Beyond broadcast Like Truman Burbank, the star of The Truman Show, FS Truman was born for TV. You’ll know it from Sky One’s on-screen trails and announcements, but it’s just as at home in other media. Its starting point was the skeleton of a highly legible, space-saving, corporate font with some of FS Dillon’s geometric discipline built in. Its distinctive tone of voice and “ownability” are in its boxy but friendly shapes, and characters with hybrid features. FS Truman’s weights and widths were honed to work at TV screen resolutions. A face for TV it may have been, but this is a font that works on every level, on screen, in print, in headlines, in listings, in longer text, in tight corners and open spaces. The space-saver Compact, condensed but crystal clear, FS Truman comes into its own where a lot needs to be said in not a lot of space. Its letter spacing allows the type room to breathe, even at small sizes, while its fulsome x-height and diminutive descenders pave the way for tighter leading. A natural for headlines and titles over three or four lines. “Hybrid” features With every font, Fontsmith look for crafty new ways to imbue letterforms with a consistent character. The idea with FS Truman was to introduce “hybrid” features. In open letters such as “c” and “s”, for example, the top terminals have straight, vertical cuts while their lower terminals have a more angular, cursive finish. Boxy, spacious forms with unusual curves and angles create not just highly legible and efficient letters but strongly distinctive ones, too.

The design of the typeface Moskau Grotesk and Moskau Pattern is based on the signage created for the Café Moskau in Berlin by the graphic artist Klaus Wittkugel in the beginning of the 1960s. The Café Moskau, across from the Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin Mitte was one of the prestige edifices of the former DDR (German Democratic Republic). Built in the early 1960s, it advanced over the years and changing social developments to a trademark building of the capital. The lettering display on the roof was created by the graphic artist Klaus Wittkugel (October 17, 1910 – September 19, 1985). He had been Professor at the School for Applied Arts in Berlin, and, in addition to the creation of many posters, book covers and postage stamps, he was responsible for the signage of the Kino International as well as for the complete graphic treatment for the Palace of the Republik. The signage for the Café Moskau with the words »RESTAURANT«, »CAFÉ«, »KONZERT« and »MOCKBA« set in capital letters, becomes the basis for the Moskau Grotesk which was developed by Björn Gogalla in 2013. This face should not be seen as an imitation. A few shortcomings were »fixed«. In favor of maintaining the core characteristics some unique features were, however, not relinquished. Lower case letters and the missing capital letters were designed from scratch. It is not surprising that the plain, unassuming geometrical direction of the basic character style forms a bridge to the architecture of the 1960s. Inspired by the then favored, diverse possibilities inherent in the architectural example and wall reliefs, two complimentary pattern fonts emerged.

Brillig is a loose and informal handwriting font. It comes in four flavors, each of which has a very different feel. Brillig Gimble: more formal in that the characters are interconnected as in cursive script. To further enhance this effect, the characters have been created with a slightly "blobby" pen which provides a suggestion of precision. Brillig Earth: is bold and strong. It is more "down-to-earth" than the other styles, however, the boldness is tempered with quite wispy ends (terminuses) to the characters. It conveys a suggestion of speed and strength. Brillig Aire: is the most delicate and ethereal of the styles. Think of fairies, dandelions and dragonflies and you have an idea of what Brillig Aire conveys. Not only are the characters very light in weight, but they terminate in a wispy, delicate end. In spite of all this, Brillig Aire is very readable and can be used in a variety of contexts. Brillig Brave: is quite like Gimble in its feel with one important difference -- the characters are not connected as in cursive script. Each character stands alone. Brillig Line: is a clean, lightweight style using a mono width line for an informal, handwritten feel. There is a collection of the above four styles that is attractively priced and gives you the ability to use these four fonts in a variety of ways within the same document. The font is particularly useable for the promotion of products aimed at designers of: wedding invitations, party invitations, young clothing ranges, magazines, cosmetic packaging. It has been carefully letterspaced and kerned. All upper and lower case characters, punctuation, numerals and accented characters are present.

