The best free fonts, from vintage-inspired typefaces to slap-you-in-the-face slab serifs. Read on for a slice of typography heaven...
We've scoured the web to present you with a fine and varied selection of free fonts. Including scripts, serifs, and a range of ligatures, these fonts will give you greater flexibility in your designs, and add to your arsenal of design tools.
This list represents the 100 best free fonts we've found in a variety of styles. However, for specialist fonts that won't cost you a penny, read these:
Some of the free fonts listed below can be used on your web projects, but please be sure to check the terms. Now, without further ado, join us as we present you with 100 of the best free fonts, which you can download and use today. Let us know how you get on!
Dense currently only comes in Regular but there'll be more weights to follow
One of our favourite free fonts to recently surface, Dense is a versatile, elegant, geometric and compact sans-serif typeface. Three weights have been created thus far: thin, regular and bold. Created by Canadian artist Charles Daoud, Regular is currently the only weight available, but Daoud has said that he'll update his Behance page with news on how to get the other weights in the near future.
Chrome Light can be used for any type of personal work
Created by London-based graphic designer Artem Sukhinin, Chrome light is available in two variations, Chrome and Chrome Black, with a full set of letters, numbers and four punctuation marks. This is one of those free fonts that can be used for any type of graphic design - print, web, packaging and more.
Created by Portugal-based graphic designer Marissa Passos, free font Higher was made as a student project during her time at the University of Porto. The typeface contains a full set of uppercase characters and numbers 0-9. It's free for both personal and commercial use, and available in OTF and TTF formats.
New York based interactive designer and illustrator Filiz Sahin is quickly becoming known for her free fonts. Often experimenting with an array of different techniques, her fonts are as versatile as her own design style. Look Up is one of the most playful free fonts on our list, with a home-made feel, with little arrows at the edge of each letter.
Woodwarrior is the perfect font for eye-catching headlines
Woodwarrior is a typeface inspired by the north, and the contrast between modern man made structures and untouched nature shaped by wind and ice alone. Created by designer Anton Bohlin, Woodwarrior is one of those free fonts that's perfect for experimental headlines and eye-catching straps.
Free font Fenix is designed for display and long texts
Graphic designer Fernando Diaz describes this entry to our free fonts as a "serif typeface designed for display and long texts, its foundations are based in calligraphy, with strong serifs and rough strokes. Its proportions seek to gain space in height and width. Fénix is elegant at large sizes and legible at the same time, with a lot of rhythm in small sizes."
This free font comes complete with a full set of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania-based graphic designer Nick Slater released this Woodshop typeface, which he generously offers as a free download. The slab font comes complete with a full set of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.
There are no restrictions when using this free font
Toronto based typographer Amit Jakhu created this fun and playfully unique typeface for his Typography 6 class. He released it as one of the hundreds of free fonts out there, because he wouldn't have further developed it after finishing college - and we couldn't thank him enough!
It was a huge learning curve for Jakhu and we think he's done a great job for a first timer. He's happy for you to modify it, share it and basically do whatever you want with it. It is fully available to use anywhere; no restrictions!
This free font was Suarez's first fully functioning typeface
Vincent was developed by graphic and product designer for NBC Universal Ben Suarez. Created at the end of last year, this vintage-inspired design was Suarez's first fully functioning typeface, and is a great addition to our free fonts.
"Vincent was intended to be used as a title font," explains Suarez. It was "named after my grandfather who drove a '76 Chrysler Cordoba and smoked out of an old wooden pipe. He was rad."
A playful font perfect for headlines, BoB is available as a free download
Inspired by the playful asethics of illustration, Burma-based typographer Zarni has created this cool and characterful font. This kind of typography is perfect for experimentation and will work wonders on posters and headlines.
Coming in capital and lower case letters, BoB also includes numerical symbols as well as a variety of punctuation marks. As free fonts go it has plenty of uses - just be sure to show Zarni some love.
Biko is a design by graphic designer and visual artist Marco Ugolini: "a geometric sans serif with a strong and yet friendly character". The name is a tribute to Steve Biko: a South African anti-apartheid activist. Perfect for display, copy text and logos, it's available in regular, and black versions. It's also one of our free fonts that's only gratis for use in personal projects, while you can purchase the font for 20 Euros for commercial use. So, what are you waiting for?
This cute free font is based on the designer's real handwriting
This, one of our cutest free fonts, was designed by Maya aka Linny. It's based on Maya's own handwriting and comes in upper and lower case, as well as numbers and punctuation.
This is one of the most elegant free fonts, and was created by type designer George Williams; it has the feel of old Paris about it. One of 57 fonts created by the designer, this is one of his most popular, having received over 200,000 downloads. It's free for both personal and commercial uses.
Baron is an uppercase display typeface, free for personal and commercial projects
Created by graphic design student Frank Hemmekam, this is one of many may free fonts designed for display, and Hemmekam describes it as "a free uppercase display typeface inspired by the classic sans serif font families. This typeface is, because of its many alternative options and weights, perfect for usage in posters, logotypes and headlines." Baron is free for both personal and commerical use.
Davide Cariani's free font was inspired by old school tattoo typography
Davide Cariani is a UX designer and web developer with a passion for typography, which led to him creating this entry in our free fonts list. True Love was created in his spare time and his first type experiment. Inspired by old-school tattoo fonts, glyphs available include letters, numbers, dash and dot.
Free font Flex Display is available for both personal and commercial use, although donations to the author are greatfully received
Developed by young designer Álvaro Thomáz, this is a thin geometric display font, available for both personal and commercial use, with donations to the author greatfully received. With a passion for typography, Thomáz specialises in font and logo design.
Free font Calendas Plus was created by the team at Spanish design agency atipo
Calendas Plus is an improved version of atipo studio's first typeface, calendas. The team at the Spanish design agency completely redrew the font with new ligatures and includes a full glyph set. You can download this, one of our growing list of free fonts, simply by sharing news of the design on Facebook or Twitter.
