21 Most Used Fonts By Professional Designers
The fonts are one of the most important parts of every web Project. All though there have been many other selective collection font posts around which most of the time leads to big confusions Like which typefaces is really useful for your project or how to choose your font from the list of hundred fonts.
We spent last whole week reviewing dozens of font reservoirs and typography articles about fonts usability and popularity. Finally we end up with a list of 21 Most Used Fonts by Professional Designers in Web Designing World. All the screenshots made in such a way that there is no point of confusion. You can directly check the actual preview and corresponding font type.
The basic purpose behind this post is to show popular font types. there is no direct download link available for any font. You can find some related references at the end of the post.
1. Helvetica
2. Frutiger
3. Myriad Pro
4. Avenir Std
5. Trajan
6. Optima Std
7. ITC Franklin Gothic Std
8. Futura
9. Bickham Script
10. Univers
11. Eurostile
12. Interstate
13. Trade Gothic
14. Gill Sans
15. Warnock
16. Kepler
17. Bodoni
18. Bembo
19. Rockwell
20. Meta
21. Gotham
Other References
Great roundup, I have about half of those, going to download the other half.
Keep of these great roundups :)
wow fonts really bother me a lot! thanks for the great share :D
@Brandon – Welcome at iShift, We also want to provide the download links for listed fonts but it’s certainly violating some laws. so we keep our limits.
@narendra – Welcome here, In my case, fonts bothers me too :)
@varioke – Thanks for the info and welcome to iShift !!
5. Tarjan has to be 5. Trajan
Nice post!!
Wow! I use almost all of those! I am going to try to use something different on my next project.
The most not be professional web designers without Arial or Verdana on the list.
truth!
The less “Bickham” font that exists in the world, the better.
You do realize “professional” is spelled incorrectly in your article image, right? There’s only one f.
Thanks a lot of sharing the fonts for helping to me
why arial is not included? great post by the way
@Hosting Reviews – i also love Verdana.
@Jager – that’s true, but not now days.
will try to include those in our next volume.
Where’s Comic Sans MS? I see that EVERYWHERE. It’s like, how do we look cool? Use Comic Sans MS.
Except it isn’t cool. It isn’t cool at all.
Thanks for the nice collection.
Where’s the Verdana love? Guess I’m the only fan. Cool post and I would have to say very accurate.
Thanks for the list, these fonts look great!
I use most of those fonts but I think DIN FF should be added and Myriad is seriously overused these days; I don’t think it looks very professional anymore.
Wow this is truly amazing! It’s absolutely fantastic and very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Escoofield –
http://alotofit.com
Have Fun!
Are they listed in order of popularity? I imagine so, but it should have been stated. Also, I note you have included a whopping 13 sans serifs, 1 in between (Optima – my favorite), only six with serifs, of which one (Trajan) has only upper case, and one in another style – Bickham – of which the less said, the better. There are, in my opinion, too many sans serifs here; Frutiger, Interstate and Gotham are boring, while Franklin is useful but boring. Eurostyle is passé, and I dislike Rockwell on principle. The rest are remarkably similar. I think more serifs that are imaginative but businesslike are needed to make this a truly useful list. ITC Galliard and ITC Tiepolo are pleasing to the eye, and Goudy Old Style has its place. Something with an even lower x-height as well would tickle my eye. How can there be no serious Italic? – Bembo doesn’t count. And finally, there should be at least one good period font – my longtime favorite is the streamlined Sprint.
I agree with Susan. More serif font suggestions, please.
@Eureka:
Professional designers don’t use Comic Sans. Amateurs might.
My new favorite font is Georgia.
Nice information and attractively presented!
STUMBLED!
I’m a verdana lover myself, nice list.
Excellent list ! It really proves that classic, finely crafted fonts can’t get out of fashion.
wow, I love how you have links to download/install all those fonts………. ummmm…ya?
Just one curious quick question, how can we buy professional fonts in bulk, I saw couple of fonts selling website, they are selling them individually. It will be financial disaster if we have to fork all the money for each individual font. Any idea?
I love typography, a font is a story. Thank for share!