Lythmore This font is called Lythmore and is inspired by Lithos. Lithos was originally designed for Adobe by Carol Twombly in 1990, based it on the lettering from ancient Greek inscriptions. The Capitals are similar in feel and design, but is totally original and built from scratch. It is designed to be similar intentionally, but it is not a clone or rip off. Lithos is an example of a simple blocky san serif font style, with subtly concave sides, angled ends, and off centred curves. Lythmore is also an example of that same style. But is also different in places where I felt it could be improved. And it has a complete lower case set, which Lithos doesn't. I built Lythmore with 8 different weights. Lythmore can be very effective when used in advertising and general display work, but it can also be used for much more. Although it was never designed to be body copy, when used as such, it is still perfectly readable and adds its own version of sans serif style and flavour. I have included two versions of the Lythmore family. Lythmore A and Lythmore B. In the Lythmore A family, the lighter 4 weights all vary in weight in both the horizontal and vertical axis. The heavier 4 weights all vary in the horizontal axis only. In the Lythmore B family, the transition is even in both directions across the entire family. The result of this difference is that the A and B versions difference is most noticeable between the Regular and Medium weights. While the extreme ends of each family version are virtually identical.

The design of the typeface Moskau Grotesk is based on the signage created for the Café Moskau in Berlin by the graphic artist Klaus Wittkugel in the beginning of the 1960s. The Café Moskau, across from the Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin Mitte was one of the prestige edifices of the former DDR (German Democratic Republic). Built in the early 1960s, it advanced over the years and changing social developments to a trademark building of the capital. The lettering display on the roof was created by the graphic artist Klaus Wittkugel (October 17, 1910 – September 19, 1985). He had been Professor at the School for Applied Arts in Berlin, and, in addition to the creation of many posters, book covers and postage stamps, he was responsible for the signage of the Kino International as well as for the complete graphic treatment for the Palace of the Republik. The signage for the Café Moskau with the words »RESTAURANT«, »CAFÉ«, »KONZERT« and »MOCKBA« set in capital letters, becomes the basis for the Moskau Grotesk which was developed by Björn Gogalla in 2013. This face should not be seen as an imitation. A few shortcomings were »fixed«. In favor of maintaining the core characteristics some unique features were, however, not relinquished. Lower case letters and the missing capital letters were designed from scratch. It is not surprising that the plain, unassuming geometrical direction of the basic character style forms a bridge to the architecture of the 1960s. Inspired by the then favored, diverse possibilities inherent in the architectural example and wall reliefs, two complementary pattern fonts emerged.

‘Krul’ is a typographic interpretation of the lettering style created by Dutch letter painter Jan Willem Joseph Visser at the end of the 1940s, which decorated the traditional brown bars of Amsterdam. In the beginning, these letters were strongly associated with the pubs connected to the Amstel brewery, given that Visser was the company’s official painter. As the years passed, the style became increasingly popular, and various business owners in Amsterdam and other Dutch and Belgian cities also commissioned its use. In the 1970s and 1980s, Leo Beukeboom, another talented letter painter, continued and expanded this lettering tradition while employed under the Heineken brand. Much of his work can still be found in the Jordaan and De Pijp neighborhoods in Amsterdam. The Amsterdamse Krulletter, or Amsterdam’s curly letter, is strongly inspired by the calligraphic works of the 17th century Dutch writing masters, of which Jan van den Velde was a central figure. However, distinct characteristics of this style, for example, its unusual and beautiful ‘g’, originate from a model that was published by Johannes Heuvelman in 1659, which J. W. J. Visser referenced. Typographic circles have somehow overlooked the Amsterdamse Krulletter and its heritage. The Dutch calligraphic hands preceded and influenced the formal English penmanship which has inspired numerous typefaces in the Copperplate style. In contrast, the models from van den Velde, Heuvelman, and Jean de la Chambre, among others, are a missing chapter in Dutch typographic history, and had never been turned into typefaces until now. Conscious of the cultural and identity issues that arise in reviving a unique style, and concerned about the speed with which the lettering style was disappearing, Ramiro Espinoza focused the project of designing ‘Krul’ on digitally recreating the calligraphic complexity of these beautiful letters. Created through several years of research, ‘Krul’ is not a direct digitization of the Amsterdamse Krulletter, but instead, an interpretation that incorporates numerous alternative characters absent in the original model, and improves upon details where necessary, resulting in an optimal performance on the printed page. The typeface is presented in Open Type format, with an abundance of intricate ligatures, fleurons, and swashes, which permit the creation of numerous calligraphic effects. The very high contrast and rhythm of the strokes in this typeface make it especially suited for media applications conveying a sense of elegance and sophistication. Designers of feminine magazines, advertisements, and corporate identities within the fragrance and fashion industries will find in this typeface to be an extremely useful and appropriate resource.The great Amsterdamse Krulletter is finally back, and we are proud to make it available to you.

