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19 top fonts most preferred by graphic
designers from around the web
by Douglas Bonneville on September 9, 2009
Out of the huge number of fonts used by graphic designers, there really is quite
a small pool of fonts consistently chosen over and over again by graphic
designers as their most used. I took some time to search out as many top
fonts for graphic designers search results (plus variations) that I had time to
visit. I spent several hours visiting blogs, forums, magazine websites, etc..
UPDATE 6/8/2010: The Big Book of Font Combinations (Fall 2010) now has
a free preview of the font pairing master page layout. Take a look.
I tallied up the top typefaces in people!s lists. The list was about 40 fonts long
after the first hour, but could have easily been 100 fonts if I kept at it. I then
pared the list down and dropped off mentions of fonts below a certain threshold to
get the list manageable and meaningful. After about 20 typefaces, the list took on
the characteristics of the long-tail and it trailed off into more and more obscure
fonts with no group consensus.
NOTE: Because people generally favor the term top fonts over top typefaces
according to Google, I!m using the term font. It!s correct to use in a certain sense,
but this list really should be called top typefaces. Think of fonts as tracks and
typefaces as albums. Albums have tracks and typefaces have fonts. Google fonts
and typefaces for more clarification.
What we have left is 19 top fonts that met the criteria of being mentioned at
least certain number of times. And here are the results!
Futura
Garamond
Frutiger
Helvetica / Helvetica Neue
Minion
Bodoni
Clarendon
Franklin Gothic
Univers
Gill Sans
Akzidenz Grotesk
Avenir
Caslon
Myriad
FF Din
Trade Gothic
Baskerville
Warnock
Bembo
There you have it! For the experienced graphic designer, this list is no surprise.
But it!s always a lesson. With typefaces, the wheel has been invented already, so
don!t work too hard to pick your typeface for your next graphic design project!
More Top Fonts resources:
Top 100 Best, Cool, Most Popular Professional Fonts (In English)
Top 7 Fonts Used By Professionals In Graphic Design
13 excellent typefaces for graphic designers | David Airey
60 Brilliant Typefaces For Corporate Design Smashing Magazine
Related Posts:
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Top 10 fonts for graphic designers from 6 top blogs combined
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Posted in Graphic Designers, Typography | Tagged top fonts, Typography
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24 Comments
Mary Bonneville
September 10, 2009 at 12:41 am | Permalink
I!m impartial to Frutiger for a sans serif
Jacob Cass
September 12, 2009 at 9:51 pm | Permalink
Nice summary, I like how you!ve added the suns for each mention. Not
surprised to see Futura as #1.
Gotham will probably be on this list shortly too. Getting used quite often
these days seeing it everywhere.
Douglas Bonneville
September 12, 2009 at 9:55 pm | Permalink
Hi Jacob. I agree with the Gotham recommendationA great post could
easily be Fonts destined to be classics with Gotham leading the way.
And Shuriken Boy probably won!t make the cut
http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/detail.htm?pid=202859
Angel L.
September 12, 2009 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
I!ve become a huge fan of Avenir lately. I agree with Mr. Cass, Gotham
is becoming very popular.
Philip Davis
September 12, 2009 at 10:05 pm | Permalink
Hm, I am a bit surprised that Avante Garde is missing from this list.
Futura as #1 is not all that surprising though. Nice collection!
Douglas Bonneville
September 12, 2009 at 10:45 pm | Permalink
Hi Philip: Avante Garde was in top 40, but it had just a few less votes
overall than the last 3, starting with Baskerville. I was really surprised to
see Baskerville ahead of Avante Garde, but perhaps in the end,
Baskerville has just a wider range of application and versatility. But it
was close. Maybe I should do a Top 20 to 40 fonts post
Douglas Bonneville
September 12, 2009 at 10:47 pm | Permalink
Hi Angel: I think both Avenir and Gotham will eventually make a list like
this. I love Avenir a lot. Though lighter overall, it evokes the same kind
of sophisticated sans serif feeling that comparable weights of Gotham
do very dignified.
NBK
September 13, 2009 at 12:18 am | Permalink
Always good to see a list like this. I also agree with Jacob, that Gotham
is everywhere now. Funny that it started as a commission for GQ
Magazine. And Obama!s campaign for Change we can believe in uses
it.
Douglas Bonneville
September 13, 2009 at 12:23 am | Permalink
Hi NBK. Thanks for stopping by. There is a lot of love for Gotham. I
wonder if it!s fundamental enough to stick with us for the next 50 years.
It seems like a fundamental addition to the basic sans family we should
all have.
Lauren
September 14, 2009 at 7:12 am | Permalink
Thanks for compiling this list . I too am surprised Avant Garde did
not make the top 19, or 20 even, but it is a bit specific an stylized
whereas Baskerville is much more versatile and applicable in common
uses of type as you suggest. Thanks again
Douglas Bonneville
September 14, 2009 at 8:39 am | Permalink
Lauren, I have a special runner up prize for Avante Garde
Erik
September 17, 2009 at 3:35 am | Permalink
Nice list and like the most of the comments no surprise Futura is on
number one, but still a bit surprised with the Helvetica position, but
that!s probably because I love it. Anyway great list always useful !