Incorporate this curly, decorative font by Fonthead Design into your personal projects
A contemporary and decorative font, GoodDog was created byFonthead Design. The curly typeface is a popular choice, having been download almost a million times since its release. The font comes complete with a full set of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and characters.
Brush Hand New is a refinement of Edwin W Shaar's Flash Bold
Brush Hand New is a free brush font based on Flash Bold, a typeface created by Edwin W Shaar in 1939. K-Type's New version simplifies, lightens and smoothes out ragged edges. Outlines are improved to remove any remaining harshness, resulting in softer, smoother flowing glyphs ideal for titles and display purposes.
Free font Kilogram was based on Nick Curtis' Anagram
This font was created by KalleGraphics and based on Nick Curtis' font Anagram. The bold design includes a full set of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Free for personal use.
This free typeface was inspired by Russian Constructivism and Cryllic characters
Pedro Fernandes and 4838Design are collectively responsible for free font Construthinvism. Fernandes describes the design as being "inspired by the Russian Constructivism, Cyrillic characters and Alexander Rodchenko".
Download the free font Molesk to add a vintage touch to your designs
This vintage-style inclusion in our free fonts rundown was designed by communication and multimedia student Pedro Lobo. A slab serif font with shadows on the right, the design includes a full set of upper-case letters, numbers and a selection of special characters.
A simple tweet is all the creators of Bigmouth ask for in return for this download
What's that? You want even more free fonts! Well, say hello to Bigmouth: a font by Timo Kuilder of Twelve Twenty. The typeface is available in both regular and bold versions. All the Timo asks for in return for the download is a simple tweet (click the 'Pay with Tweet' button on the top right).
Free font Tracks Type will look great when used for headlines and posters
Tracks type is all caps fonts and alphabet only, inspired with railway tracks slash, static, dynamic, and clean. It was designed by Indonesia-based design student Gumpita Rahayu and is available in two different styles - medium and slanted. This font was designed for display purposes, so will look great when used for headlines.
Another free font that's perfect for your headlines and poster designs
Ziamimi is a gorgeous font that comes in capitals - making it perfect for headers and eye-catching statements. Its sleek finish allows it to really stand out as one of the best free fonts we've come across. It also comes with numbers and a few punctuation marks.
Download this font for free if you're looking to experiment!
Why Doodle? This question can be answered with two simple words - for fun. This is the first and most important rule that designer Filiz Sahin has set out for anyone that uses one of the quirkiest typefaces in our free fonts list. We love its playful style and doodle art feel.
Support your fellow designers and donate cash towards these brilliant fonts
In four weights (and italics), the eight-font Klinic Slab family is one of Lost Type's most comprehensive releases to date. A contemporary, versatile slab serif, Klinic is a workhorse that marries personality and functionality. Designed by Joe Prince, it's free to download, but if you decide to use it then we'd encourage you to make a donation.
Designer William Suckling was inspired by Victorian signage and lettering when developing new typeface Albert
Albert is the latest offering from 22-year-old, London College of Communication design student William Bayley Suckling. One of many designs created by the talented creative, Albert is a new decorative headline typeface, inspired by Victorian signage and lettering.
'A western-style serif font with quirky legs' - Jeff Schrieber on Muchacho
Designer Jeff Schreiber describes his typeface Muchacho as "a western-style serif font with quirky legs". Based in the Netherlands, Schreiber's design contains all capital letters, numbers, diacritical marks and most punctuation marks. Muchacho is a free version of his Wild West-inspired typefaceGringo.
You can find semi-connected script font Cylburn on Lost Type Co-op. Designed by Dai Foldes, the artist comments on his creation: "Cylburn is a semi-connected script, structurally based on Roundhand but written with a pointed brush and restrained tension that separate it from its traditional roots." Like many free fonts there is no charge for personal use, but donations are gratefully recieved.
Coming with two line versions, this is the perfect font for headlines
Designed by Austrian typographer Renzler Design, the Lovelo font is a remake of the original Lovelo Inline. It's a geometric sans serif typeface with two line versions, making it an eye-catching choice for any large text or headlines. As always, the font is free but there is a donation option if you'd like to show the designer your appreciation.
Download the font for free for personal use, or purchase the commericial license
Introducing Iron, a new Sans Serif Typeface for you all to download for your free personal use copy. Designed by 22-year-old William Bayley Suckling, Iron is an original and playful font that will be perfect for all your design experiements. You can also purchase the font for commerical use.
Fairview is one of the many great fonts available on the Lost Type Co-op
Fairview is a condensed sans serif, with small cap alternates, inspired by the industrial lettering of the 20th century. Designed by Riley Cran for the Lost Type Co-op, the font comes in uppercase, lowercase, numerals and punctuation. There's also a donation option with this font, so be generous and show your appreciation!
Another brilliant font for headlines and larger texts
Perfect for personal headline use, Zwodrei was designed by 27-year-old German based graphic designer Lukas Bischoff. After graduating from his studies of communication design at the University of Applied Science, Lukas has gone on the create some beautiful typefaces - including this one!
Use for personal projects and be sure to let Simon know how you got on
Distractor a new typeface designed by London-based graphic designer Simon Stratford. Loosely based on Bevan, the inspiration behind this font was the old letterpress styles and hand printed lettering - a passion of Simon's. Use for personal projects and be sure to let Simon know what you think of it!
Featuring more than 2000 glyphs this Times alternative is great - and free!
Linux Libertine was designed by the Libertine Open Fonts Project and, according to Wikipedia, 'aims to create free and open alternatives to proprietary typefaces such as Times Roman'. The font is licensed under the GNU General Public License and the SIL Open Font License, and contains more than 2,000 glyphs and includes character sets such as the Greek Alphabet, Cyrillic script, and Hebrew.
