Free Fonts & Type Tools

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Cool Typography: Font Downloads, Lettering, Typefaces for Web Design and Print

Do you love fonts and typefaces? I like to play with type and lettering - I loe fonts, especially FREE fonts. Look good in print and on your blog or web page with free fonts and type tools. Learn to avoid font mistakes when designing your own web site, blog or printed materials.

In this free fonts lens you'll find the best fonts, font tools and typography web sites and lenses online. You'll also learn cool designer tricks with fonts. You can make cool word art and graphics using fonts and clip art or even just with fonts alone.

Too many fonts make a project look like a ransom note - unless that's your desire, limit your design to 1 or 2 typefaces. When in doubt, use an attractive sans serif font for headings and chapters, and a serif face for the text or body type.

Copyright applies to fonts, just as it applies to all creative works. Font designers work hard to make the typefaces we use. Always check Terms of Use for any free fonts you download - be sure they're okay to use without license or payment.

Photo: jeltovski, morguefile.com

Fun with Fonts

Letterforms - Visual Communication & Type as Art

Type is a way to communicate visually, and to enhance the meaning of displayed text. Letterforms as images are highly compelling and important to communication in all languages.

It seems like everyone loves "fonts" - you can find thousands of examples online by surfing the web sea of personal pages, DIY web sites, blog posts, MySpace pages and free "bling" banner maker font toys.

History is filled with examples of typographic embellishment or graffiti on every markable surface - from walls to books, buildings, flags, clothing, jewelry, handbills, print media and packaging.

One of the first things people try their hand at with any publishing tool is to change the typeface to another size, another style, another color ... then they progress to warping and special effects: shadows, curves, stretching, skewing, adding outlines, 3-D, "word art" and animation.

What is it about type that is so compelling and makes us want to play with letters? Who knows, but there are many places to find free fonts and type toys, so read on and have Fun with Fonts.

Heyyy Abbott - Type as Humor

Visual Language Humor

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Font Foundation

My first contact with a computer was because of fonts. It was in 1979, and I was working as an operator on a CompuGraphic typesetting machine. I sometimes miss the days of when you could really work with fonts - tweaking the ligatures, kerns and other typographical technical adjustments. But on the other hand, it's a lot easier to change fonts using my PC than to open a lid of a machine the size of a VW bug and remove a film strip that's spinning on a drum at thousands of RPMs just to change the font for your headline banner.

I do still tweak fonts when they become vector art. I convert them to outlines then start changing the shapes and ligatures in Illustrator. But that's a whole different story.

Big Font Collections on CD

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Font Basics - Serif / Sans Serif

Those little curly things on a font are called serifs.

A serif is a calligraphic or typographic characteristic of a letterform. Small extra strokes or embellishments added to letters to distinguish them or make them artistically unique. If a font doesn't have serifs, it's classified as a "sans" serif typeface.

In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface that has serifs is called a serif typeface (or seriffed typeface). A typeface without serifs is called sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning "without". Some typography sources refer to sans-serif typefaces as "grotesque" (in German "grotesk") or "Gothic," and serif types as "Roman." - Wikipedia,

  • Popular Sans Serif Typefaces - Arial is the most well known sans serif font on Windows computers, but there are many others that predate computer fonts that have been updated for desktop publishing use. This article lists 10 classics generally used as text or body fonts.
  • Classic Serif Type Faces - Linotype presents classic and favorite serif typefaces, including history for some fonts, sample usage for more than a dozen, and a good explanation of the types of serif found on various serif typefaces (bracketed, slab, hairline).

Typography & Design Books

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Type-Heads - For Font Freaks and Typography Fans

If you're really into typography, check out these links

SOTA : The Society of Typographic Aficionados
The Society of Typographic Aficionados (SOTA) is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization devoted to type, typography, and the related arts.
ATypI-Assoiciation Typographique Internationale
ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) is the premier worldwide organisation dedicated to type and typography. Founded in 1957, ATypI provides the structure for communication, information and action amongst the international type community.
The Right Typeface for Text
PDF article from Before & After magazine - sharing its practical approach to graphic design since 1990.
Typofile Magazine - Home
Almost everything we know in the world can be described in just 26 letters--isn't that amazing? Yet this most visible
art--which we all see all around us each day--has long been invisible in most people's minds. Part of this was intentional - because the content, not the type, is the message.
EsperFonto - Type Face Selector
Typeface / Font selection system - choose the most appropriate FONT for your job with the help of this nifty online tool.
Choose Your Fonts Well - Type Tells a Story
Concise words of advice for typeface selection - type tips from Seth Godin.

