One Tuesday every month, I’m going to round up a couple (maybe a few) awesome display typefaces to showcase and give a little breakdown on each one. If you have a suggestion you want me to take a look at, drop me a line. Let’s jump straight into some headline goodness.
Stgotic
Foundry : Latinotype
Designer(s) : Daniel Hernández
Cost: $10
Stgotic is a unique idea. It is a pixel based blackletter typeface. That modern interpretation of a historic model gives Stgotic a retro coolness. It also reminds me kind of a cross stitch, embroidered pattern. Being pixel based, it’s limited to looking best in multiples of 8 point font size. With all the bits hanging off, long readability would suffer, but with all its character and personality Stgotic is definitely a display face for headlines. Plus, it is on sale for $5 at MyFonts through March 25 — so go grab a copy today.
Anodyne
Foundry : Yellow Design Studio
Designer(s) : Ryan Martinson
Cost: $80
Another great introductory offer on MyFonts is Anodyne — on sale for $19 until February 25th. This all caps sans-serif gets its character from the block printed texture and slight unevenness that works into the edges of the letters. Each glyph has two to four variations of textures that can be accessed with Opentype contextual alternates to create unique combinations. Add to that a second typeface of drop shadow hatching lines and you have tons of grungy, rustic personality. Layer the regular typeface and the hatching lines with different colors to set a really eye-catching headline.
Sovereign Display
Foundry : G‑Type
Designer(s) : Nick Cooke
Cost: $46
This decorative display face makes it quick work to add some formal flair to a piece of work. With built-in drop shadows, horizontal rules, and 3‑D outlining — this font immediately lends the iconic look of engraving and paper currency. Sovereign Display would make the perfect drop capital for starting chapters in a book or setting the titles for formal certificates.
Meander
Foundry : Thrift & Thistle
Designer(s) : Matt Hull
Cost: FREE
Meander is an experimental doodle typeface from UK outfit Thrift & Thistle. The lowercase is a connected script while the uppercase letters have a few loops here and there. The entire face has a rough, chopped look — like a child cut the letters out of construction paper. That looks gives the letters charm and personality. Meander has the perfect style for a children’s book or any project looking for a handmade and slightly vintage look. Be sure to check out the other handwriting-based typefaces Matt has available on his website.
Hexa
Foundry : Akos Polgardi
Designer(s) : Akos Polgardi
Cost: FREE
Following some strict and rigid construction principles, designer Akos Polgardi has put together a stunning blackletter inspired typeface. Comprised of straight lines and angles, Hexa has crazy rhythm that bounces you from one letter and word to the next. Each line carries you down valleys and up mountains just to read it. For short headlines and blockquotes, this engagement is really effective in getting someones attention. Over a full paragraph, the lack of readability would make you go insane. But as a display typeface, Hexa’s unique shapes command attention and presence.
Thanks for mentioning the Meander font, really appreciate the review and great to get your feedback.
Absolutely. Thanks for making awesome stuff and giving it away for free.
Thanks for the write up, Griffin.
No problem, thank you for designing some awesome type.