Museo is extremely popular, and you can get two variants for free
This extremely popular font is part of the Museo family of fonts, and you can get both the Sans 500 and Sans 500 Italic versions for free. You can either get one desktop license, one web font license for 500,000 page views, or a combination of the two. Registration is required to access the fonts.
Museo Slab is a weighty font that packs a serious punch
If you thought a free Museo sans font was good, we've also got two Museo Slab variants to accompany it. If you're looking for an impactful heading font, this could be it. As with the Sans versions above, you can either get one desktop license, one web font license for 500,000 page views, or a combination of the two. Registration again required to access the fonts.
Snap up this Lobster font! That's right, it's a pun so good we've used it twice
We love Font Squirrel. It's a brilliant resource for free fonts, and this is one of its hottest properties over the last few years. Chances are you've seen this font, and never realised that you could use it both on and offline at no cost. Lobster is a compact and legible calligraphy-based script font that works in both upper and lowercase, and can also be used on the web. Definitely one to snap up!
Ultra-bold web fonts don't always translate to screens, but this one does
This is Vernon Adams' reimagining of a traditional 1930s slab serif by Heinrich Jost. The letterforms have been digitised, reshaped and optimised for the web, with more open counters and stronger stems to ensure that Bevan functions as an ultra-bold display font that suits modern browsers.
Check out this experimental new font created by typographer Santiago Ortiz
You'll either love or hate this experimental new font created by typographer Santiago Ortiz. Typode's characters are defined by coordinate, which means you can skew, stretch and twist the font to your heart's content.
You can download this font free from the Words are Pictures website
Craig Ward, a British designer and art director based in New York, is known primarily for his pioneering and experimental typographic works. He created this free font last year in support of the GoVote campaign, which aimed to encourage people to vote in the US presidential election.
Serious, solid and dependable; XML Telecom worked alongside designer Steven Bonner to create free typeface Langdon
Langdon is a free typeface from XLN Telecom and leading graphic designer, illustrator and typographer Steven Bonner. The result of the collaboration is a typeface that is solid, serious and dependable. Langdon is available as a free download and can be used privately and commercially with no restrictions on usage.
Bohema by Joao Oliveira is an Art Deco font with a modern twist
An Art Deco font with a modern twist, Bohema was created by graphic designer and illustrator João Oliveira. Perfect for retro designs, Bohema is ideal for headlines, editorial letterings, branding, merchandising and special occasions. Available in eight distinct styles, payment is required for the full set but Oliveria generously offers the regular alternative style demo as a free download.
Airbag is a slab serif typeface created by designer Simon Stratford
This trendy display typeface was created by designer Simon Stratford after he failed to find a free font online suitable for his artwork. The slab serif typeface is the Stratford's first, the designer creating a full set of uppercase letters, numbers and a few special characters. And all he asks for in return for the download is a simple tweet.
This grunge typeface does anything but what its name suggests, having been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times since its release. This is one of 129 fonts designed by Douglas Vitkausk, whose work has amassed over 12 million downloads collectively! Free for personal use only.
Type designer Billy Argel is the man behind tattoo font Ink in the Meat. Argel has created numerous fonts and this is one of his most popular downloads. The free version (for personal use) of this font is partial and doesn't contain any numbers. Ink in the Meat commercial licenses are available on Argel's website.
KanKin is a contemporary sans serif free font by Alexey Frolov
The designer of this contemporary yet 'old style' sans serif,Alexey Frolov, claims it's perfect for posters, logos, print and web. It's certainly clean and bold, and it's no surprise, given the nationality of the font's designer, that the Russian characters look particularly good in this set.
The Nexa font family includes a number of styles and weights. Here you get two
The Nexa font family includes 16 styles and weights. The font family has great legibility, and works very well as a headline font. Here you get two parts of the family for free, and if you want the rest then you'll have to put your hand in your pocket.
Grand Hotel is a throwback to the 1930s, and has serious retro charm
Designed by Brian J Bonislawsky and Jim Lyles for Astigmatic, this font takes its inspiration from the title screen of the 1937 film Cafe Metropole starring Tyrone Power. It has a classic weight and subtlety that make you think of artisan signage and craft, but its cursive lowercase lends itself to a host of different uses.
Mattox Shuler designed this font in a few days, and it lacks accents and support for some common characters, but as a heading font - especially for graphic design work - it's a great, free option.
Give your headings a classic look with Oranienbaum
Described as 'modern Antiqua' (a group of classic 'old style' typefaces), Oranienbaum has been created by Ivan Gladkikh andOleg Pospelov. And as free fonts go, it's a corker! Based on classics like Bodini, this font has pronounced serifs and makes a great headlines.
Elegant, art deco, and with a full set of Bulgarian Cyrillic letters
Touted as an elegant, Art Deco-style display face, Barkentina was created by Kiril Zlatkov. The font has a full set of correct Bulgarian Cyrillic letters, some lovely ligatures, and is packed with personality.
This contemporary font has been created by Slava Kirilenko, a graphic designer from Kazakhstan. In the shape of Archive, he's put together an impactful typeface, which is great for use in projects that require a ballsy display font.
You can grab this gorgeous font for the mere price of a tweet!
This gorgeous font was created by California based designerKenji Enos. Having worked on everything from print, web, motion graphics, animation, video editing and 3D modelling, it's clear that Kenji has some serious talents when it comes to typography. You can grab the regular format of Locksmith for the mere price of a tweet or Facebook share!
You can grab the light and light alternative formats for free!
RBNo2 is inspired by late 19th century industrial fonts with German roots regarding straightness and geometry. Combined with other sans serifs, slab serifs and serif fonts it catches the eye when used in headlines and short copy texts.
