20 great free fonts

8/18/2019 20 Great Free Fonts

1/12

20 Great Free Fonts

Two words that bring creative pros rushing over with tongues wagging are “free” and

“fonts.” And if they appear in a sentence as “free fonts,” then you’ve got yourself a

dynamic duo to entice any designer. Well, assuming those fonts are of decent quality

and from a reputable source. I’ve used my typographical prowess (read: “Ooooh…this

one’s purdy!”) to ferret out a few gems to help you spice up your next project, all whilekeeping your budget under control.

Font Diner’s Featured Item is based on signage originally found on a department store

marquee dating back to the 1940s. It has that clean art deco look, with a touch of

modern poise, making it at home in a 50s-themed diner menu to high-tech headlines.

Font Diner’s licensing is pretty strict and quite involved, so be sure to read their FAQs

before using.

The Gothic styling of Adobe’s open source 12-font Source Sans Pro family was

designed with user interfaces in mind. That being said, it’s a clean, sleek, highly-legible

typeface that would be just as at home within an eBook as it would nestled inside a

smartphone app. Desktop, eBook, PDF, app, and web

Part of Softmaker’s five-font Cambridge family, Cambridge Serial Regular is perfect

for lending an old world feel to your layouts, especially when you get tired of Century

Old Style. The other Cambridge Serial fonts are Light, Medium, Bold, and XBold, with

the entire family going for only $15. Desktop and web

https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttp://www.fontdiner.com/fonts/featured-item/http://www.fontdiner.com/fonts/featured-item/http://www.fontdiner.com/fonts/featured-item/https://www.fontspring.com/fonts/softmaker/cambridge-serial/regularhttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-sans-prohttp://www.fontdiner.com/fonts/featured-item/http://www.fontdiner.com/fonts/featured-item/


2/12

Steelfish from Typodermic is a 15-font family of condensed sans serif beauty, with

seven of those fonts available for free. Typodermic explains that Steelfish was modeled

after many different headline fonts, rather than one individual source. Definitely

appeals to my love of mid-Century everything. Desktop

Space. The final frontier. C’mon, you were thinking that, too. While not exactly Classic

Trek and not exactly Next Generation, Typodermic’s Ethnocentric boldly goes above

and beyond to give your project a space-aged feel. Out of the 12 fonts in the family, the

regular and italic fonts are free. Desktop

With 12 fonts in this family, Latinotype’s Sanchez Condensed provides a great

alternative to Rockwell. I couldn’t put my finger on why I liked it slightly more than its

more established relative, until I realized it was a bit more rounded (read: less stodgy).

The regular and italic versions are available for free. Desktop and web

http://www.latinotype.com/#/gallery-sanchezcondensedhttp://www.fontbros.com/families/ethnocentrichttp://www.fontbros.com/families/ethnocentrichttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/typodermic/steelfishhttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/typodermic/steelfishhttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/softmaker/cambridge-serial/regular


3/12

Insigne Design’s Le Havre Layers is a 21-font family with art deco design and

accenting styles. Use the free Le Havre Layers Primary in combination with the other

(purchased) fonts to create shadows, cross-hatching, wireframes, 3D shadows, and

other dimensional effects. Desktop and web

CheapProFonts’ Scriptina Pro typeface is a modern script with an old-fashioned,

hand-crafted look. Created as an upgrade to the original Scriptina, this version

features an extended “non swoosh” collection of letterforms, though those swooshes

are still available as OpenType extras. Scriptina Pro also features a multi-language

character set and additional style sets. Desktop and web

If you grew up in the 1980s, even if you didn’t like heavy metal, you’ll instantly

recognize Typodermic’s Metal Lord creation. Based loosely on Iron Maiden’s logo, this

heavy metal font includes some stylistic alternates and uses the power of darkness,

um, I mean OpenType, to join characters together and change forms when necessary.