Hey great list. There is so many bad fonts out the it can get very confusing, these are nice fonts and as always I read the comment for more handy tips
Myriad made the list because of lazy designers using the Adobe default.
I miss the 70’s and letraset…
Just told my wife, it is cool to see Helvetica and Optima, two fonts I used in Letraset in the early 70s.
@Zman – We cant provide download links as they are not available for free.
@Freddywang – it’s always good to contact them via mail for bulk order. that way you can get lot more discount.
@Eureka, Henry, – We trying to include that in next volume.
@Susan Meehan – Agreed with your point but it kinda messy to include all the types of individual fonts.
@JonShannow – that’s the whole point behind this volume.
@kuyuri
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arial#Criticism.2FSimilar_fonts for info on arial.
It’s the bastard child of Helvetica.
I love avenir. Didn’t know it was this popular. Maybe I’m not a professional.
At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, I believe it’s important to be aware that:
Having “all”, “most” or even “half” of these typefaces won’t make you a ‘professional’.
Without an understanding of the basics of typography and experience you will be doing a disservice to both your design and whichever typeface you employ.
Typefaces are tools and, like any tool, the outcome (harmonious or discordant) is a signifier of the user’s proficiency and ability.
My advice is to do your research on the examples above, find out what medium they’re suited to, pick one sans and one serif from the above list and PRACTICE.
Michael Beirut (of Pentagram and the “Helvetica” film fame)wrote an article in Design Observer touching on this very subject where he recounts working for Massimo Vignelli after he finished his studies. I suggest you look it up.
Georgia is nice enough, but “new favourite font” (you mean typeface) is about as “fan-boy” (-girl) as you can get….
And, for the record: Connare’s Comic Sans is fine PROVIDED it’s used where it was designed to be used – in comics / graphical representations of comics. And for that reason only. Todd McFarlane’s admitted to using it.
To sum up all of the above:
Context is key.
What about an appropriate font for books, poetry, non-fiction, etc. I’m a little tired of Casalon Pro, Garamond Pro…any suggestions for serif fonts that are easy on the eye…not too fancy, yet artsy?
Completely breath of what typography has to offer. This fonts teach about every are a font library should have.
Great list. Never heard of Avenir before today.
Thanks for posting this nice list..
Arial is pretty much the Microsoft version of Helvetica only not as good. There is a good documentary film by Gary Hustwit about the no. 1 font in this list. It’s called ‘Helvetica.’
http://www.helveticafilm.com/
Where’s verdana?
This is a nice assortment, however, it would be nice to know where to get them for free.
yer english sucks… what a waste of time this post was. No really, thanks! It makes such a difference.
I’m a long-term professional designer, and while I have most if not all of these fonts in my collection I never use them. Why? Because I don’t like them. As you say, they’re overused, and not at all typographically elegant or suitable for most clients’ needs.
Typefaces are, to me, one of the joys of design – matching the brief with appropriate (or unexpected) visual style, and the font used is very much a part of the process.
I do however admit to a guilty secret – I’ve been using Calibri for body text quite a lot recently . . .
Good post, i love avantgarde
I guess I’m not a professional. I use Comic Sans most of the time. I have written 13 books using it. My website has had 106,000 hits just to look at my Comic Sans poetry, or maybe it’s my illustrations.
i hope that we can all take it easy with Trajan. I really like that font and it is getting a little over used.
i hope it doesn’t become the next papyrus
the new hero of fresh types is for sure the DIN. all the upper listed types i had also learned in my design school which was 1993…
this list is not up to date…
This list is totally lame. How did you quantify this, all you said is “We spent last whole week reviewing dozens of font reservoirs and typography articles about fonts usability and popularity.” Where are the examples of their use throughout the web? This is just a roundup of fonts people use – no examples, no discussion. Puh-lease.
O, and Bickham script? Really? I mean… really???
Good article
Guilty!
Good
@wesley – Soon we’ll going to post new list of Most Used Free Fonts. There you can find all the info related to free downloads :)
@R. Wayne Edwards – just saw your poetry. Very nice !!
