Expo with Google Fonts - Javascript

Expo is a toolchain built around React Native to help developers build native apps for iOS, Android, and the web. It provides a set of tools and services that simplify the development process, including a build service, app distribution, and push notifications.

One of the great features of Expo is the ability to easily integrate Google Fonts into your app. Google Fonts is an extensive library with over 1,000 fonts that developers can use for free. By adding Google Fonts to your app, you can improve the overall look and feel of your app.

How to Use Google Fonts with Expo

To use Google Fonts with Expo, you first need to install the expo-font package. This package provides a simple interface for loading fonts into your Expo app.

yarn add expo-font

Once you have installed the expo-font package, you can start using Google Fonts in your Expo app. To do this, you first need to import the Font component from the expo-font package.

import * as Font from 'expo-font';

Next, you need to define the fonts that you want to use in your app. You can do this by creating a Font.loadAsync() method and passing in an object that contains the font family and the URL of the font.

async function loadFonts() {
  await Font.loadAsync({
    'RedHatDisplay-Bold': {
      uri: 'https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Red+Hat+Display:wght@700&display=swap',
    },
    'RedHatDisplay-Regular': {
      uri: 'https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Red+Hat+Display:wght@400&display=swap',
    },
  });
}

In this example, we are defining two fonts, RedHatDisplay-Bold and RedHatDisplay-Regular. We are also providing the URL of the fonts from the Google Fonts library.

Finally, you need to call the loadFonts() method before your app starts. This ensures that the fonts are loaded before your app is rendered.

export default function App() {
  useEffect(() => {
    loadFonts();
  }, []);

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>Hello World</Text>
      <Text style={styles.subtitle}>This is a subtitle</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

In this example, we are calling the loadFonts() method in the useEffect() hook. This ensures that the method is called only once, when the component is mounted.

Conclusion

Using Google Fonts with Expo is a simple and effective way to improve the design and typography of your app. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily integrate Google Fonts into your Expo app and create beautiful, engaging user interfaces.