Added to the regular styles the alternate versions will turn the font into a perfect partner for modern, technical and contemporary impressions as well as high quality, luxury and timeless environments. You can grab the light and light alternative formats for free!
Bariol has already proved a massive hit with designers across the board
Designed by Spanish studio atipo, Bariol has already proved a massive hit with designers across the board. Crafted with versatily and readability in mind, the brand new, slightly rounded typeface is available in four weights.
The font is readable even at small scales and can be used as corporate typography, packaging design, infographics and even editorial design. You can download Bariol regular and italic for free by just paying with a tweet or you can get the complete font family from as little as €3!
Try to ignore the whole 'comic sans' inspired thing...
This may not be the most readable font we've ever come across but we think designers could have a lot of fun experimenting with this one. Just try to ignore the whole 'Comic Sans' inspired thing... Created by Marc Vila, Cubic Sans is a new display font based on the original Comic Sans, created by modifing its strokes using a cube as a brush. It looks really geometric and gives the effect of a 3D typeface.
Geogram uses geometric forms for some of its characters
Designer Filiz Sahin crops up a lot in this list and it's easy to see why. Her experimental, quirky, and fun typefaces are perfect for playing around with and may even lead to some great work. Geogram typeface is a new font exploration based on modern shape geometric forms. The font contains lower case letters and numbers of the shapes. You can download the font for free but remember to 'appreciate' it on Behance!
Manteka has proved popular with designers across the globe
Manteka is designed by Spanish typographer Eduardo Araya and was crafted especially for use in print, but equally has a spectacular web performance. The free font has already proved very popular with designers across the globe.
Geared could be a versatile addition to your next project
Geared is an industrial inspired Condensed Slab Serif that comes in four weights - thin, regular, bold and extrabold. It was designed by graphic designer Ben Dalrymple and with such an extensive character set, Geared could be a versatile addition to your next project.
Johanna is a modular typeface based on six basic modules and as a result, there are 147 glyphs of versatility in each style. It was created by Spanish graphic designer Adrià Gómez and also comes in an italic version. We love the slight vintage feel to this one and think it could be used best in web design. The colours that Gómez has used to showcase the font are also a brilliant touch.
This vintage font is presented in contemporary curves
Silverfake is a new contemporary slab serif wide free font designed Alexey Frolov, aka MRfrukta. This vintage font is presented in contemporary curves that make the font applicable for both retro and modern designs. Silverfake contains only capital letters but also some alternate characters are also included. Check back to Alexey's site regularly, as he has a host of free fonts up for grabs.
Emil manages to encorporate quite a surrealist style into this type face
This quirky font was crafted by Emil Kozole for a university project. A lover of 'pretty colours', Emil manages to encorporate quite a surrealist style into this type face. Typometry will be a great font to experiment with in a number of projects. The font is now a pro version with two weights, four styles and more than 220 glyphs that are available in both TFF and OTF format.
Filiz experimented with this font for Che and other dog lovers
This gorgeous font was created by Filiz Sahin. She says of the font, "My dog loves bones. I experimented with this font for Che and other dog lovers. It has round edges and condensed skinny forms. The corner of each letter has a bone shape which is Che's favorite part. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!" It is free for personal and commercial use and Filiz would be grateful for credits!
The project was inspired by Modern Swedish Furniture
This is another brilliant design from Filiz Sahin. The project was inspired by Modern Swedish Furniture, print mechanical instructions - crops, bleeds, and registration marks - as well as pop influenced '70s fonts. This is an EPS font for display font purposes only, at the moment. There are no PostScript or OpenType versions available. Please do some nice and clean work.
Homestead comes in uppercase only with numerals and punctuation
An evocative yet forward thinking slab, Homestead is another stunning creation from the guys at Lost Type. Inspired by their desire and need to explore, Homestead represents the ways in which we are always searching for the place to call home. Designed by Luke Lisi, Homestead comes in uppercase only with numerals and punctuation.
Bonnie didn't only design the font but she also crafted the sultry illustration that showcases the typeface
Habana is a geometric sans-serif inspired by Cuba's capital city. Available only in uppercase, this curvy offering was designed by New York based designer Bonnie Clas. What's more, Bonnie didn't only design the font but she also crafted the sultry illustration that showcases the typeface. That's one talented lady right there!
Code font is applicable for any type of graphic design
Code Pro is a font family inspired by the original Sans Serif fonts like Avant Garde or Futura, but with a modern twist. It is clean, elegant, and straight-to-the-point. Code font is applicable for any type of graphic design - web, print, motion graphics, etc - and perfect for T-shirts and other items like posters and logos. It also comes in a number of languages!
Adamas only comes in upper case but we think it's a great free font to experiment with!
Created by Romanian graphic designer Octavian Belintan, the Adamas style was first used by Greek and Latin writers for a stone of impenetrable hardness. Adamas only comes in upper case but we think it's a great free font to experiment with!
Fabrica proves to be highly efficient for small screens
Created by Canadian designer Alvin Kwan, Fabrica was designed with one thing in mind: to create the most legible typeface for mobile screens. In a world where people read more text on their smartphones and tablets, rather than on actual paper, Fabrica is a typeface that's well worth looking in to. Although the download is free for all, you can also donate however much money you would like to Alvin for his work.
The name comes from guides for creating: they are similar to the number 8
Thai graphic designer Tarin Yuangtrakul mainly focuses his work on illustration, which has been exhibited in Bangkok, South Carolina and New York City. At the tender age of 20, Tarin is already making waves on the design circuit. Here, Tarin turns his hand to typography to create Infinity.
The Nosegrind typeface was inspired by similar graffiti styles found on walls in Austin and online
This cool design comes from Scriptorium Fonts, an Austin, Texas-based type foundry started in 1992 by game designer, editor and historian Dave Nalle. Describing the typeface, Nalle says on his website, "Nosegrind is based on skate-culture graffiti gleaned from various samples of similar style found on walls in Austin and online."