@dont forget – Sure you did. Old is Gold.
@Adam – the only reason why we didn’t include any examples and discussion is that we don’t want to look this list messy and crappy.
Nice list.
Thank you.
I think FF DIN should also be there.
Awesome list… very helpful for us designers! Thanks for posting!
This is not serious, man!. Where are Garamond, Univers, Times, Caslon, Clarendon? I mean, the all time classics.
Good. I like It. Tanks everybody
I think you’re forgetting the mighty snowcaps chaps
about 50% accurate…not bad, but could be more accurate.
A pro
sorry to harp on this. my Emcyclopaedia of Tye Faces (ISBN 1-84188-139-2) lists most of these alphabets complete. type originators gave permission to show.
Yep use most of those on a regular basis, Gotham has become the main font where I work.
@Freddywang
this might help:
http://www.adobe.com/education/products/fontfolioeducationessentials/
I’ve been a professional designer for 24 years, and honestly, I’ve never used several of these. In fact, I intentionally avoid a few of them. One of the primary things that has plagued web design since its inception is horrible typography. I’m unsure if posts like this one help to improve or erode web designers’ understanding of good typography.
The idea that there are 21 most used fonts which represent good design on the web is a bit of an odd concept. Type is designed with very specific characteristics in mind for each typeface, therefore, each and every company, person, product, or service may be best represented by different typefaces. The fact that there are tens of thousands of typefaces is testament to this fact.
I encourage designers to explore and use many typefaces outside of the 21 listed here. Of course, I have my favorites as well, some of which are listed here. Helvetica, Trajan, Franklin, Gotham and various incarnations of Bodoni rank high on my list. That said, I would never use them simply because they are among my favorites. I only use them when their character perfectly fits the job.
The good old Verdana and Arial are missing.
I can’t think a webpage without a Verdana.
(Yeah Im a little bit Verdana fan)
People: web fonts are missing from this list, because we’re talking about design – not web typography. That is different, and has technical limitations (unfortunately, limited to what is pre-installed on Windows for the most part).
Verdana is only useful for screen display. Arial is a pale imitation of Helvetica. My father printed a whole book in Verdana, which really hurts to read in print. They simply don’t belong on a designer’s list because, in reality, they’re not that well made.
Look to Adobe (with excellent OpenType fonts), Monotype, House, T26 for great fonts. My current fave: Cacelia.
Very good post
fantastic list, thanks! its hard to find classic, well-rounded fonts for print use. my current favourite is Tw Cen MT, but i’ll sure be using some more of these now :-)
Great source of fonts.
Check out http://www.franklyfranklin.co.uk/2009/yet-another-font-resource-post/
great post!
Like Kelly said, I’ve avoided most of these in my 20-plus years. Perhaps post should have read “21 most [over]used fonts…”
Muchas Gracias por las fuentes, me van a ser de gran ayuda en mi diseños :(
Yeah, I’m a big avant garde fan too.
Good font bring me a big convenience , thanks
What is life really like for soldiers serving on the front line in Afghanistan? ,
It’s cool, thanks
ohh yes very nice.I used http://www.ucretsiztarot.com and http://www.kompozisyonornekleri.com :) thank you for fonts
Great post. I use most of these fonts, often.
What I find interesting is that most of the readers didn’t really READ the post. These fonts are 21 fonts used by professional designers. He didn’t say the ONLY fonts. There are other fonts used, and sometimes often.
Personally, I think Verdana (as stated by another commentor) isn’t a great font. The letters don’t flow as easily and the kerning pairs aren’t always perfect. A great font/typeface will be designed so that the kerning pairs are almost perfect and require minimal adjusting. Also, a great font will be easy on the eye… easy to read… something you don’t have to really THINK about.
Thanks for the post.
yes nice post !!! Thanks admin
nice informations thanks all !!
nice informations thanks all !!
nice post .. thanks admin
thank you all !!! nice info
wow great list, I love to create pictures with typography in my spare time. thanks for sharing
Periodic Table of Typefaces » Lone Gunman
great fonts , thank
I used a lot of these fonts, does that make me a professional? :)
awesome list of fonts
I have all of these fonts, and count them as my favorites as well!