Cool Font Tools

Bend me, shape me, glitter me, convert me ...

Create Your Own Cool Fonts with Paths - learn to create custom fonts using the path tool in Photoshop.

What the Font - put a name to a face when you know what it looks like but not the font name.

Mac Font Converter - convert TrueType fonts to Mac fonts with this share ware tool

What's that Font in my bitmap image? - great lens with free font identification resources.

Font Toys

Wordle App - Fun with Fonts and Text

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds
Wordle is a toy for generating "word clouds" from text that you provide.

Dover Font & Type Books

Specialized Typography, Lettering & Calligraphy

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Font of Knowledge

How Well Do You Know Typefaces and Fonts?

This fun quiz will test your knowledge about fonts, typefaces and typography.

Drop Caps & Manuscript Initials

Illuminata and Attention Grabbers

Drop Caps are handy devices for guiding the reader to important information. You can create them with graphics, or with HTML, or with a desktop publishing program's typographic controls and features.

This drop cap example utilizes HTML style controls - check out HTML Squidoo Tricks to find out how to add this feature to your blog, lens or web page.
HTML Squidoo Tricks
HTML Squidoo tricks how to lens with sample codes & step-by-step instructions to change fonts, make drop caps, alter background colors, add images and lots more.
How To Article: Drop Cap
Use the Microsoft Word Drop Cap feature to make the first letter of a paragraph stand out.
Easy Magazine Style CSS Drop Cap Tutorial
Copy and paste CSS drop caps. Tutorial for drop caps including magazine and novel style big first letters in a paragraph.

Fun Font Fashions and Gifts

Text Expressions and Fonts Make Cool Art

Specialty Font Sources

Font Diner
Retro style fonts and type history - cool, hip fun site.
Free Scrapbooking Fonts
The Best Scrap You can Find... Online!
MusicEffect Band Fonts
Fonts from band logos-band fonts, music fonts, metal fonts, different fonts. Indexed by band name, with cool mouse-over previewer.
Free Scrapbook Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com
Free handwritten and playful fonts for personal or commercial use (see terms of use for requirements to use commercially or to purchase a license without linking).
ENIGMA FONTS
All of the Fonts on this site are made by Brian Kent, and all are Freeware. You can use them any way you want (Personal use, Commercial use, or whatever).
Kat's Fun Fonts!
Free original alpha ding and pictorial fun fonts!
Neferchichi's Tomb at neferchichi.com
Neferchichi's Fonts - trial downloads and full collections for sale. Includes Egyptian heiroglyphics and numbers, Egyptian deities and symbol dingbats.
64 Free Fonts
Free fonts from CoffeeCup Software
10 Awesome Free Handwritten Fonts | My Ink Blog
It's no secret in the MyInkBlog community the hand drawn websites are a growing trend, and one that I rather enjoy. This post will showcase ten such free handwritten style fonts that are sure to add a touch of personality to you next design.
Graffiti Fonts
Graffiti fonts - limited edition free download. Fonts include: FatCap, Magik Marker, RapScript, Paint Cans, Scrawler, Cali Chisel plus VectorGraff Drawing Application, 30 Stock Images, Opcion Font Viewer & more.
Skull-A-Day: FREE Skull Font!
Letters of the alphabet created with skulls in this free downloadable skull font (true type and open type versions).
Handwriting Fonts
Learn where you can download free Handwriting Fonts to use for homeschool and educational use.

Funky Font Video

Tramp Typography

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Doodle Fonts, Ding Bats, Glyphs, Symbols

Type a key, get a picture ...

Cool Dingbat Collection Font Paradise ding bats collections

Tom 7/Divide by Zero Hand drawn and grungy dingbat characters.

