Uppercase characters are freely drawn, while lowercase is more regular in height and width, recalling cursive handwriting.

The fluid forms of both the uppercase and lowercases, combined with an even weight of stroke, have made Kaufmann popular in neon sign fabrication.

A slightly modified form of the typeface has been used since 2001 for the logo of the Pop Idol series and various international spinoffs.

Kaufmann was also used to display the players' names on Topps baseball cards from 1970 and 1994, and is featured on the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, in the Late Show with David Letterman logo.

A version of the typeface's lowercase r is used in the undergraduate electrodynamics book by David J. Griffiths.