Desktop

http://typodermicfonts.com/metal-lord/http://www.cheapprofonts.com/Scriptina_Pro.phphttp://www.cheapprofonts.com/Scriptina_Pro.phphttp://insignedesign.com/index.php/le-havre-layers.htmlhttp://insignedesign.com/index.php/le-havre-layers.htmlhttp://www.latinotype.com/#/gallery-sanchezcondensed


4/12

Manic Depressive by SpideRaYsfoNtS features a hand-scratched look to create an

edgy grunge typeface. Originally created as a fundraiser project for a bipolar disorder

research group in the UK, it’s now available as a commercial font for most uses. Thecreator also provides a link to the foundation, so even users of the free license can

donate to the cause. Desktop

I know it’s not even close to Christmas yet, but it’s never too early to start thinking

about decorating. And Austie Bost’s Christmas Doodles font is fun way to decorate

your creations with a little holiday spirit. This dingbat typeface contains roughly 90

(okay, exactly 90, I counted) characters. Desktop, web, ebook

Geometria from Brownfox is a 16-font family, with 8 weights, each with an italic

version. I’m always on the lookout for clean sans serif fonts and Geometria really

appeals to me. How could you not love that capital G? Geometria Light is available for

free, which is my favorite (price, that is). Desktop and web

https://www.fontspring.com/fonts/brownfox/geometriahttp://www.dafont.com/austie-bost-christmas-doodles.fonthttp://www.dafont.com/austie-bost-christmas-doodles.fonthttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/spideraysfonts/manic-depressivehttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/spideraysfonts/manic-depressivehttp://typodermicfonts.com/metal-lord/


5/12

ChunkFive from the League of Moveable Type is a throwback to the chunky headlines

of yesteryear and wanted posters of the Old West. But this ultra bold slab serif would

look just as at home advertising this week’s grocery store specials or artisanal hand-

made objet du jour . Desktop, eBook, PDF, app, and web

Check out this font, comrades! Arkhip from Fontfabric proclaims itself as a font with a

Russian soul, made in the USSR. Whatever its history, I’m all for a font that is classically

retro, yet somehow sleek and modern. The display font includes Cyrillic and small caps

and comes in one flavor with limited special characters. Desktop, eBook, PDF, app, and

web

http://www.fontfabric.com/arkhip-font/https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/ChunkFivehttps://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/ChunkFivehttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/brownfox/geometria


6/12

Fontfabric’s Sprite Graffiti brings the bold artistic graffiti style to your layout, in three

different fonts: regular, shadow, and extras. Each of the fonts evokes a look and feeling

somewhere between marker lettering and spray paint. The extras include paint-dripped

lines, symbols, and swooshes. Desktop, eBook, PDF, app, and web

Sorts Mill Goudy from The League of Moveable Type is a sort of revamped Goudy

Oldstyle. Available in regular and italic, Sorts Mill Goudy offers old-world class, without

looking just plain old. The League of Moveable Type is committed to providing practical

open source fonts. This typeface certainly delivers with OpenType features such as

roman small caps, ligatures, capital spacing, fractions, and oldstyle and lining figures.

Desktop, eBook, PDF, app, and web

https://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/sorts-mill-goudyhttps://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/sorts-mill-goudyhttp://www.fontfabric.com/sprite-graffiti-font/http://www.fontfabric.com/sprite-graffiti-font/http://www.fontfabric.com/arkhip-font/


7/12

Waaaaay back in the early days of desktop publishing, I fell in love with Brush Script

(don’t judge). I haven’t lost my love of thick-stroked brush fonts, but these days my

heart belongs to Kaushan Script by Impallari. This display script looks like it was

created with an organic ink brush, complete with uneven baselines and strokes.

Desktop, eBook, app, gaming, merchandise

Not your typical dingbats font, Gismotype by The Sweatshoppe uses everyday objects

as the letterforms themselves. From books, to martinis, to fish hooks, to protractors,

Gismotype takes these objects and crafts them into a whimsical font. Each item’s

shape determines the letter—or number or punctuation mark—it represents. Can I

interest anyone in an underpants “D?” Desktop, eBook, app, gaming, merchandise

Fontfabric’s Nexa Rust Free Super Family contains five fonts including Sans Black,

Script, and Handmade, but it was the Slab Black Shadow, with its weather-worn look

that first caught my eye. The extras font contains hand-drawn ornamental elements

with whimsical arrows and symbols. Desktop and web

https://www.fontspring.com/fonts/fontfabric/nexa-rust-freehttp://www.hypefortype.com/browse-fonts/free/gismotype.htmlhttp://www.hypefortype.com/browse-fonts/free/gismotype.htmlhttp://www.hypefortype.com/browse-fonts/free/kaushan-script.htmlhttp://www.hypefortype.com/browse-fonts/free/kaushan-script.html