FontGarden Dingbats - many categories of unusual dings including borders, dividers, tags and buttons useful for scrapbooking

Deliahs Doodles from Fonts for Peas Happy little doodle characters and caricature fonts, free download for personal use

Dinosaur Fonts - no, not old and obsolete fonts but picture fonts with dinosaur characters instead of letters!

Specialized Font Sets on CD-ROM

Hard to find type collections

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Typography & Font Lenses

Learn about type and design from these lensmasters

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WTF - What the Font Typeface Identifier

Forget the name of the font? You can figure it out with this nifty tool.

Have you ever forgotten the name of a font or typeface you used to design a project or spruce up a written document? It's frustrating, and also very common - even for professional designers. Well, don't pull out all those catalogs and sample sheets, just use this font identification program to figure out that familiar face ...

The best samples to submit are scanned images with characters about 100 pixels in height on a horizontal baseline. MyFonts offers many other helpful tips and guidelines for submitting a font for identification.

What the Font is a neat online tool that can help you figure out what font you used. You can upload an image to the database or specify an URL that has the font and you'll get assistance from the font detectives at What the Font, a service of Myfonts.com.

Clip Art and Font Lenses

Free graphics resources on Squidoo

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Word Music - Kinetic Typography and Fonts that Move

Live Out Loud

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Font-Tastic Type Freaks Mug

Cool retro type designer mug by Steve Mehallo

Font Me Typography mug
Font Me Typography by mehallo
Create custom coffee mugs with zazzle



Historical font measurements, classifications, decimal conversions, proofreader marks ... plus, beverage holder! Perfect gift for graphic designers, web developers; anyone who works with fonts. Vintage style, detailed black and white mug, black interior.

I Was Once a Typesetter ...

Does anyone under 35 even know what that means?

I was a pro at copyfitting, hand kerning, type identification and font management.
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Love Fonts? Show Some Love for Free Fonts!

Gimme a Thumbs Up ... if you like free fonts

I've found thousands of free fonts, ding bats and word art for you and compiled this collection. If you like this lens, please give it a Thumbs Up or Lensroll. Don't forget to share or bookmark this Free Fonts lens.

This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.

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What's Your Type?

Say hi, tell me about your font or design lens, suggest a link ...

Leave a comment or note in this free fonts lens guestbook ... I like to know who's been here. Make a suggestion for free fonts if you know of a great resource I can add.

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Word Art - Font Graphics

Calligraphy, too

Sometimes you need a piece of art that's really made up from cleverly designed font characters. This section will guide you to my favorite word art and calligraphy type links and freebies. You;ll find images to snag and ideas that will inspire you to use type and fonts to make your own art.

Word Art--Gulf War
Peace activist's pen & ink drawings from the Gulf War based on quotes and word art.
The Word Art of Juan Osborne | Webdesigner Depot
Fine art quality graphical posters created from lettering and word art.
Word Graphics, Word Art, Sayings
Word Graphics, Word Art, Sayings - lettering with fancy fills and decorative font treatments.
Centsational Girl Blog Archive - Word Art
I'm a simple gal with a simple dream: transforming the drab into the fab with an arsenal of paintbrushes, primer and power tools. I completely reject the notion that second hand is second class. I shop thrift stores, flea markets, antique stores, and Craigslist with an eye for transforming and repur
Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds
DIY Word Art Collages - Wordle is a toy for generating
"word clouds" from text that you provide from a page or list.
Word Art by Abrakadoodle Art Widget — Widgetbox
Get the Word Art by Abrakadoodle Art widget on Widgetbox.com! and create your own word art!

by

Pastiche

I'm a graphic designer and typeface-loving font freak. Fonts are fun and an easy way to create design on a budget. I'm a Squidoo Rocket Mom,a Giant Squid... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Best Free Fonts Online 

Freefonts!: Designer Fonts Online

Amazon Price: $3.49 (as of 02/14/2012)Buy Now

Graphic Design Delights 

Free Clip Art, Fonts, Design Tips

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4000 Fonts for You 

Use for commercial projects - no royalty fees

4000 Fonts

Amazon Price: $3.88 (as of 02/14/2012)Buy Now

If you can't find a great font from this collection then you might need to design your own typeface. These fonts work for any program and can be included in PDF files.