Douglas Bonneville
September 17, 2009 at 9:41 am | Permalink
Erik: I was surprised to see Futura up there too at number one when I
crunched the numbers. I thought it would be much further down, but in
the top 10. I thought it would be 1) Helvetica and then 2) Garamond. I
was most surprised to see Minion up there in the top fonts at all. I
personally like it a lot (not love it) and use it all over the place, but I
didn!t realize others used it the same way. I thought I was being a bit
passe. Minion is definitely a swiss army knife typeface. Perhaps it!s
more ubiquitous than I realize. I!ll have to keep an eye out for itbut I
have to admit all the old school Adobe literature (not sure about today)
with the Myriad / Minion pairing looks good to me still. Thanks for
stopping by.
ganesh yadav
December 14, 2009 at 4:37 am | Permalink
Thanks for compiling this list..
is it possible to send me fonts zip files.. some fonts missing in my list..
Douglas Bonneville
December 14, 2009 at 9:02 am | Permalink
Sorry, these aren!t the free type of fonts. These are pay-onlyTry
myfonts.com.
Rick Lecoat
February 28, 2010 at 4:45 pm | Permalink
I remember being taught in design school that the correct spelling was
"fount! and that a font was something that you dipped babies! heads in.
What the hell happened to THAT?! I think that it was the last time I ever
saw it spelled that way, though the guys teaching me were serious,
heavyweight, old-school, hot-metal boys who knew more about type
than I could ever dream of knowing.
Anyone have any info on the switchover? Is it just an overly-propogated
Americanism?
Douglas Bonneville
February 28, 2010 at 6:41 pm | Permalink
Hmmmit makes sense that fount would be right, and in foundry, as
in hot metal being poured into molds. But words take on new
meanings over time, and spelling seems to follow popular usage. You!d
have to shoppe around though to be sure
Stewart
April 14, 2010 at 3:51 am | Permalink
Hi Douglas, just found your blog via the esteemable Mr Airey. A very
refreshing read, thanks. Just one question. Am I correct in believing that
for all intents and purposes Akzidenz Grotesk and Helvetica are the
same font? Was not Helvetica based on Akzidenz which was the
original Sans Serif (Grotesk) typeface? Can you clarify the difference?
Thanks
Douglas Bonneville
April 14, 2010 at 9:11 pm | Permalink
@ Stewart: Akzidenz Grotesk is a forerunner of many modern sans serif
typefaces, most notably Helvetica. They are quite different though.
Maybe at small sizes they look very similar but on close inspection they
are quite different. Akzidenz has been called quirky and idiosyncratic
and if you really zoom in and look at the glyphs, it!s true. Most of the
letter forms have something unique or off-balance that imparts an effect
which I can!t describe, but overall, love. Akzidenz Grotesk, and URW
Grotesk (a related typeface) are 2 of my all time favorite fonts. My
humble little logo bonfx at the top of this blog is URW Grotesk. For
instance, notice the strange angular little foot on the bottom of the b in
bonfx. It!s details like that which captivate me and imbue the typeface
with a very unique personality.
Helvetica is an exercise in creating uniformity out of the quirkiness from
the Grotesk fonts we are talking about. If you closely examine the letter
forms side by side, you!ll see that wherever one of the Grotesks does
something odd or off-balance, Helvetica decides in a way that is
consistent with all the other letter forms in the typeface. This uniformity
gives it a colorless, neutral, utilitarian kind of personality, which gets out
of the way of the message. However, whatever your message is with
Helvetica, this utilitarianism tends to have a strong presence.
For instance, try setting I love you, my dearest in both Helvetica and
URW Grotesk. If you compare them side by side, the Helvetica version
seems sterile and robot like, while the Grotesk imparts a genuine, quirky
kind of emotion. Your mileage may vary, but those are the kinds of
things I think about when I use these faces.
Stewart
April 15, 2010 at 3:23 am | Permalink
Wow,Thanks for the lengthy reply, much appreciated. Next time I will
make sure I arm myself with the facts rather than half the information!
Martin
June 25, 2010 at 8:57 pm | Permalink
Great article Douglas. Your passion for Typography shines through in
your generous replies. I am just waking up to the true importance
typography must have in graphic design, and this article has inspired
me to read more and thus learn more.
Thanks for putting this together, much appreciated.
Douglas Bonneville
June 26, 2010 at 7:41 pm | Permalink
@ Martin:
Glad to be a part of your inspiration!
Design babe Brisbane
July 1, 2010 at 1:20 am | Permalink
I really love Gotham, i agree i have seeing it very often.
Douglas Bonneville
July 1, 2010 at 2:19 am | Permalink
@ bydaughters
Gotham is surely going to be a modern classic. I think it really is one of
the few typefaces can say that about with confidence.
One Trackback/Pingback
19 Top Fonts Teddy Hwang
September 12, 2009 at 10:25 pm | Permalink
[...] 19 Top Fonts ! Out of the huge number of fonts used by graphic
designers, there really is quite a small pool of fonts consistently chosen
over and over again by graphic designers [...]
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