- **Classification:** Sans-serif
- **What it signals now:** Android. Google. An app.

## Where you have seen it

- Android since version 4.0
- Google Maps
- YouTube
- A very large share of the web via Google Fonts

## Other typefaces from the 2010s

| Typeface | Year | Designer | What it signals |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open Sans | 2011 | Steve Matteson | A website built between 2012 and 2018. Neutral, open, free. |
| San Francisco | 2014 | Apple | An Apple device, since 2015. |
| Inter | 2017 | Rasmus Andersson | A software product designed after about 2019. Screen-native, neutral, everywhere. |

> This page describes the typeface rather than showing it. Displaying a specimen requires a licensed font file and almost none of these may be redistributed, so the descriptions name the letters to look at instead.

## Common questions

### Who designed Roboto?

Christian Robertson, in 2011.

### What is Roboto used for?

Android. Google. An app. You will have seen it on Android since version 4.0, Google Maps, YouTube.

## Related pages

- [Typefaces from the 2010s](https://atoneplace.net/font/decade/2010s/)
- [Akzidenz-Grotesk](https://atoneplace.net/font/akzidenz-grotesk/)
- [Franklin Gothic](https://atoneplace.net/font/franklin-gothic/)
- [Johnston](https://atoneplace.net/font/johnston/)
- [Futura](https://atoneplace.net/font/futura/)
- [Gill Sans](https://atoneplace.net/font/gill-sans/)
- [Helvetica](https://atoneplace.net/font/helvetica/)
- [Univers](https://atoneplace.net/font/univers/)
- [Optima](https://atoneplace.net/font/optima/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)