It’s a caps font, but there is a difference between both caps and small caps
This three-weight font type is brought to you by the folks atFontfabric. Designer Svetoslav Simov, who is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, founded the independent type foundry back in 2008. Every week, a typeface is rolled out of production and is put up on the site to download absolutely free. Rex is one of those fonts, designed in three weights: light, bold and bold inline. It’s a caps font, but there is a difference between both caps and small caps, which can be seen in the examples on the website. It's available for both personal and commercial use.
The inspiration for the typography design came from the workmanship, lettering and baseball jerseys of the 1930s and 1940s
Designer Trevor Baum created this vintage-inspired typeface. Proclaiming a love of bicycles, type and Jewish delis, Trevor wanted to create a font that was both rugged and refined, and we think he's got the balance spot on. The inspiration for the typography design came from the workmanship, lettering and baseball jerseys of the 1930s and 1940s. The font comes in uppercase, lowercase, numerals and also contains punctuation.
Here's another awesome find on Lost Type, the typography co-op that ensures its designers receive 100 per cent of the donations given for their fonts. This time, the typeface comes from talented Newcastle based graphic designer Nick McCosker. It only comes in upper case but we think that's all a typeface of this kind needs. It's immediately striking to the eye and will work really well with any titled-based designs; possibly less so in body text.
The font can be used for both personal and commercial purposes
Nevis is another fantastic typeface brought to you by Ed Merrittof Ten by Twenty. The website description is spot on: "Nevis is a strong, angular typeface and is ideal for headings, text, buttons and everything in between. It's assertive and bold, but manages to retain a friendly tone, and looks especially good when used in all caps." The font can be used for both personal and commercial purposes but it cannot be redistributed or sold. Although you can download the font for free, Ten by Twenty say they always appreciate a donation, however small. If you can't do that, a link back to the site is hugely appreciated!
FORMAT: TTF
78. PLSTK
The designers are happy for you to use the font in any way that you wish
This font was created by Christian del Moral and Luis Armesilla. Both Madrid-based designers, Luis mainly focuses on motion and graphic design, but has a special interest in typography and lettering. Christian is heavily influenced by music and tends to illustrate in a child-like old school way. The designers are happy for you to use the font in any way that you wish. All they ask is that you send them an image of your work once you're done with it! Take a look at this awesome video the guys created to showcase PLSTK's capabilities.
Frances creates stunning typography and has worked with book covers, leaflets and posters
There are no vampire hunters in sight, we're afraid; just an awesome font created by designer Frances MacLeod. Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Frances creates stunning typography and has worked with book covers, leaflets, posters and more.
She created this Abraham Lincoln font to resolve a constant search for a condensed serif. The promotional specimen featurrs the font in use and folds out to a poster of Abraham Lincoln's address to the 166th Ohio Regiment in 1864 on the reverse. You can see the examples on her personal website.
Fat Frank is a fun typographic design from graphic designer, illustrator and typographer Jeff Schreiber. The font is a big-boned and funky font with all digits, some diacritical marks, most punctuation marks and money signs that matter. Jeff also states that those who use this in Photoshop should make sure that the kerning is set to 'Metrics' not 'Optical', otherwise the kerning doesn't work. You'll find it in the Character window. We think Fat Frank would look stunning on print design - especially titles. It may be a bit too chunky for normal body text.
The typeface comes in six styles, including Sans Light
And finally, we have this superb typeface created by New YorkerTyler Finck. Tyler has created a number of fonts and regularly allows designers to download them for free. He describes Ostrich Sans as an open source font family that he's very happy to offer for free from The League of Moveable Type. The typeface comes in six styles, including Sans Light, Sans Regular, Sans Bold and Sans Rounded. It only comes in caps but we think that it's the perfect font to make an instant impact.
Used for editorial and commercial purposes, Nougatine is a great all-rounder
First up in our list of best free fonts is Nougatine. Designed by 25-year-old Frenchman Fabien Laborie, the graphic designer describes Nougatine as "a titling font inspired by the smell of freshly baked cookies." Delivered with 380 glyphs, a host of varying ligatures and a panel of alternative letters, it enables the power of versatility. Used for editorial and commercial purposes, Nougatine is a great all-rounder.
It is compiled of 457 glyphs, with 125 alternative lower cases or the 46 ligatures
Produced by Spanish typographer Pedro Arilla, Valentina is described as a sincere tribute to his grandmother; which is where the name also stems from. A self-professed minimalist, Pedro created Valentina as a classic didone. Incorportating many antique Spanish techniques with influences of Bodoni, Valentina is great for editorial purposes. It is compiled of 457 glyphs, with 125 alternative lower cases or the 46 ligatures. With that flexibility, it really is up there with the best free fonts available.
Chunkfive has all the ingredients for great headings and titles
Chunkfive derives from the team at The League of Moveable Type. With a motto of providing only the best fonts within the interweb, Chunkfive is a perfect example of their high standards. An ultra-bold slab serif, Chunkfive has all the ingredients for great headings and titles. The fact that it also contains lower case means that it could also work in body set text. If you're looking for a vintage Americana feel, then Chunkfive is your guy.
The font is perfect for compositions and comes in simple selections
Created by Medness, Nomad is one of the most unusual fonts we've seen at Creative Bloq. Based on a geometric triangle, Nomed really packs a punch when layered. The font is perfect for compositions and comes in simple selections of capital and lower case lettering. If you're looking for a way to standout, Nomed may be the font for you.
The font's intended use is for headings and titles
Designed by Russian graphic designer Denis Masharov, 'Forum' is just one of the many fonts this man is responsible for. Currently working for Time Out Moscow, Denis has been a professional typographer since 2008. The font's intended use is for headings and titles, but we're sure it would look great in set body text too! It's classic feel is clear to see, with its clever arches and direct lines. If you love this font, we suggest you check out the rest of Masharov's creations. The man's a genius!
