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19 top fonts most preferred by graphicdesigners from around the
webby Douglas Bonneville on September 9, 2009
Out of the huge number of fonts used by graphic designers, there
really is quitea small pool of fonts consistently chosen over and
over again by graphicdesigners as their most used. I took some time
to search out as many topfonts for graphic designers search results
(plus variations) that I had time tovisit. I spent several hours
visiting blogs, forums, magazine websites, etc..
UPDATE 6/8/2010: The Big Book of Font Combinations (Fall 2010)
now hasa free preview of the font pairing master page layout. Take
a look.
I tallied up the top typefaces in peoples lists. The list was
about 40 fonts longafter the first hour, but could have easily been
100 fonts if I kept at it. I thenpared the list down and dropped
off mentions of fonts below a certain threshold toget the list
manageable and meaningful. After about 20 typefaces, the list took
onthe characteristics of the long-tail and it trailed off into more
and more obscurefonts with no group consensus.
NOTE: Because people generally favor the term top fonts over top
typefacesaccording to Google, Im using the term font. Its correct
to use in a certain sense,but this list really should be called top
typefaces. Think of fonts as tracks andtypefaces as albums. Albums
have tracks and typefaces have fonts. Google fontsand typefaces for
more clarification.
What we have left is 19 top fonts that met the criteria of being
mentioned atleast 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 its always a lesson. With typefaces, the
wheel has been invented already, sodont 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
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Commentary
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Posted in Graphic Designers, Typography | Tagged top fonts,
Typography
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24 Comments
Mary BonnevilleSeptember 10, 2009 at 12:41 am | Permalink
Im impartial to Frutiger for a sans serif
Jacob CassSeptember 12, 2009 at 9:51 pm | Permalink
Nice summary, I like how youve added the suns for each mention.
Notsurprised to see Futura as #1.
Gotham will probably be on this list shortly too. Getting used
quite oftenthese days seeing it everywhere.
Douglas BonnevilleSeptember 12, 2009 at 9:55 pm | Permalink
Hi Jacob. I agree with the Gotham recommendationA great post
couldeasily be Fonts destined to be classics with Gotham leading
the way.And Shuriken Boy probably wont make the cut
http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/detail.htm?pid=202859
Angel L.September 12, 2009 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
Ive become a huge fan of Avenir lately. I agree with Mr. Cass,
Gothamis becoming very popular.
Philip DavisSeptember 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 BonnevilleSeptember 12, 2009 at 10:45 pm | Permalink
Hi Philip: Avante Garde was in top 40, but it had just a few
less votesoverall than the last 3, starting with Baskerville. I was
really surprised tosee Baskerville ahead of Avante Garde, but
perhaps in the end,Baskerville has just a wider range of
application and versatility. But itwas close. Maybe I should do a
Top 20 to 40 fonts post
Douglas BonnevilleSeptember 12, 2009 at 10:47 pm | Permalink
Hi Angel: I think both Avenir and Gotham will eventually make a
list likethis. I love Avenir a lot. Though lighter overall, it
evokes the same kindof sophisticated sans serif feeling that
comparable weights of Gothamdo very dignified.
NBKSeptember 13, 2009 at 12:18 am | Permalink
Always good to see a list like this. I also agree with Jacob,
that Gothamis everywhere now. Funny that it started as a commission
for GQMagazine. And Obamas campaign for Change we can believe in
usesit.
Douglas BonnevilleSeptember 13, 2009 at 12:23 am | Permalink
Hi NBK. Thanks for stopping by. There is a lot of love for
Gotham. Iwonder if its fundamental enough to stick with us for the
next 50 years.It seems like a fundamental addition to the basic
sans family we shouldall have.
LaurenSeptember 14, 2009 at 7:12 am | Permalink
Thanks for compiling this list . I too am surprised Avant Garde
didnot make the top 19, or 20 even, but it is a bit specific an
stylizedwhereas Baskerville is much more versatile and applicable
in commonuses of type as you suggest. Thanks again
Douglas BonnevilleSeptember 14, 2009 at 8:39 am | Permalink
Lauren, I have a special runner up prize for Avante Garde
ErikSeptember 17, 2009 at 3:35 am | Permalink
Nice list and like the most of the comments no surprise Futura
is onnumber one, but still a bit surprised with the Helvetica
position, butthats probably because I love it. Anyway great list
always useful !
Douglas BonnevilleSeptember 17, 2009 at 9:41 am | Permalink
Erik: I was surprised to see Futura up there too at number one
when Icrunched the numbers. I thought it would be much further
down, but inthe top 10. I thought it would be 1) Helvetica and then
2) Garamond. Iwas most surprised to see Minion up there in the top
fonts at all. Ipersonally like it a lot (not love it) and use it
all over the place, but Ididnt realize others used it the same way.
I thought I was being a bitpasse. Minion is definitely a swiss army
knife typeface. Perhaps itsmore ubiquitous than I realize. Ill have
to keep an eye out for itbut Ihave to admit all the old school
Adobe literature (not sure about today)with the Myriad / Minion
pairing looks good to me still. Thanks forstopping by.
ganesh yadavDecember 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 BonnevilleDecember 14, 2009 at 9:02 am | Permalink
Sorry, these arent the free type of fonts. These are
pay-onlyTrymyfonts.com.
Rick LecoatFebruary 28, 2010 at 4:45 pm | Permalink
I remember being taught in design school that the correct
spelling wasfount 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 eversaw it spelled that way, though the guys
teaching me were serious,heavyweight, old-school, hot-metal boys
who knew more about typethan I could ever dream of knowing.
Anyone have any info on the switchover? Is it just an
overly-propogatedAmericanism?
Douglas BonnevilleFebruary 28, 2010 at 6:41 pm | Permalink
Hmmmit makes sense that fount would be right, and in foundry,
asin hot metal being poured into molds. But words take on
newmeanings over time, and spelling seems to follow popular usage.
Youdhave to shoppe around though to be sure
StewartApril 14, 2010 at 3:51 am | Permalink
Hi Douglas, just found your blog via the esteemable Mr Airey. A
veryrefreshing read, thanks. Just one question. Am I correct in
believing thatfor all intents and purposes Akzidenz Grotesk and
Helvetica are thesame font? Was not Helvetica based on Akzidenz
which was theoriginal Sans Serif (Grotesk) typeface? Can you
clarify the difference?Thanks
Douglas BonnevilleApril 14, 2010 at 9:11 pm | Permalink
@ Stewart: Akzidenz Grotesk is a forerunner of many modern sans
seriftypefaces, most notably Helvetica. They are quite different
though.Maybe at small sizes they look very similar but on close
inspection theyare quite different. Akzidenz has been called quirky
and idiosyncraticand if you really zoom in and look at the glyphs,
its true. Most of theletter forms have something unique or
off-balance that imparts an effectwhich I cant describe, but
overall, love. Akzidenz Grotesk, and URWGrotesk (a related
typeface) are 2 of my all time favorite fonts. Myhumble little logo
bonfx at the top of this blog is URW Grotesk. Forinstance, notice
the strange angular little foot on the bottom of the b inbonfx. Its
details like that which captivate me and imbue the typefacewith a
very unique personality.
Helvetica is an exercise in creating uniformity out of the
quirkiness fromthe Grotesk fonts we are talking about. If you
closely examine the letterforms side by side, youll see that
wherever one of the Grotesks doessomething odd or off-balance,
Helvetica decides in a way that isconsistent with all the other
letter forms in the typeface. This uniformitygives it a colorless,
neutral, utilitarian kind of personality, which gets outof the way
of the message. However, whatever your message is withHelvetica,
this utilitarianism tends to have a strong presence.
For instance, try setting I love you, my dearest in both
Helvetica andURW Grotesk. If you compare them side by side, the
Helvetica versionseems sterile and robot like, while the Grotesk
imparts a genuine, quirkykind of emotion. Your mileage may vary,
but those are the kinds ofthings I think about when I use these
faces.
StewartApril 15, 2010 at 3:23 am | Permalink
Wow,Thanks for the lengthy reply, much appreciated. Next time I
willmake sure I arm myself with the facts rather than half the
information!
MartinJune 25, 2010 at 8:57 pm | Permalink
Great article Douglas. Your passion for Typography shines
through inyour generous replies. I am just waking up to the true
importancetypography must have in graphic design, and this article
has inspiredme to read more and thus learn more.Thanks for putting
this together, much appreciated.
Douglas BonnevilleJune 26, 2010 at 7:41 pm | Permalink
@ Martin:
Glad to be a part of your inspiration!
Design babe BrisbaneJuly 1, 2010 at 1:20 am | Permalink
I really love Gotham, i agree i have seeing it very often.
Douglas BonnevilleJuly 1, 2010 at 2:19 am | Permalink
@ bydaughters
Gotham is surely going to be a modern classic. I think it really
is one ofthe few typefaces can say that about with confidence.
One Trackback/Pingback
19 Top Fonts Teddy HwangSeptember 12, 2009 at 10:25 pm |
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[...] 19 Top Fonts ! Out of the huge number of fonts used by
graphicdesigners, there really is quite a small pool of fonts
consistently chosenover and over again by graphic designers
[...]
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