FaceTypes: open and free fonts, curated
Free fonts worth using.
Hand-picked. Free for commercial use. Designers credited.
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About FaceTypes
FaceTypes is a hand-picked library of hundreds of free and open-source typefaces. Every font is previewed, credited and licence-checked for commercial use, with a link straight to its designer or official source.
Why
Good open type is scattered across Google Fonts, independent foundries, design schools and designers' GitHub pages, and mixed in with a lot of fonts that are weak, badly made or not really free. FaceTypes brings the good ones together in one place and leaves the rest out.
Who makes it
FaceTypes is made by Tony McGuigan, a graphic designer and creative director in London.
He studied design at Barnet College in north London, when Ray Gun, Emigre, Dazed & Confused and Typography Now were rewriting the rules and type was being layered, broken and pulled apart. Tony found himself drawn the other way: to the clarity of Josef Müller-Brockmann and Wim Crouwel, and to the work of Peter Saville and Mark Farrow. For him, design is a process of reduction: stripping away until only what's necessary is left.
He started out in print, before the web, and has since worked with some of the world's leading brands in finance, law, tech, healthcare, fashion, leisure and entertainment, mostly on corporate work. Today that work is largely digital, with the odd piece of print, through his business, TMStudio.
FaceTypes applies the same process of reduction to free type. There are thousands of free fonts out there; FaceTypes keeps only the ones worth using, and credits each to the person who made it.
Tony is available for design work. To see his portfolio or talk about a project, email [email protected]. He's also on LinkedIn.
How fonts are chosen
Every font here is free for commercial use. Each one is checked for its licence and a full Latin character set before it's added, then judged on quality. Personal-use-only fonts, pay-what-you-want fonts, duplicates and weaker designs are left out. Each page credits the designer and links to the source, never to sites that re-post fonts.
How fonts are sorted
Fonts are sorted the way type designers sort them, not by loose tags. There are six categories: sans serif, serif, slab serif, monospace, display and handwriting. Each is split into sub-styles. Serifs run from Venetian and Old Style through Transitional and Didone to Contemporary. Sans serifs divide into Grotesque, Neo-Grotesque, Geometric, Humanist and more. Display covers everything from poster and stencil faces to script, blackletter and pixel fonts.
Keeping it free
FaceTypes is free to use, and every font on it is chosen on merit; no one can pay to be listed. It's made by one designer in London, alongside paid work. If it's saved you time on a project, you can buy me a coffee. It helps cover the running costs.
For partnerships, sponsorship or press, email [email protected] or see the Press page. Any sponsorship is clearly labelled and kept apart from the picks.
Buy type when you can
Typefaces take years to make. If a project has the budget, license one: the Foundries page points to studios worth supporting. When it doesn't, good free type means better design everywhere.
The Identifier
Seen lettering you like? Upload a picture, type the letters, and the Identifier compares them against more than 1,700 font families to suggest the closest free matches in FaceTypes. It runs in your browser: images are never uploaded or stored.
Common questions
Are these fonts really free for commercial use?
Yes. Every font in FaceTypes has a licence that allows commercial use: client work, products, packaging, websites and apps. Most use the SIL Open Font License, and the rest use similar free licences. Each font's page says which. Fonts that are free for personal use only are never included.
What is the SIL Open Font License?
The SIL Open Font License (OFL) is the most common licence for free fonts. It lets you use, embed and share a font, including commercially. The main conditions are that you can't sell the font files on their own, and modified versions must be released under the same licence with a different name.
Can I use these fonts in a logo?
Generally, yes. The OFL and most other licences here cover logos and brand work, including for clients, because they restrict selling the font itself, not what you make with it. A free font isn't exclusive, though, so others can use it too. Always read the licence that comes with the download.
Can I use them on a website or in an app?
Yes. Open licences like the OFL allow fonts to be embedded in websites, apps and PDFs. You can self-host the files from the download, and many are also available from Google Fonts.
Why isn't my favourite free font here?
Either it didn't make the cut, its licence doesn't clearly allow commercial use, or it hasn't been found yet. Suggestions are welcome at [email protected].
The legal bit
Licences
FaceTypes doesn't own or sell any of these typefaces; each belongs to its designer or foundry. Each page states its licence, and the one supplied with the download is the one that applies, so read it before you use a font.
Downloads
Fonts are always downloaded from an official or licence-permitted source: the designer, the foundry, an official open-source host or a site the licence allows to share it. Where a licence allows, or the owner has given permission, previews use files served from this site; otherwise FaceTypes shows a preview image and links to the source.
No warranty
Details are checked carefully but can change. FaceTypes accepts no liability for how fonts are used; if it matters, check the licence at the source.
Links to sources
Some sites give away paid fonts as "free". If a link here ever leads to a font shared without its designer's permission, please email [email protected] and it'll be removed immediately.
Corrections
Designer or foundry and something's wrong, or you'd like a font removed? Email [email protected] and it'll be fixed promptly.
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