The art deco typeface is available in bold, regular and outline weights
Released earlier this year, Cassannet is a gorgeous addition to our best free fonts list, which captures the essence of vintage Cassandre posters. The art deco typeface is available in bold, regular and outline weights. Containing ligatures, capitals, numbers, small capitals and also titling alternates, the font will be perfect for any purpose. You can be really nice and offer a donation to the makers or simply repay them with a tweet.
nstantly eye-catching, this font could do wonders for your designs
Brazilian graphic designer Nelson Balaban is known for his outlandish style and fun approach to typography. Accent is just one example of his exemplary work that has been featured in many editorial and commercial campaigns. On first impression, Accent could look a tad on the hipster side but we love it and we think you should too. If you end up using the font, all Nelson asks is that you don't alter it, give credit where it's due and use it to create some "kick-ass work". Off you go then!
Designed by Haley Fiege, it includes ligatures and will act as the framework for future script designs
Brought to you once again by those folks over at The League of Moveable type comes League Script. A gorgeous rendition of teenage girl's endless diary entries, League Script offers a sweet alternative to boring body text. Designed by Haley Fiege, it includes ligatures and will act as the framework for future script designs. It's popularity is apparent; having been downloaded a whopping 71,000 times. How will you use it?
Marta mainly cites the fonts major influence from vintage cars
We at Creative Bloq love a blast from the past and this Henry font couldn't be more retro if it tried. Created by Polish graphic designer Marta Podkowi?ska, the font was named after Henry Ford and inspired by all things '60s. Marta mainly cites the fonts major influence from vintage cars, which can be seen in its glorious curvature. Although the font only comes in upper case, we think it would be perfect for headings and titles, and a great chance to test your design abilities.
We love this simple block font with mean spikes by Orlando-based designer Hydro74 aka Joshua M Smith. The design is just one of many typefaces Hydro74 has come up with. While many of them you have to pay for, the generous designer also has a bunch of brilliant free fonts up for grabs on his site.
We think it'd look create on an illustration portfolio
More vintage? You bet! Bobber is a classic font developed by Brazilian typograher Lucas Perdido and Russian graphic designer Dmitry Goloub. Described as an "alternative slab serif", the font is totally free and the guys are happy for you to use it for commercial purposes. We think it'd look create on an illustration portfolio, for those of you that love all things vintage!
Working as a script font, Lavanderia will really work well as a heading type
Created by designer James T. Edmondson, Lavaderia is a charming font that takes influence from the Laundromat windows of San Francisco's Mission District. It comes in a range of open type features and three weights. Working as a script font, Lavanderia will really work well as a heading type as well as being able to slot nicely into the set body text.
Sketchtik echoes chalk boards from the classroom without looking immature
This cute font is taking us back to our school days. Designed byHiekka Graphics founder Ossi Gustafsson, Sketchtik echoes chalk boards from the classroom without looking immature. It'll give a sense of fun to any design, which could work well for portfolios or branding. The font comes in light, regular, bold and black so there's plenty of versatility for titles, headings and set body text. (You only get the Light version for free.)
Kelava wanted to create his own Art Deco font without being too much of a copycat
It's no wonder this font has become so popular, thanks to its modern twist on a vintage style. Designed by Australian graphic designer Josip Kelava, Metropolis is influenced by the industrial movement of the 1920s. Kelava wanted to create his own Art Deco font without being too much of a copycat. The result was this bold and daring typeface, perfect for catching your user's eye. It only comes as capital letters, so it won't be relevant for set body text. It does however, look amazing on a poster or homepage!
Letterforms were designed using simple geometric shapes in a 10x10 square grid structure guide
Since we've given you plenty of upper case fonts, we thought we'd delve a little deeper and focus on the little guys. Alphageometry is a set of simple yet effective decorative typefaces created by Canadian designer Markie Darkie (aka Ferdinand Mark Basa.) Letterforms were designed using simple geometric shapes in a 10x10 square grid structure guide. Please note that the font is in vector format, which means each letterform will need to be hand set and composed. Who knew lower case letters could be so powerful?
If you don't want to take yourself too seriously, have a go with GRN Burgy
Created by Italian designer Marco Goran Romano, GRN Burgy is a fun take on early American graffiti. Another big influence on the font is fast food culture, which is reiterated in the 'shiny' effects used. If you don't want to take yourself too seriously, have a go with GRN Burgy. The direct lines combined with extreme curves makes the font ooze creativity. GRN Burgy only comes in capital letters, so it's only really useful for titles and headings on homepages or posters.
Tomi Haaparanta, the famous and prolific font designer from the Suomi Type Factory, has created a new typeface, commissioned by Flyerzone. Anyone can download and use SciFly Sans within their projects to create a unique style.
Agilis is a free font created by Swiss type designer Nico Inosanto
Agilis is the product of Swiss type designer Nico Inosanto. Initially created as a display font, Inosanto realised his typeface worked better as a smaller design. This free font has an extended character set to support Central, Eastern and Western European languages.
Filipe Rolim is generously sharing his free font High Tide for all to enjoy
Design student Filipe Rolim developed this typeface due his need for having a more alternative font to use in his projects. And now he's generously offering his design as a free font for all to enjoy.
FORMAT: TTF
And that's it for now! Let us know if we've missed your favourite freely-available typefaces, and keep checking back as we update our best free fonts list to ensure it always contains the most relevant typefaces.
Handwriting fonts have been gaining more popularity over the past few months, so we decided to pick 24 of the best free ones from across the web.
When we talk about free handwriting fonts, we're not just referring to one style of typography; they can come in a number of various executions. More recently, this style of typography has been making more appearances than ever before, with print and digital alike favouring it over more traditional offerings. Here, we plucked some awesomefree fontsin a handwritten style for you to download and enjoy.