8/12

Jura by Ten by Twenty provides a nice alternative to more rigid typefaces like Times

New Roman. Jura is a narrowish, roundish serif with a sort of letterpress feel to it. With

no hard edges, it looks at home pretty much anywhere and works as well in a headline

as it does in the address line on a business card. Jura is available (as donationware) in

regular, bold, italic, and bold italic. Desktop

Categories: Features, Type

Tags

Working With Dynamic Symbols in Adobe Illustrator

by Chad Chelius

Symbols have always been a powerful tool in Illustrator. With symbols, you can easily

http://creativepro.com/author/chad-chelius/http://creativepro.com/category/type/http://creativepro.com/category/features/http://tenbytwenty.com/?xxxx_posts=jurahttp://tenbytwenty.com/?xxxx_posts=jurahttps://www.fontspring.com/fonts/fontfabric/nexa-rust-free


9/12

create elements that repeat throughout your artwork and most importantly, update

them with the click of a button. The 2015 release of Adobe Illustrator CC adds new life

to symbols by allowing users to modify elements of a symbol instance while still

retaining the link to the original Symbol.

Creating a Symbol

Symbols can be created from virtually any piece of artwork including embedded

images. To create a symbol, select the artwork that you’d like to turn into a symbol and

either drag the artwork into the symbols panel, or click on the New Symbol button at

the bottom of the Symbols panel.

You’ll be presented with the Symbol Options dialog box which provides you with

options for defining your symbol. Start by giving your symbol a name. The export type

isn’t important unless you’re going to import this symbol into Flash in the future. The

symbol type however, is very important. If you want to take advantage of dynamic

symbols, make sure you enable the Dynamic Symbol radio button and click OK.

Immediately, a symbol will be added to the Symbols panel and the original artwork will

become a symbol instance. You can easily identify dynamic symbols in the Symbols

panel by the “+” icon in the lower-right corner of the symbol thumbnail.


10/12

What Makes a Symbol Dynamic

To use a symbol, simply drag it and drop it onto the artboard or click the Place Symbol

Instance button located at the bottom of the Symbols panel. This creates a symbol

instance and you can drag as many of these to the artboard as you wish. What makes

these symbol instances so useful is that they’re incredibly efficient. Instead of

generating the artwork every time a symbol instance is placed, the symbol instance

always references the symbol.

So if a change is made to the symbol, all of the instances update. This alone is

powerful, but the limitation is that you can’t modify any of the symbol instances

separately from the symbol. That’s where the dynamic symbols come in! With a

dynamic symbol, you can use the Direct Selection tool to select elements within each

symbol instance and change their color or modify the path.

In the figure above, I adjusted the color of each symbol instance to give each one a

unique appearance. Now if I edit the symbol by double-clicking on the symbol in the

symbols panel or by double-clicking on a symbol instance, I can make an adjustment

that will still affect all symbols but the independent edits made to each symbol will be

retained. In the figure below, I adjusted the doorway to the tent to give it a rounded

appearance.


11/12

You can even add artwork to the symbol and it will update all symbol instances as well.

Considerations

http://3v6x691yvn532gp2411ezrib.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/symbols_005.png


12/12

The thing to keep in mind when using dynamic symbols is that any edits you make to

the symbol instance will trump the edits made to the symbol itself. For example, when

you edit the color of an element in the symbol instance and then make a color change

to the symbol, the color applied to the symbol instance will be retained. If you ever

decide that you want to revert a symbol instance back to the appearance of the

symbol, you can select the symbol instance and click the Reset button Control panel at

the top of the screen. This, by the way, will also reset the scaling applied to the SymbolInstance as well.

Categories: Design, Graphics, Graphics Image Editing, Illustration

Tags
http://creativepro.com/category/graphics/illustration/http://creativepro.com/category/graphics/graphics-image-editing/http://creativepro.com/category/graphics/http://creativepro.com/category/design/

20 great free fonts

Documents