Classic Fonts For Designers That Will Rock Your Designs
Have you ever thought of using classic fonts in your designs? If no, why not? A lot of top designers are using them and they’re creating killer designs.
It can be difficult for designers to find a typeface that is beautiful, unique and also manages to perfectly fit with the desired corporate branding.
There is such a wide scope of available classic fonts for designers to choose from, that selecting just one can be a problem.
Although the final decision always rests with the client, it is wise to have a spectrum of classic fonts to use as a starting point.
Every year sees several new fonts emerge into the marketplace, however the most popular choice is always classic fonts for websites of most descriptions.
The reason for this is that they look appealing and easy to read while at the same time having the air of professionalism that businesses value. Here we look at some of the top classic typography fonts that have found prominence in the market.
Classic fonts that you should know of
Helvetica
Image source: Jeff Archibald
Helvetica is one of the most familiar and frequently used classic fonts in the world. It is so popular because it fulfills the most important purpose of typography, which is essentially to be simple to decipher.
Garamond
Based on Claude Garamond‘s work that dates back as far as the 16th century, this family of serif fonts has excellent readability while retaining an elegance and sense of character. For this reason, this classic font is frequently used for printing novels and pamphlets due to its appeal among authors and publishers.
Frutiger
Image source: Andrew Ash
The story behind the Frutiger typeface is an interesting one that goes back to 1968 when Adrian Frutiger was hired to design the signage for the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Despite having already designed a successful font, the Univers family of typefaces, he instead made the decision to create a new sans serif font which would be specifically adapted to meet the needs of airport signage, being easy to read from the road and pavement.
Bodoni
Bodoni is an example of a classic 19th century typeface that has been adapted and revived for modern use by Morris Fuller Benton. Complete with a sturdy and mechanical appearance, it is now found in regular use.
Futura
The Futura font was designed in 1927 and was themed on the Bauhaus geometric pattern design trend that was in vogue between 1919 and 1933. Created by Paul Renner, this classic font was intended to be a contribution on the New Frankfurt project.
Akzidenz-Grotesk
This classic font has a very old heritage that goes back as far as the 1880s.
Possibly derivative of the Walbaum or Didot serif fonts, this typeface brings together several grotesque typefaces which come from a range of designers into a family collection.
Gill Sans
Wrongly determined to be quintessentially British, in fact the Gill Sans font has been found in use throughout the world and for a huge range of applications. Although it is decidedly distinctive, it nevertheless is perfect for a wide choice of purposes. It’s one of my top choices of classic fonts from this article.
Univers
Designed by the same Adrian Frutiger as created the font for Charles de Gaulle Airport, this classic typeface was created specifically for Charles Peignot and imposes a strict discipline from light to dark and from extra-condensed to extended.
Optima
The Optima is a particularly elegant and classical typeface, based on Roman lettering with its iconic flared terminals. Designed for Hermann Zapf, it varies the thicknesses of its lines to create a graceful and easy to read text appearance.
Franklin Gothic
Image source: girlonthem00n
Franklin Gothic was one of the classic fonts created by Morris Fuller Benton in 1902. Still incredibly popular after all these years, this classic font is most commonly found in use in newspaper headlines and on billboard advertising.
Bembo
Based on a 15th century Francesco Griffo typeface, Bembo was revived in 1929 by Stanley Morison.
Interstate
Interstate, as its name implies, is perfect for road signage and display purposes. First emerging in popularity in the 1990s, it was developed by Frere Jones and can also be adapted for use in print.
Rockwell
Image source: Ignacio Ricci
Rockwell was first designed as a competitor to Memphis by F.H Pierpont and is based on an early American geometric slab serif called Litho Antique.
Avenir
Another one of the classic fonts designed by Adrian Frutiger, the Avenir typeface was released in 1988 by Linotype-Hell AG and is based on the Erbar and Futura sans serif fonts. It uses two weights that, although similar, are required for differing purposes.
Baskerville
This 18th century typeface family is important because it signaled the move away from old style typefaces and a move towards the modern. Elegant and simple, it remains easy to read and therefore is still popular for use.
John Baskerville from Birmingham spawned this typeface family in 1724 and it remains a foreteller of the modernist styles that would take over typeface design in the period shortly after.
Caslon
Another classic 18th century typeface, the Caslon font was first created in 1722 and was popular throughout the century across the entire British Empire. In fact, this was the very font that was used for the American Declaration of Independence!
Since that time, it has been revived several times, each time with subtle changes. Its most notable revival period was during the Arts and Crafts movement, when it achieved a brief resurgence of popularity.
Lucida Sans
Romanesque in style, this wide spaced, easy to read classic font was one of the first typeface super families and is extremely popular today. A truly timeless font.
Myriad
A relatively recent addition to the classic typefaces, the Myriad was developed in 1992 and has now been released in the OpenType format with a Pro character set as well as with Cyrillic and Greek glyphs. This typeface has multiple uses in both display and text compositions.
Minion
Another one of these classic fonts, released in the 1990s, the Minion font was developed by Robert Slimbach and is ideal for on screen usages. This timeless font captures the elegance and simplicity of fonts from the Renaissance era.
Palatino
One of top ten most widely used typefaces in the world today, the Palatino font dates all the way back to the end of the Second World War.
Many other classic fonts have tried to copy its style because it is so attractive and yet easy to read. This traditional font has achieved massive popularity and features a style that is open and strong in appearance.
Times New Roman
Times New Roman is one of the most commonly used fonts as it is found on all computers. As you would expect from its name, this classic typeface was developed for use by The Times newspaper in London. The purpose of requiring this newly designed font was to make this newspaper stand out above the others available at the time.
Created by the Monotype Corporation in 1931, this strong and appealing font ticked all the boxes for the required criteria, supplying The Times with a new and unique typeface rather than relying on a traditional trade type. This included possessing firm contours, strongly defined lines and an economical use of space.
Sabon
Image source: Charlie Scott
The Sabon font was three years in the making and was designed and developed by Jan Tschichold. Finally achieving its release date in 1967, it was a joint venture between three foundries – Monotype, Stempel and Linotype.
This classic typeface was actually inspired by and based on an early Garamond font that had been used in 1592 and was seen by Tschicholdon having been used on a specimen sheet.
If you liked this selection of classic fonts for designers, you should check out these articles as well:
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- Typewriter Fonts You Need To Create Classic Designs
- Typography posters: Tips, Best Practices, And 108 Examples
- Typography Books From Which You Can Learn About This Beautiful Art
Bogdan Sandu, a seasoned designer with 15 years of diverse experience, has been designing websites since 2008.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
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