Periódico (newspaper in Spanish), was originally commissioned by the Spanish daily newspaper ABC. Inspired by old Spanish typographic engravings, mostly from the second half of the 18th Century, we picked out the most relevant details of Spanish typography as the source of that inspiration, and instead of making a revival or an interpretation of these models, we started from scratch to create a truly original font family. The goal was to achieve a very distinctive family, functional and versatile at the same time, and reminiscent of old Spanish typography. Although we have borrowed many details from the old Spanish typography, like the nail, which is present in the letters U, G, or J, which we worked and evolved in order to be applied on other letters, we have also left behind several others. One example is the tilde of the ñ engraved by Gerónimo Gil, a very distinctive element of Spanish typography that was intentionally omitted for being too atypical to be used in a contemporary font.  The letters a and g are probably the most distinctive of the Periódico family. The shape of the bowl in the letter a, with the top arch in diagonal position, is very characteristic of old Spanish types. In Periódico, we emphasized this detail by applying it to many other letters (such as g, j, and t) up to a point that it became the leitmotiv of this family. The formal finish of serifs and terminals is something that gives great personality to any typeface, so we came up with plenty of alternatives in order to find the exact shape we wanted: sober, elegant, and contemporary. Even though the serifs are geometric, the upper terminals have a curve with a dynamic very similar to the arch in the a or the notch in the j. The terminals in the capitals follow the same style, but, in this case, the inspiration comes from Pradell’s Missal, which on the other hand has been influenced by the types engraved by Johann Michael Fleischman in the Netherlands. Eighteenth-Century types were mostly used for printing books. Therefore, they had very generous proportions (large ascendents and descendants) and high contrast, but today, these characteristics do not work well in newspapers because of the worldwide demand for more space-saving fonts. The adaptation of the type’s proportions to be used for a newspaper was one of the most interesting parts of the project, specially the time taken to find the perfect balance between the x height\ and legibility. Periódico is presented in 30 different styles, for a total of 30 fonts—10 for text (from Light to Bold) and 20 for display sizes (from Thin to Ultra Black); this family results in an extensive system capable of solving all the needs of a large publication.

A slab font in 6 styles.

Decorative type in style of 1930s.

inspired in medieval iluminated gotic manuscripts

Featured in: Best Fonts for Logos

Decorative type in style of 1930s.

A 1922 piece of sheet music entitled “Japanese Sailor” had its title hand lettered in a Far Eastern motif. This design is now available as Sea of Japan JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

Vintage font with premium decoration. Classic line serif font. Bronzen Abundance is perfect to use in any alcohol labels, glamour posters, luxury identity, and more. Comes in four font styles: pattern, filled, line and colored.

A 1963 image of the New View Theater in Los Angeles with its marquee’s Art Deco neon lettering was the inspiration for Silver Screen Deco JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Based on one of the many hand lettered typefaces found with in the 1960 edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers”, Poster Slabserif JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Chip Tunes font family is a geometric 3d pixel display typeface. It was inspired by–and designed while–listening to the chip tunes and 8bit styles of music. Designed in the UCLM, Cuenca in 2011.

Contains the 20 day names of the Maya calendar as well as (in outline and silhouette mode) as well as the 19 Maya numerals. NOTE: this font comes with an interpretation guide in pdf format.

This typeface is one of a number of sign painter-oriented fonts named in honor of Jeff Levine's good friend Albert Eckhardt, Jr. (who ran Allied Signs in Miami Florida from 1959 until his passing).

Merina is a fat slab typeface, and works best in text and display applications, such as headline, posters, signage, magazine, product branding, corporate branding, logos and titles. Several alternate characters are included in this typeface.

A unique display font based on the research in vintage and old fonts from the beginning of the 20th century. Perfectly work for headlines in print or can be a spice to any other design.

Subzoete is a gathering of icons used in a cultural agenda for the city of Montreal in Quebec. They are unique and original. Great for simple indications such as tickets, free admission, outdoor events, etc.

ATC Oneshot, is a handwritten script font based on neighborhood bodega signage. Contains 160+ glyphs, full alphabet, ligatures, numberals, accents and punctuation. File type included in download is .otf. ATC Oneshot was released in 2019.

Solking is an Arabic typeface of a three weights : Sharp, Curved and Rounded . the main focus is on blending traditional and modern rules in the formulation and design of the Kufi type in new style .

Portculliard is in the finest traditions of 19th century blackletter revival. It's a lively mock medieval face, engraved in the manner of many a 19th century printer's plate ideal for recreating traditional certificates and invitations.

The BD LoFi typeface was originally designed on an Amiga 1200 with TypeSmith in 1997. In 2023 BD LoFi received an update with a wider language support and a variable version with a bolder look.

Cooper Poster was inspired by showcard lettering samples featured in the book, Commercial Art Of Show Card Lettering, published in 1945. Although named ""Western"", the design was modeled after Ozwald Cooper's 1921 original Cooper Black.

Bases Loaded JNL is a contour outline variant of Ebbets JNL, which was in turn a stylized variant of the retro-inspired Base Runner JNL. The design is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Introducing Volianchy is a modern sans serif font designed for the discerning user in mind. This typeface draws inspiration from contemporary design trends, while retaining a timeless essence that ensures its relevance in any era.

Mossimo is a fat slab typeface, and works best in text and display applications, such as headline, posters, signage, magazine, product branding, corporate branding, logos and titles. Several alternate characters are included in this typeface.

A poster for the 1917 Charlie Chaplin comedy “Easy Street” had Chaplin’s name hand lettered in thick, round cornered block characters. This inspired Silent Comedy JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

To be honest - there is nothing tacky about this font! The font has its origins in both comic and graffiti, but can be used in a great variety where something handmade/comic/unusual is needed!

Hand lettered production credits for the1930 film “Holiday” inspired the digital type revival Summer Holiday JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions. An Art Nouveau influence is reflected in this pleasant, casual serif typeface.

Mercadillo is a casual script typeface based on the hand painted signs you can see in markets, shops and bars. Comes in 4 different weights (Black, Bold, Regular and Light) and it has OpenType features.

Theatrics JNL gives a rounded corner treatment to Prismatiq JNL; which in turn was modeled from lettering found in an early 1900s French lettering book displayed at an online image sharing site. Limited character set.

Sailfin is a condensed geometric typeface, and works best in text and display applications, such as headline, posters, signage, magazine, product branding, corporate branding, logos and titles. Several alternate characters are included in this typeface.

Burdigala X Serif is an open and spacious typeface inspired by the classic Didones. The X Serif is ideal for larger amounts of (printed) texts in brochures, magazines and books. Being wider than usual, it works especially well in media intended for on-screen reading, such as in Pdf-documents and e-books etc. Burdigala is the ancient Roman name of the city of Bordeaux France.

ALTERA a typeface based on a logotype André Toet made for a dutch broadcast company. This typeface is in fact carries a transformation in itself: it’s composed of three different weights and shapes. In our humble opinion the possibilities are endless ! So be a sport and use this typeface for logo’s and headings. Kick the can ! Concept/Art Direction/Design: André Toet © 2017

Railroad Gothic Pro is a condensed, sans serif typeface, exclusively licensed from the Ludlow Collection. The original Railroad Gothic was produced by Ludlow in the early 1900’s, and Steve Jackaman (ITF) produced the digital version in 2017. The font provides support for Latin 1, Central, and Eastern European languages, and Cyrillic. Railroad Gothic Pro is reminiscent of typefaces used in 1900’s railyards, hence the name.

Black River It is a stunning display font that comes in three styles: Regular, Round and Rough. It also includes many alternatives and ligatures, so make them up to the extent that your design's creativity is enough. This versatile it can be used both in modern projects and in vintage ones, as a main or additional one. This font is easy to use, has OpenType features.