nicksherman

This comment is coming a bit late so perhaps it's not of much use now, but just in case you're still encountering this issue … It looks like it may be related to a bug in Affinity apps where kerning isn't properly applied for variable fonts, as described here: https://typo.social/@HEX/113605952262076221

Unfortunately the support for variable fonts in Affinity apps is still deeply flawed (as of version 2.5.6) due to this issue. Luc(as) already explained the situation fairly well, but I will reiterate in case there is any confusion … Currently, the kerning values from a variable font’s default variant (usually a moderate "Regular" instance) are applied to all variants of that font, even if the font includes extreme design variants (e.g. Compressed, Ultrabold, etc) with drastically different kerning values. The effect may not be immediately noticeable for variable fonts with relatively limited stylistic ranges (where the kerning might not change much between variants), but it is especially problematic for variable fonts that cover more expansive ranges of variation. Attached is an image illustrating the issue. I've also prepared test fonts with limited functionality (only containing a handful of glyphs, with kerning) for troubleshooting purposes. You can download the test fonts here. It would be great to see this issue fixed sooner than later because, as a font publisher, I have to field questions from clients who think my fonts are broken when really the issue is with the Affinity apps. Until this issue with variable kerning is resolved, variable fonts will be of extremely limited use in Affinity apps.