Top 7 Fonts Used By Professionals In Graphic Design
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Although there have been many other most used font posts, most of them outline fonts used by the ‘not-so-well-trained’ designer. In this post I want to outline the fonts that are often used by the more ‘professional’ of designers.
This article is the third article of four in this series.
The Four Part Series
- Top 7 Most Overused Techniques & Elements Used in Graphic Design
- Top 7 Most Overused Icons / Shapes Used in Graphic Design
- Top 7 Fonts Used by Professionals In Graphic Design
- Top 7 Most Overused Stock Images Used in Web Design
Top Fonts for Logos
Top 7 Most Used Fonts Used By Professionals In Graphic Design
1. Helvetica / Helvetica Neue
Without a doubt, Helvetica is the most heavily used font by professionals (and also by the not so professional) in graphic design. Although some praise the font, many believe that it is spaced too tightly.
And as Vivien pleas in her 16 most overused fonts article, “Understand that you can’t always rely on Helvetica to illustrate and deliver your every message. Helvetica is not perfect for everyone and every occasion.”
2. Trajan
Trajan finds its way into many Hollywood movie posters and anything remotely to do with religion, law, marriage, class or the past. You can check out the flickr pool for more uses of Trajan.
A bit of history on the font Trajan… Trajan is an old style serif typeface designed in 1989 by Carol Twombly for Adobe. The design is based on Roman square capitals, as used for the inscription at the base of Trajan’s Column from which the typeface takes its name.
3. Garamond
Although there are many versions of Garamond, the most used version today is the Adobe ITC Garamond version (as seen above) released in 1989. Garamond is a great font for magazines, textbooks, websites and long bodies of text and was recently named the second best font (after Helvetica) by a German publication.
4. Futura
Futura is a font that comes up often in large displays, logos, corporate typefaces and in books where small text is needed. It is based on geometric shapes (near-perfect circles, triangles and squares) which became representative of the Bauhaus design style of 19191933. Futura has an appearance of efficiency and forwardness. Some do hate the font though.
5. Bodoni
Bodoni is a great font for headlines, decorative text and logos. Bodoni has a narrow underlying structure with flat, unbracketed serifs. The face has extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes, and an overall geometric construction which makes it a very aesthetic looking font.
6. Bickham Script Pro
Used mainly for formal occasions, Bickham Script Pro is a font which does the job well… Cameron Moll even recommended it in his article “Typefaces no one will get fired for using.” The ‘not-so-trained’ designer usually vouches for Vivaldi instead which is one of America’s most hated fonts. Another great alternative would be Sloop.
7. Frutiger
The Frutiger font family is neither strictly geometric nor humanistic in construction; its forms are designed so that each individual character is quickly and easily recognised. Such distinctness makes it good for signage and display work and it is often used in Web 2.0 Logos.
The full family has a warmth and subtlety that have, in recent years, made it popular for the smaller scale of body text in magazines and booklets.
Top Font Contenders
Here are some other fonts many ‘professional’ designers use quite often;
- Gills Sans,
- FF DIN,
- Franklin Gothic,
- Bembo,
- Rockwell,
- Avenir,
- Avant Garde,
- MrsEaves,
- Gotham,
- Sabon,
- Baskerville
- Warnock Pro.
Notice that none of these are fonts are downloadable for free?
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All the Fonts you need and many other design elements, are available for a monthly subscription by subscribing to Envato Elements. The subscription costs $29 per month and gives you unlimited access to a massive and growing library of 400,000+ items that can be downloaded as often as you need (stock photos too)!
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Glenn Sans with Envato Elements subscription
Glenn Sans is a good alternative to the ever-popular Open Sans and Helvetica. If you’re looking to explore a catchy typeface for your paragraphs, this Scandinavian-made font family with 16 different variants is a pretty good pick.
Mitga with Envato Elements subscription
Mitga is a wide typeface that has an almost avant garde vibe to it. It’s sharp around the edges and full of character. As a headline font, this one works wonders.
Masterline with Envato Elements subscription
Looking to add a faux signature to something? Masterline has been picking up traction recently because of its utility as a signature font. There’s a childish flow to the momentum and angle of the type.
Still type hungry? Why don’t you check out 30 Fonts All Designers Must Know & Should Own.
Do you agree? What other fonts would you add to the list?
