The Red Hat type family is produced in 2 optical sizes, in a range of weights with italics. The fonts were originally commissioned by Paula Scher / Pentagram and designed by Jeremy Mickel / MCKL for the new Red Hat identity.

Red Hat is a fresh take on the geometric sans genre, taking inspiration from a range of American sans serifs including Tempo and Highway Gothic. The Display styles, made for headlines and big statements, are low contrast and spaced tightly, with a large x-height and open counters. The Text styles have a slightly smaller x-height and narrower width for better legibility, are spaced more generously, and have thinned joins for better performance at small sizes. The two families can be used together seamlessly at a range of sizes.

As part of Red Hat’s commitment to open source software, the fonts are made available for use under the SIL Open Font License.