Free alternatives to Avant Garde

ITC Avant Garde Gothic is the geometric sans of the 1970s, with perfect circles and tight, overlapping capitals. These are the closest free alternatives on FaceTypes, best match first.

  1. Cimatics by OSP (Open Source Publishing): Near-identical to Avant Garde in its Base style. The family also includes distressed Dust and Noise styles.
  2. Poppins by Indian Type Foundry, Jonny Pinhorn, Ninad Kale: The best-known free geometric sans, with the same round bowls and a big x-height.
  3. Urbanist by Corey Hu: Strict geometry and low contrast, cooler than Avant Garde but very close in shape.
  4. Google Sans by Google: Google's brand sans: geometric round letters with friendlier details.

About Avant Garde

Avant Garde Gothic grew out of Herb Lubalin's logo for Avant Garde magazine and was released by ITC in 1970, drawn with Tom Carnase. It's now owned by Monotype and needs a paid licence.

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