LeHand is the first font from web designer Ferdie Balderas
LeHand is the first font created by indieferdie. The LeHand font reflects a playful handwriting style that will be great for experimenting with on your new design projects. As a web designer and branding designer, we think there's much more inspirational work ahead for indieferdie.
Yore is a playful take on the more traditional script fonts
Created by Vietnamese designer Poem haiku, the Yore script is a fun take on the more traditional script offerings. Pulling in his influences from illustration, Yore will be perfect for content experimentation and might even work well on a branding project or two.
The designer asks for a $5 donation if the font is used for commercial purposes
The 'Whatever it takes' font harks back to those school boards and chalk typography. It's free for personal and non-profit use. The designer does however, ask for a $5 donation for any commercial use, which we think is still a bargain!
Designer Simon Stratford created Before Breakfast using iPad app iFontMaker in under 10 minutes
Recently, designer Simon Stratford discover iPad app iFontMaker and shortly after challenged to create a font with it in under 10 minutes. The result? This hand drawn typeface Before Breakfast. It may not be one of the most considered entries in our free fonts list, but, as Stratford comments: "It's a fun, handwritten typeface that probably breaks every rule in typography."
A free handwriting font that comes in an array of different languages
One of our favourite free handwriting fonts, this design byFerdie Balderas comes in regular and italic as well as capital and lower-case letters. He's even made it supportive of a number of different languages including French, Spanish and Polish.
Another free handwriting font that's playful and fun
We just had to include this download in our list of free handwriting fonts. Chomp is a playful design created by Camberwell based designer William Bayley Suckling. As a student at The London College of Communication, Suckling regularly experiments with fonts and is happy for you to use it with any personal or commercial work.
LSTK Bembo was inspired by an age-old book font to create this free handwriting font
One of the loveliest free handwriting fonts we've seen in a long time, LSTK Bembo is an ode to one of the real daddies of book typefaces, Bembo. This handdrawn version of this classic typeface can be used whenever you want to combine personality, tradition and a pinch of attitude. The important glyphs are included in this postscript font except the lowercase x.
Free handwriting font Haiku's Script is Poem Haiku's first attempt at creating a typeface
Haiku's Script is Poem Haiku's first attempt at creating a font. Beginning in 2011, it took three months to finish, from July to September. It's free for personal use and Poem Haiku would love to hear any thoughts and comments about this free handwriting font.
This free handwriting font was inspired by the designer's father's handwriting
New York based designer Sune Matras tasked himself to create a font based on one of his father's handwriting styles - a very personal and specific one - normally used for short messages and headlines. We're pleased as punch to include this gorgeous design in our list of free handwriting fonts.
This hand-sketched headline font was designed by artist Lukas Bischoff. He comments: "Created solely by me from sketch by hand and then digitized, Sketch Block makes a perfect font to create the hand-made character look, or to supplement illustrations with typography." Free for personal use only, it's one of the nicest free handwriting fonts we've seen in a long time.
Incorporate this curly, decorative font by Fonthead Design into your personal projects
A contemporary and decorative font, GoodDog was created byFonthead Design. The curly typeface is a popular choice, having been download almost a million times since its release. This free handwriting font comes complete with a full set of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and characters.
This stylish, script-style design was created by Emerald City Fontwerks
J.D Handcrafted is one of 16 fonts created by Emerald City Fontwerks, the stylish design being one of the studio's most popular. The brush, script-style typeface is free for personal use, with a full set of characters at your disposal.
Amatic is available for free download in both regular and bold styles
A quirky, narrow and condensed design by typographer Vernon Adams this free handwriting font is perfectly suited to designs on the funny side, such as comedy strips. Amatic only includes uppercase letters but comes in both regular and bold styles.
Created by Hans Gerhard Meier aka Fontourist, this beautiful script-style font's name explains exactly the type of design its suited to. This is one of three fonts designed by Meier and his most popular download by far.
You can also receive numbers and symbols with this free handwriting font
The charming free handwriting font was designed by Chilean designer and typographer Rodrigo German. The Mari & David font comes in regular, bold and extrabold, which means there's plenty to play around with. You can also receive numbers and symbols in this style when you download the font.
You can grab this free handwritting font in skinny as well as regular
The DHD Cool font is a pretty standard handwriting font but with some irregularities, which means there's still plenty of scope for some serious design work. Created by Paris based typographer Konrad Bednarksi, you can also download the DHD Cool font in skinny form!
This is a handwriting font with plenty of versatility
This gorgeous, calligraphy based handwriting font was created by Nepal-based graphic designer and typographer Ananda Maharjan. Placing the font on a base of watercolours as well as a white canvas ensure that its versatility shines.
This free handwriting font comes in bold and outline
Created by Austrian mobile studio Studio Elastik, this is their second free font to be released into the wild. They describe it as their "handlettered badass version of the English slab serif typeface, Clarendon", which explains the name! It comes in bold and outline.
This font is to be downloaded for personal use only!
This free handwriting font - Mawn's Handwriting - was createdMåns Grebäck; a graphic designer specialising in font, logotype, and typography design. It is to be downloaded for personal use and as always, donations to the designer are always welcome!
Jackson created the bispo font after studying calligraphy for a number of months
Bispo is a script typeface made inspiring on italic chancery calligraphy, with a flat nib pen and a module of 10 pen widths. Designed by Brazilian typographer Jackson Alves, he decided to make this typeface to allow everyone to be able to create pieces with a charm of calligraphy and taking advantage of the Opentype features.
This free handwriting font has a great chalk effect for your designs
We had to pop a chalk-styled free handwriting font in the list and this one which was designed Alphabeta85 is a perfect addition. It comes in both capitalised and non, as well as numbers, punctuation, and symbols. As always, make sure you only use it for personal work!
