--- title: 'Modified Ubuntu: Software Freedom Day' description: To celebrate Software Freedom Day 2011 we got sent one of the banners showing the new SFD logo. The logo design is based around a custom-modified version of the Ubuntu Font Family (the fonts come with source code, and modification is allowed as long as you follow the rules). There are some photographs showing the […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/software-freedom-day?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical "More about Canonical") 21 September 2011 # Modified Ubuntu: Software Freedom Day [Design](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/design) [Display](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/display) [education](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/education-2) [font](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/font) [typography](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/typography-2) --- Share the article To celebrate [Software Freedom Day 2011](http://softwarefreedomday.org/) we got sent one of the banners showing the new SFD logo. The logo design is based around a custom-modified version of the [Ubuntu Font Family](http://font.ubuntu.com/) (the fonts come with source code, and modification is allowed as long as you [follow the rules](http://font.ubuntu.com/licence/)). There are some photographs showing the development of the logo components, and how it even [includes the subtle outline of Tux the penguin](http://wiki.softwarefreedomday.org/Artwork/ProposedLogoMaxus?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=SFD3Logo_40Percent.jpg), the mascot of the Linux kernel that forms the base layer of the Ubuntu operating system and other Free Software distributions. Frederic Muller has added more details are on [bug #838287](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-font-family-website/+bug/838287), and there’s a case study of the [modifications changed from Ubuntu Bold Italic](http://people.canonical.com/~sladen/design-blog/ubuntu-font-family-modified-sfd2011-logo-case-study.pdf) when making the Software Freedom Day logo. Photos from SFD2011 events around the world are [starting to appear on Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=softwarefreedomday+OR+sfd2011&m=tags). *Marcus Haslam, brand lead for the Ubuntu project reminds everyone that if you’re representing the Ubuntu brand itself, you must only use an unmodified version of the [Ubuntu typeface](http://font.ubuntu.com/). This is to keep consistency across the brand.* [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Vanilla 4.0 release](https://canonical.com/blog/vanilla-4-0-release) Last week we released a new major version of the Vanilla framework. Vanilla 4.0 introduces the elements of the new style used for a current rebranding of Canonical’s brochure... [Bartek Szopka](https://canonical.com/blog/author/bartoszopka) 18 July 2023 [### Challenges designers face in open source (and how to fix them)](https://canonical.com/blog/challenges-designers-face-in-open-source-and-how-to-fix-them) Open source powers up to 90% of modern software, yet many projects lack usability. Canonical’s Design team surveyed 115 cross-functional professionals to uncover the 4 core... [Kola Ojoodide](https://canonical.com/blog/author/kola-ojoodide) 26 June 2026 [### Why web engineering is great](https://canonical.com/blog/why-web-engineering-is-great) Hi, I’m Johann! I’m an engineering manager in Canonical’s web team. For the larger part of my 15 years of work experience as engineer, I’ve been working in web development.... [Johann Wolf](https://canonical.com/blog/author/johannwolf) 27 April 2026 [### Canonical’s recipe for High Performance Computing](https://canonical.com/blog/canonicals-recipe-for-high-performance-computing) In essence, High Performance Computing (HPC) is quite simple. Speed and scale. In practice, the concept is quite complex and hard to achieve. It is not dissimilar to what... [Igor Ljubuncic](https://canonical.com/blog/author/igorljubuncic) 24 January 2024