One of the most vital elements in graphic design is fonts. Fonts can help set the mood of a piece or be the element that helps create an iconic logo. Selecting and pairing fonts is an art form in itself. For a bit more information on the importance of fonts and typography, Ali Baxter wrote a great article on the topic called The Importance of Typography, Part 1: Fonts Speak Louder Than Words.

There’s thousands upon thousands of fonts out there. Of course computers come pre-loaded with specific fonts, mainly those that most common or most recognizable such as Arial, Helvetica, Sans Serif, Comic Sans, Papyrus, etc. But that brings up the question of where can one find fonts that are outside the realm of what is normally used? There are site where you can purchase fonts to use. An example being fonts.com. However there are a handful of sites where you can download fonts for free that can be used for either personal use, commercial use or both! Listed below are my recommended sites to use for all your free font needs. All sites listed are very easy to navigate so no worries about having to deal with a weird or ugly user interfaces to try to work through.

dafont.com – Everything is laid out very neatly. There is an option to switch the site language is need be. The front page includes filters to find specific types of fonts along with themes. Newly added fonts. There’s a search bar to look up specific fonts. Under the search bar is a list of all the letters in the alphabet. When you click on one of the letters all fonts with a name that start with that letter will be shown. Of course a n example of the font is shown and right above the download button is whether the font is for personal use only or can be commercially used. If you click on a specific font you are given more information on the font; notes from the author, where to purchase a license for the font, a chart of how all characters look with the font and other notes about the font.

1001fonts.com – The front page includes a search bar to look up specific fonts, a drop-down menu for font categories, as well as box that has options to search within broader categories. You are given the option to type in specific text into the “Your text here” bar to get a better idea of how a font looks or to test out how your particular text will look in a font. Beside the download button you have the option to like a font (if you are registered on the site), to donate to the creator if the option is given and an indication of whether or not the font is personal or commercial use. If the square with the price tag is red that shows a font is personal use only. If the square is green that means it’s allowed for commercial use. Like with DaFont, when you click on a specific font it’ll bring you to page that gives you notes from the creator such as contact information, where to get a commercial license (if needed) or any other important details about the font.

fontsquirrel.com – The front page welcomes you with not just a sampling of some of the fonts but the statement that the fonts listed on the site are licensed for commercial work which is fantastic! Even still I would recommend checking the license for the individual fonts. On the right hand side of the page are filters to look for a particular font or type of font and a search bar at the top. When you click on a specific font it will bring you to a page on the site with the information about the font, the creator, how the individual characters/glyphs look in the font, a way to test the font and license information.

1001freefonts.com – Now this site is not to be confused with the previous site, 1001fonts.com. Like the sites we’ve already looked at, 1001freefonts has a front page that features a search bar, a filtering system to see fonts listed alphabetically or to see fonts in a specific category, a look at the new fonts added and even a function to preview how your text looks in the different fonts. On the right hand side beside the font preview is the download button and the license type. Some fonts will also have a button to donate to the creator or buy a commercial license. Like the other mentioned sites, clicking on a font will bring you to a page that gives you general information or specs on the font, creators notes and a character chart.

I feel the need to stress this but when looking at the fonts on these sites it’s important you know whether a font is for personal use only. If it is personal use only then that means you can only use it for projects that are not for profit such as school projects or portfolio pieces. If a font is allowed for commercial use then that means you can use it for projects you or your company are getting paid for. However, it is best that you take a look at the license for the font to see the terms of use for that font. That license can either be listed on the website from which you got the font or a lot of the time a license file will be included in the zip files of a font. The license files are simple word documents that will tell you if the font is personal use only or for commercial use along with the terms and conditions of using the font and may even include contact info for the creator of the font that way if you want to buy the license for commercial use you can. If you are unsure of how you can use a font (personal or commercial) it’s best to air on the side of caution lest you possibly get into a sticky situation.
For a deeper look at the legal uses of fonts for commercial and non-commerical use, I suggest reading the article The Law on Fonts and Typefaces in Design and Marketing: Frequently Asked Questions (about commercial and non-commercial use) by Ross Kimbarovsky.

If you plan on downloading or using a wide variety of fonts, I highly recommend you find a way to organize them and/or separate them by personal use or commercial use. One way to implement this organization is through a spreadsheet. Below is an example of how you could use a spreadsheet to keep track of your fonts:

Another way is to have one folder dedicated to font files and within that one folder have two separate folders. One folder for commercial use and one for personal use.

No matter what, before you use a font always check the license for it!

The world of fonts is vast. Exploring it is like falling down a rabbit hole. You think you’ll never reach the bottom, and before you know it you’ll have spent hours just wading through all the options. But sometimes searching for and experimenting with fonts is the best part of a project!

Happy font hunting!