This cute font is actually the designer's real handwriting
This cutesy font was designed by Maya aka Linny. This handwriting type is actually Maya's handwriting and after being asked to develop the font for personal use, she finally did! It comes in upper and lower case, as well as numbers and punctuation.
Use this heavy-duty handwriting font for bold design work
We love this heavy duty, scribble-friendly font designed byBlambot Comic Fonts and Lettering. Consisting purely of capital letters, this is a free handwriting font that would be perfect for some seriously bold design work. You can also grab some punctuation and numbers in the free package.
Soft sugar evokes a sense of the old-school comic book fonts
This fun handwriting font can only be downloaded for free in the regular format but we think it's a great one to play around with. Evoking a sense of the old-school comic book style fonts, we're sure you'll be able to create something special with this one!
Want to learn or hone your skills in the art of typography? Then check out these top online typography resources, where you'll find tons of advice and inspiration.
The web is a wonderful thing, brimming with resources and tutorials for people wanting to learn about the discipline and see some examples of beautiful and innovative typography to inspire. But, sometimes, too much choice can be confusing, so we've picked some top sites that will really help you get to grips with it. Check them out - and let us know if we've left out any of your favourite resources in the comments below...
Feast your eyes on all the gorgeous work featured on We Love Typography
We Love Typography is type heaven. A brilliant, curated gallery of type-related content, the site is a collaboration between John Boardley (of I love Typography) and Kari Pätilä. With multiple pages of gorgeous typography, you're sure to find inspiration here.
We love the stylish black and white design of Incredible Types
Incredible Types is 'a curated collection and showcase of outstanding typography and design from around the world'. Taken from 182 creatives from 36 different countries, Incredible Types features 166 pieces of type design to inspire you. The website has a stylish black and white design, each project coming to life in colour when selected.
For type in all shapes, size, colour and style head to Typeverything
The name of this site says it all really. Typeverything is a brilliant blog, which features type lettering in all shapes and sizes, colors and styles, by a handful of talented artists. The site is clean, organised and simple to use - simply scroll down to take in hundreds of inspirational images.
Find out the latest news from design agency e-Types at Playtype
Typefaces are something of an obsession at Copenhagen design agency e-Types, so they set up online type foundry Playtype. At this stylish website you can buy fonts and read news, as well as find out details on the Playtype store, a shop where customers can buy digital fonts in a physical space.
Typedia is run by many leading designers who love type, including Dan Mall and Jason Santa Maria
Typedia is a brilliant resource for anyone who's interested in Typography but doesn't know where to start. The site is run by many leading designers who simply love type, including Jason Santa Maria, Dan Mall and Liz Danzico. Typedia describes itself 'like a mix between IMDb and Wikipedia, just for type. Anyone can join, add and edit pages for typefaces or for the people behind the type.'
Tumblr blog I Love Typography was founded by graphic designer John Boardley
I Love Typography was founded by British-born writer, publisher and graphic designer John Boardley. Now one the world's most popular fonts and typography blogs, ILT has amassed its huge following from the wealth of brilliant tips, training advice, news and interviews it features on the subject of type.
Check out various font design by the team at Commercial Type
Commercial Type was set up by designers Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz. The duo have worked together since 2004 on various typeface projects, most notably the award-winning Guardian Egyptian. At Commercial Type you can view and purchase numerous font designs developed by Barnes and Schwartz, their staff and outside collaborators.
Friends of Type is run by four primary contributors, Erik Marinovich, Aaron Carámbula, Jason Wong and Dennis Payongayong
Friends of Type is a type and lettering sketchblog run by Erik Marinovich, Aaron Carámbula, Jason Wong and Dennis Payongayong. These four designers continually upload original typographic design and lettering. There's no messing about either, not a thumbnail in sight just pages full of huge, gorgeous images to inspire you.
Fonts.com has a dedicated learning section, which provides useful information about the typographic arts
Fonts.com has a dedicated learning section, which provides useful and relevant information about the typographic arts. Here you can learn everything from the foundations of type and practical uses to numbers, signs and symbols and the fundamentals of type technology.
Fonts In Use is an independent project from designers Sam Berlow, Stephen Coles and Nick Sherman
Fonts In Use does exactly what it says on the tin, or website in this case, showcasing type at work in the real world. Many of the examples are also accompanied by a write-up to give you a true understand as to why that particular font was chosen for the job. This is a great resource for artists unsure about picking fonts for individual projects.
Typography Feed's design allows the featured work to sing
Typography Feed is an image-led Tumblr gallery that serves up a beautiful examples of typography from around the web. The blog benefits from a clean design, a helpful tagging system, and above all a great selection of work.
This blog is pretty self-explanatory. Created by Costa Rican Ricardo, Good Typography concentrates on well, goodtypography. It's a neat little accumulation of type from around the web that's a perfect solution to any inspirational woes. Sometimes, he'll even comment on why he likes them - only if you're lucky, though.
See what you can do with the endless array of typography out there
Typography is everywhere and like most creatives, we love to see it in all its glory. Typostrate is a blog about type and the endless array of things you can do with it. Showcasing the passion and power of typography, the blogs content and pictures are taken care of by Christian Goldemann.
Luke Connolly likes New York and what better way is there to express that love than by photographing its best typography? Whilst walking around the city, Luke takes out his Nikon D700 and clicks away at any lettering that takes his fancy.
He features all five boroughs of New York, which means that the blog features a colourful expansion of every kind of typography you could ever wish for. Ok, maybe not every kind but the whole of New York is a pretty good start!
Former head of design at MSN EMEA and now the director of digital creative agency Thin Martian, you could say that James Clarke has a fair few strings to his bow.
As Tumblr blogs go, this is a cracker, and Type Worship showcases James' love of all things typography (and he picks some really good ones) as well as reviews and interviews with typography designers. A perfect example of how typography should be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment