Cinema Macabre: Horror Fonts Torn from the Pages of Giallo A Hand-drawn Display Font for Creating the Most Diabolical Horror Titles This loose and inky brush font takes its inspiration from the classic Giallo film posters of the 1960s to 1980s - a cult cinematic subgenre beloved for its stylish visuals, haunting soundtracks and exploitation led marketing. It's a devilishly drawn design that aims to capture the feeling of vintage horror, preserving analogue details of old print while remaining versatile enough to work across a variety of digital designs. The Cinema Macabre font family boasts six fonts, each containing a unique set of uppercase and lowercase characters, as well as numerals, punctuation and language support. Add to this a host of custom ligatures, underlines and graphic elements and you have an essential toolbox for creating truly hand-made looking title designs. Cinema Macabre if a font that rewards experimentation by mixing all the various upper and lowercase alternatives, with interesting combinations waiting to be found and inspire terror across your own movie posters, book covers, albums and editorials. Few other fonts offer the versatility to create such diabolical designs! A Brief Introduction to Giallo: In popular cinema, Giallo is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers often containing slasher, psychological horror, exploitation, supernatural and erotic elements. The term giallo (meaning yellow) derives from a series of pulp novels published by Mondadori from 1929 taking the name from its trademark yellow covers. The series consisted of Italian translations of mystery novels by well-known authors such as Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe and Raymond Chandler. The popularity of these cheap paperbacks eventually established the word Giallo as a synonym in Italian for a mystery novel. The cinematic Giallo subgenre developed during the 1960-80s and are noted for their vivid cinematography, memorable soundtracks and inventive gore-filled scenarios. Key examples include Dario Argento's Suspiria, Tenebrae and Deep Red - stylish films that at once influenced the American slasher (see Black Christmas and Friday 13th) up to todays horror in Censor and Last Night In Soho.

Eckhardt Freehand JNL is the fourth font based on the lettering of sign painters and show card writers. Jeff Levine has chosen to name this “mini series” of fonts in honor of his friend Albert Eckhardt, Jr., a talented sign man who ran Allied Signs [in Miami, Florida] from 1959 until his passing in 2005.

German type designer Gerd Wippich created this script FontFont in 1996. The family has 7 weights, ranging from Regular to Bold (including italics) and is ideally suited for festive occasions and editorial and publishing. FF Layout provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures and case-sensitive forms. It comes with tabular lining figures.

Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” was a popular book of inspiration for sign painters, graphic artists and designers from the 1920s through the 1960s. Many digital revivals of Welo’s hand lettered typography have been made available. Formal Notice JNL is one such revival, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A font design of Paul Zimmermann, first released by Ludwig Wagner, Leipzig, in 1960, now revived and extended by Central European, Baltic, and Turkish character sets and their small caps. This font contains both lining and oldstyle numbers. To get access to all ligatures, it is recommended to activate both standard and discretionary ligatures.

An ad in the May 27, 1939 issue of "Motion Picture Herald" for the film "Young Mr. Lincoln" featured the film's title hand lettered in a squared, bold pen lettering with rounded terminals along with an incised 'engraving' line. This formed the basis for Political Trend JNL, which available in both regular and oblique versions.

The typeface was designed at the Polygraphmash type design bureau in 1986 by Isay Slutsker, Svetlana Yermolaeva, Emma Zakharova. Based on Polytizdatkaya type family, 1966, by Vera Chiminova, inspired by the typefaces of the French mid-16th century punchcutter Claude Garamond. The family was initially developed for Mysl Publishers, Moscow. For use in text matter.

Fong Shay Noon JNL is a non-traditional approach to an Oriental-styled font as there are some letter forms with curves and others with straight lines. The name derives from a Chinese restaurant in North Miami Beach, Florida during the 1960s, which in turn took its name from a play on a Yiddish phrase.

Moore 003 was inspired by Henryk Tomaszewski's poster lettering for the Moore Exibition (Warsaw, Poland 1959). The headline "Moore" is composed of paper collage. The lettering, in Tomaszewski's vision, contrasts in ways that recall the contrast of Moore's sculptures. It was my intention to continue this research using lettering in the form of a typeface.

Italian type designer Alessio Leonardi created this display FontFont in 1996. The family has 12 weights, ranging from Regular to Bold (including italics) and is ideally suited for festive occasions and poster and billboards. FF Matto provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures and case-sensitive forms. It comes with proportional oldstyle figures.

The 1960 revised edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers” showcases the many interesting lettering designs Welo hand lettered for his book. One such example is an extra-bold serif typeface which is now available as Law Office JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. --------------

The 1939 French publication “Modèles de lettres modernes par Georges Léculier” ( “Models of Modern Letters by Léculier”) presented some unique and stylized type designs with Art Deco influence. One such example is an abstract modular alphabet constructed of rectangles and circles. This is now available as Modular Deco JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

German type designers Eva Walter and Ole Schäfer created this display FontFont in 1996. The family contains 3 weights and is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, festive occasions, editorial and publishing as well as poster and billboards. FF Dotty provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures. It comes with proportional oldstyle figures.

A misprinted sans serif loosely based on Phillip Cavette’s 1999 font 4990810, but with re-drawn outlines, more distress marks, a neater vertical aspect and no baseline irregularity. Unlike its inspiration, Sans Culottes is a complete font which includes a lower case, accented characters and as many dingbats as you can shake a stick at.

ITC Snap is the work of American designer David Sagorski and represents both the creativity and humor of the native Kansan. It clealy displays the influence of cartoon graphics of the 1960s and 70s, but does not need to be limited to period or animated graphics. ITC Snap is ideal for headlines which demand attention.

German type designer Theo Nonnen created this display FontFont in 1996. The family has 15 weights, and is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, festive occasions as well as film and tv. FF Stoned provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures. It comes with tabular lining, proportional oldstyle, and proportional lining figures.

The titles and credits from the 1960 French film “Le Passage Du Rhin” (English release title: “Tomorrow is My Turn”)” are hand made in a free form bold alphabet resembling both cut paper and quickly sketched lettering. This avant garde style inspired the digital type revival, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

In the 1959 premiere season of “The Untouchables” (based on the book by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley) the opening title jumps off of the cover of the book and stretches out into tall, extremely condensed lettering. This inspired the type font Federal Agent JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Let your mind wander, think about new cultures, missing links. After discovering a bamboo pen, the founder of the first digital type foundry in the northeast of Brazil proposed a set of graphic signs for a fictional civilization. Stone, established in 1999, is the only record of a mystical culture from the age of rocks.

Rosalinde is an original font based on rough hand-lettering reminiscent of 1960s era protest poster lettering. It's the kind of lettering you'd expect to see used for a snippet of anti-war poetry set against a red-white-and-blue striped background, or perhaps accompanied by a fat dove with an olive-branch.

The typeface (formerly known as Kudryashevskaya Entsiklopedicheskaya) was designed in 1960-1974 by Nikolay Kudryashev and Zinaida Maslennikova at Polygraphmash type design bureau for the Bol'shaya Sovetskaya Entsiklopedia (the Large Soviet Encyclopaedia) publishing house. New improved digital design and extention of character set was done by Natalia Vasilyeva and released by ParaType in 2008

Overton JNL is based on some of the preliminary letter designs by Rudolf Wolf which evolved into his 1929 type design Memphis and is available in both regular and oblique versions. Memphis was the design model for the later typeface family Stymie and Overton JNL was named after Overton Park; located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Break out the love beads and fire up the lava lamp! Here’s a fresh take on the Artone alphabet, designed by Seymour Chwast in the 1960s. Beefy, bodacious and bottom-heavy, this typeface keeps on truckin' along. Both versions of this font include the complete Unicode Latin 1252 and Central European 1250 character sets.

ITC Juice is the work of American designer David Sagorski and shows a clear influence of cartoon graphics of the 1960s and 70s. The typeface has a number of unique letter forms as well as an extensive set of alternate characters. The creative, humorous ITC Juice hides a subtle sophistication beneath its funky exterior.

American type designer Jim Parkinson created this display and sans FontFont in 1996. The font is ideally suited for advertising and packaging, festive occasions, film and tv as well as poster and billboards. FF Golden Gate Gothic provides advanced typographical support with features such as ligatures and stylistic alternates. It comes with proportional lining figures.

Sniplash is a lively font inspired by cartoons and comics of the 1960s and '70s. Casual and organic, this font features curly lines and irregular weights in Regular, Light and Bold styles. This design defies serious analysis and offers a fun attitude for lighthearted design. Excellent for parties, retro packaging or any number of uses.

Frantic Pace JNL is based on hand lettering found on the lid of a late 1950s or early 1960s edition of the Print Craft alphabet printing set once manufactured by the Superior Marking Equipment Company of Chicago. The free-form spurred serif lettering is fun and casual; giving the impression of movement or action.

Hermann Zapf made his first scetches for Orion in 1963. Zapf's aim was to create a neutral textface which can be ideally used as a newspaper face. Its strokethickness and open letterforms also fits well for book and magazine production. The final two weights of Orion were released in 1974 for the Linofilm photocomposing machine.

This stunning display face is based on Hans Bohn’s 1929 opus for Gebr. Klingspor, originally named Orplid. One of the treasures discovered in the legendary green vinyl binder that launched Nick’s love of type, it’s a real crowd pleaser. Both versions of this font include the complete Latin 1252, Central European 1250 and Turkish 1254 character sets.

Here’s a typeface with a stance as big as Texas. It’s based on Vincent Pacella’s 1960s oeuvre for Photo-Lettering, Inc. called Pacella Vega Extended 10, and named for a county in Central Texas, home of Possum Kingdom Lake. Both versions of this font include the complete Unicode Latin 1252 and Central European 1250 character sets.

Fine and Dandy JNL comes from the hand lettered title of the 1929 movie "Isle of Escape"; found on the sheet music for its theme song "My Kalua Rose". An engraved and fancy Roman, the style combines elements of Western, Art Nouveau and Art Deco into one attractive type design; available in both regular and oblique versions.

Manito was designed by Garrett Boge in 1989. He employed a wide pen and angular, sturdy forms to simulate rough-hewn woodcut letters. The font, consisting of both capitals and small caps, provides an ideal graphic complement to collateral of a natural or environmental character. It is named after a native American word for 'Great Spirit'.

The pattern for this classic typeface was originally called "Viking Oldstyle", from the 1909 H.C. Hansen Type Foundry catalog. To enhance its weathered look, the inside corners have been rounded to simulate ink buildup on metal typeforms. Both versions of the font include 1252 Latin and 1250 CE (with localization for Romanian and Moldovan) character sets.

Jungle Drums JNL is based on the hand-lettered title on the 1929 sheet music of its musical namesake. A bold, free form design with a hint of the Art Deco movement of the coming decades, this casual typeface has the vintage charm to enrich many design projects. Jungle Drums JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Free-form hand lettering on a 1979 poster for the Washington, D.C. exhibition of watercolors and etchings by the Elie Abrahami inspired Art Director JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. This type of lettering was most popular in the late 50s through the mid-60s for movie titles, greeting cards and poster text.

Good ideas never will die. Based on the concepts of former Leipzig student Volker Küster in the mid-1960s, I redrew and digitized the basics and extended them into a complete multilingual caps-only poster font which I named “Brocken”. Its letter-forms strongly remind me of the mighty rocks covering the highest peak, Brocken, in Northern Germany.

ITC Golden Cockerel font is based on designs created by Eric Gill in 1929 for the Gold Cockerel Press in England. These elegant and meticulously crafted typefaces were inspired by and modeled on Gill's skills of stone carving, calligraphy and wood engraving. The typeface family includes ITC Golden Cockerel Roman, Italic, Titling, and Initials and Ornaments.