The Tofu Symbol: When fonts get confused

Tofu is well-known as a versatile power food, but did you know it has a surprising connection to typography? In the world of fonts, "tofu" is a blank rectangular box that appears when a character cannot be displayed. Its name comes from its resemblance to a plain block of tofu.

What is the Tofu symbol and when does it appear?

The tofu symbol is essentially a placeholder that shows up when:

• A font lacks a glyph (the visual representation of a character).
• There is no fallback font available to provide the missing glyph.

It's essentially your computer's way of saying, “I don't know what this is supposed to look like.” In these cases, the tofu symbol replaces the character that cannot be rendered.

A glyph is the design of a character in a font. Think of it as the way a letter or symbol looks, like how “A” can be styled differently in Arial vs. Times New Roman.

Why is the Tofu symbol a problem?

Most modern web browsers and devices use fallback fonts to avoid showing the tofu symbol, so you don't see it as often as in the past. But when it does appear, it can be a problem. Missing characters make text harder to read, creating a poor experience for your audience.

Inaccessible text isn;t just frustrating—it can also make your website or app look unpolished. That's why designers and developers aim to eliminate the tofu symbol wherever possible.

Tofu as a design element

Although it's usually unwanted, the tofu symbol can still be used creatively. Some designers incorporate it into projects as a visual statement or to emphasize the absence of information. But for most of us, it's better to avoid it altogether.

Noto fonts: The No-Tofu solution

To combat the problem of tofu symbols, Google developed the Noto fonts (short for "No-Tofu"). This font family is designed to support as many writing systems as possible, ensuring that characters from a vast range of languages can be displayed correctly.

By using Noto fonts as a fallback, you can ensure your content displays correctly for readers worldwide, no matter the language or script. They are an excellent choice for websites and apps, especially when accessibility and inclusivity are priorities.

Conclusion

The tofu symbol is a small but interesting part of how fonts work. While we usually want to avoid it, it's a reminder of the challenges of designing for a global audience. Thanks to solutions like Noto fonts, the tofu symbol is becoming a rare sight—and that's a win for everyone.