Nothing says “I can’t generate my own content” quite like a design blog post that begins with a number. Let’s begin, shall we?
I love fonts. I’m only slightly less enamored with not paying for them. The problem is that the internet is littered with a bunch of epically bad fonts masquerading as free fonts. (Well I guess they’re not really masquerading if they’re technically “free.” Even, I suppose, if they do enough damage to your design reputation that they should pay you to use them, but i digress…)
Downloading them is a crime against design. Actually using them in a design should carry with it an immediate revocation of any and all Creative Suite Licenses. You know the kind of fonts I’m talking about. Activating them in an unsuspecting, innocent, pure Illustrator document is likely to cause a burning sensation while peeing.
Finding a truly great free font is certainly a diamond-in-the-rough kind of pursuit. But finding these gems makes it all worthwhile. Here are four of my favorites
I make no claims about the licensing requirements of these fonts. Read the End User License Agreements (where available) before using them.
The good people at Ten by Twenty have blessed us with this great headline sans serif. In fact, Nevis looks like it could be the love child of Futura and Gotham (which is sort of the typographic equivalent of the movie Harold and Maude. //Crickets // Is this thing on?). I’m not a huge fan of the lowercase letterforms, but Nevis looks superb in all caps, and the uppercase “M” is so perfect that it looks like a tiny little corporate logo just waiting to be discovered.
Use it for
Headlines and large, bold, short lines of text. Nevis looks great as the dominant font on a page.
Where to get it
Nevis is available from Ten by Twenty and can be downloaded here. While you’re on the site, make sure to click on the “free downloads” link and check out their other free faces including the incredible serif face Jura.
DaFont.com can be a decent source for good fonts, but use caution: there’s a lot of crap lurking there too. One of the gems is Eurofurence, a playful modern face that reminds me a little bit of Avenir and a lot…bit…of VAG rounded or Helvetica Rounded. One of the great things about this font is that it is a true free font family, packing a normal and an italic cut of Light, Regular and Bold each.
Use it for
Eurofurence seems like a purebred poster font. It would be at home in a magazine ad for a trendy cell phone carrier as well. Use it in white on bright, solid colored backgrounds or in bright, solid colors on white.
Where to get it
It’s available from daFont.com and can be downloaded here.
The second result on Google searching for this font reveals this post at Typophile, presumably from the original font designer. Apparently, Miso was designed for use on architectural drawings. I think it makes a great subhead font. Miso has a neat, industrial quality that reminds me of Trade Gothic or DIN, but it also has a blurry softness not unlike…well…FF Blur.
Use it for
Subheaders and headers, but i really think it could be an interesting copy text too.
It’s available from Abstract Fonts and can be downloaded here.