Good roundup.
Great article!
Useful
I wish you continued success our really cool site
Thanks for sharing !
Nice ! thanks for sharing !
Surely nice collection and amazing thing to know about.
Nice font sharing….
I like your information. i am always look for this type of interesting and good information
I like your information. i am always look for this type of interesting and good information
thanks for collecting those useful font.I have all as you show….
Nice fonts. Thanks guys
Ohh,Very cool collection.Thanks mate….
Ohh,Very cool collection.Thanks mate….
wow great list, thanks for sharing. I love to create pictures with typography in my spare time.
this is very informative post! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. Though I’m using some of these already
Great collection, cool fonts thanks
Very interesting! Cool fonts!
Cool !!!
I will make use of them in my next project….
Wow, Helvetica is on the top. I usually use verdana. But it seems I need to make changes after I have read this post.
Nice font sharing….
Hi
i am Dev these fonts are good for web page design
Great Post about font.
Myriad is one of my all time favorites, I’m glad it made the list :)
Well worth to read. Thanks for sharing this information.
You had some nice points here. I done a research on the topic and got most peoples will agree with you
If anyone uses eurostile, they’re not a professional in my book.
The font size of 9. Bickham Script I really like it, thanks for this nice collection.
Nice collection!
you are me !
That is your right.
Thank….Nice collection sneh… I helped alot for me… Thank again
Thanks for sharing. It’s absolutely fantastic and very interesting, and looks very professional.
I liked Bickhem script thee most. Because its to fancy
Thanks for sharing this information!
I love Helvetica and Myriad fonts.
Great and helpfull list.
it its really informative and innovative keep us posted with new updates. its was really valuable
great post!
Thanks Guys.
Good. I like It. Tanks everybody
best font for everyone…
I agree that Helvetica is one of the fonts being used by professional designers since it is the font, which I was previously looking to download. Although some of the websites that I found online didn’t provide free fonts, I am glad to learn that Helvetica is one of the additional fonts in the application that I am using. Thanks for sharing some insights about the fonts.
NICE FONTS ………….
I really like the look of that theme. thanks for sharing
Ваше сообщение … I thank for very helpful information! I am very glad that you are!
Great post. I use most of these fonts, often.
Great post!
Thanks
List is ok, as a professional designer I try to avoid using the “obvious choice”
Check out this site fontsinuse.com
An emerging site with great examples of typefaces in use.
Excellent fonts ! Really enjoyed these!
Actually I was looking for a font look like Drawing Stencil. Used in building plans. It is not here.
great post thankssss
as a professional designer I try to avoid using the “obvious choice”
Check out this site dleelsite.com
An emerging site with great examples of typefaces in use
Hi dear
Thanks a lot of sharing the fonts for helping to everyone
I love all fonts because of every one fonts value is very important
many many thanks
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I believe you have a cool site here… i just happened to find it doing a google search. anyway, great post.. i’ll be bookmarking this page for certain.
Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thank you However I am experiencing issue with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting identical rss problem? Anyone who knows kindly respond. Thnkx
What about “Kozuka Gothic Pro”?
Anyone ever notice that Google Fonts API has similar font styles?
very accurate findings. I have and use a good bit of these. some fonts just don’t get old or outdated.
This fonts teach about every are a font library should have.
Thanks for this list. Will help me flesh out my collection a bit for when I write documents.
Verdana is my all time favorite for fonts
I believe these fonts are not the most used in he wold because obviously they only looked at some to little graphic designs.
“Interstate” is my favorite, nice post, well done.
I give up. How do I download the “free fonts”?
some of the fonts are really great.
thank for the info
thanks for acknowledging because me I have some fonts which I didn’t know that they are mostly used
I really think Gotham has to be higher on this list…
thanks, very nice article!
Quite exciting publish. This is my first time go here. I found so many exciting things in your weblog site, especially it is conversation. Thanks for the post!
I really admire for your work
Trajan font looks fine!
Fruitful resource!
Thanks!