10 Best Pro Fonts For Clean & Modern Logo Design
If you want to design a modern logo for your brand, the font you choose can make a big difference. Check out my list of top 10 fonts for modern logo design.
Many designers would agree that to design a contemporary looking brand identity, you must pay close attention to the typography you use.
For both your logo and your brand identity, the fonts you select express who you are as a brand.
Besides colors and shape, fonts are probably the most important element through which you can express your brand personality.
That’s why modern brands are very cautious and very particular about the fonts they choose.
Big brands prefer getting a bespoke font, but if you’re a startup, you don’t have to design your font from scratch.
You could simply buy a well-design font that will make you look contemporary and professional.
Below I’ve listed preview of each font with examples of use in logo design.
1. Helvetica® Now
Original Helvetica is probably the most ubiquitous font ever, especially when it comes to branding.
Helvetica Now is a pure classic Swiss typeface redesigned for modern use.
In this expansive new edition, every single glyph of Helvetica has been redrawn and redesigned for clarity, simplicity, and neutrality.
Here’s an example of Helvetica Now in logo design by Oscar Blasco.
The Helvetica Now family is available in 48 weights from Light Micro to Extra Black Display, with matching italic.
There are many well-known brands that use Helvetica, from the NYC Subway system to corporate giants.
Famous brands that use Helvetica in their logos:
Helvetica Now was designed by Max Miedinger, Charles Nix, Monotype Studio, Jan Hendrik Weber and published by Monotype.
2. Proxima Nova
Released in 2005, Proxima Nova contains whooping 144 styles and is a complete reworking of the famous Proxima Sans.
Proxima Nova combines geometric appearance with modern proportions.
This extremely popular typeface is often described as a hybrid of Futura and Akzidenz Grotesk.
Here’s an example of Proxima Nova in logo design by Steven Ritchie-Smith.
The font-family expanded from just 6 to as many as 48 full-featured OpenType fonts.
Proxima Nova is a mix of humanistic proportions with a somewhat geometric appearance.
Famous brands that use Proxima Nova in their logos:
Proxima Nova was designed and published by Mark Simonson.
This font is also available on Adobe Fonts.
3. TT Norms Pro
TT Norms Pro is considered to be one of the bestselling sans ever released.
TT Norms Pro is a geometric sans serif that features classic type character proportions.
TT Norms works equally well both in large text arrays or in headlines and is “the one”, the indispensable universal font for logo design.
Here’s an example of TT Norms Pro in logo design by Vanderbrand.
The font family includes 18 reworked fonts, 1392 glyphs in each font, 24 OpenType features and supports more than 216 languages.
TT Norms Pro was designed by Ivan Gladkikh, TypeType Team, Pavel Emelyanov and published by TypeType.
4. FF DIN®
FF DIN was created between 1995 and 2009 and despite its primitive, technical appearance, the font quickly became a phenomenon.
Many consider FF DIN the best condensed technical font ever made.
The font works well for packaging, editorial, posters, billboards, way-finding and signage and of course logo & branding.
Here’s an example of FF DIN in logo design by Ruiz+Company.
The typeface has pervaded corporate and publication typography and can be seen in posters for cultural institutions.
FF DIN was designed by a dutch designer Albert-Jan Pool and published by FontFont.
5. Avenir® Next
Avenir Next Pro is a new take on a classic face, updated so that its technical standards surpass the status quo.
Avenir® Next is a linear sans in the tradition of Erbar and Futura.
This family contains styles ranging from ultra-light to heavy, as well as offers condensed faces that rival any other sans on the market in on and off-screen readability.
Here’s an example of Avenir Next font in logo design by Pavels Lavrinovics.
The heavyweights make for excellent display faces in their own right and have the ability to pair well with so many contemporary serif body types.
The word Avenir means ‘future’ in French, but unlike Futura, Avenir is not purely geometric.
The font has vertical strokes that are thicker than the horizontals, an “o” that is not a perfect circle, and shortened ascenders.
These nuances aid in legibility and give Avenir a harmonious and sensible appearance for both texts and headlines
Avenir Next was designed by Adrian Frutiger, Akira Kobayashi and published by Linotype.
Akira brought his finesse and ideas to the Frutiger’s original intent, to make not just a modern typeface, but one ahead of its time.
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