Type ·
Tabular figures, always
Numbers in a table should line up. Most interface fonts can do it, but only if you ask.
In most typefaces the digits have different widths. A 1 is narrower than a 0. In a sentence that looks natural. In a column of amounts it means the decimal points don’t line up, and a number that updates, like a balance or a countdown, shifts sideways every time it changes.
Most good interface fonts also include tabular figures, where every digit has the same width. They’re usually off by default. In CSS you turn them on with one line: `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums`.
I use them in tables, amounts, dates in lists, anything that updates live, and any number someone might compare with the number above it. I don’t use them in headlines or running text, where proportional figures read better.
Before I choose a typeface for a dashboard, I check two things: that it has tabular figures, and that 3, 5, 6, and 8 are easy to tell apart at small sizes. It takes a few minutes and has ruled out more fonts for me than any other test.