Ragnar can be called a typeface for compact typography. It is loosely related to the Saga typeface in many ways, even including its name. During discussing on what Saga should be called, the name "Ragnarök" (Twilight of the Gods) was humorously suggested. "Ragnarök" would of course have been unsuitable, since it uses a letter with a diacritic sign, and in many computer systems, that is a deadly sin. But the shorter form, Ragnar, was kept in mind, and later used for this typeface. Additionally, Ragnar is a common male Scandinavian name.

The Teapot Dome scandal was a 1920s bribery scandal involving Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming [along with some California reserves] at low rates with no competitive bidding. The San Francisco Examiner for Feb. 20, 1924 ran the two line headline “U.S. Senator Named as Oil Stock Speculator; Whitney to Face Quiz Today on Slush Fund”. The headline was set in a condensed, slightly squared sans serif typeface. This is now available as Special Edition JNL in both regular and oblique versions.