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Free Fonts Of The Month: Fertigo Pro, FF Nuvo

By Smashing Editorial, July 28th, 2008 in Fonts | 54 Comments

Every now and again we take a look around, select “fresh” high-quality free fonts and present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually the time you should be investing in your current projects. We search for them and we find them, so you don’t have to.

This month we are glad to present only two freefonts, however these are truly beautiful ones: Fertigo Pro and FF Nuvo Medium. Please read the license agreements carefully — they can change from time to time.
- Free Fonts Of June features the updated Anivers, Gentium and Fresco,
- You can find over 80 more free fonts in our section Fonts.
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Sexy, Bold And Experimental Typography

By Smashing Editorial, May 12th, 2008 in Inspiration | 198 Comments

Sometimes typography is all you need to communicate your ideas effectively. Graphics can support the type or type can support the graphics, but to deliver the message precisely, you need to make sure your type is expressive enough, your design is distinctive enough and the composition is strong enough. The results are sometimes crazy, sometimes artsy, sometimes beautiful, but often just different from things we're used to. Thus designers explore new horizons and we explore new viewing perspectives which is what inspiration is all about.

This post showcases over 70 examples of sexy, bold and experimental typography. Some examples are typographic posters, some are typographic illustrations and some are just sketches with type. In any case, you will hopefully find some inspiration for your future works.

Feel free to check out our previous typography-related posts:
- Breathtaking Typographic Posters with over 50 typographic posters designed by artists across the globe. We feature Oriental, Iranian, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese and Russian typographic posters as well as a number of further references,
- Typography In Motion presents some excellent examples of typography embedded into movies and videos,
- The Showcase of BIG Typography with over 35 examples of big, “loud” and yet elegant typography in web design.
So what can be achieved out of simple letters and symbols? Please be patient, some screenshots are huge.

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60 Brilliant Typefaces For Corporate Design

By Smashing Editorial, March 20th, 2008 in Fonts | 140 Comments

Typography is more than being legible and looking good. Among other things, effective typography manages to achieve two important objectives: a) to create an appropriate atmosphere and enable users to develop trust toward the site and b) to make sure visitors get the main message of the site and (if possible) become interested in the services offered on the site. Since written text is the most efficient instrument to communicate with visitors precisely and directly, the power of typography shouldn't be underestimated.

To communicate effectively, typography requires appropriate typefaces. Last year we've presented 80 Beautiful Typefaces For Professional Design, a selection of excellent typefaces one should be aware of when developing web-sites. Now it's time to update our selection with typefaces we've missed then and new typefaces which have been developed over the last year.

Below you'll find over 60 first-class typefaces for corporate design. Please notice that they are not free; however, we've focused on typefaces which are definitely worth spending money on. So which typefaces are “bulletproof”? What fonts can be used effectively in almost every Corporate Design? And what are the options for unique, but still incredibly beautiful typefaces? Let's find out.

You might also want to take a look at the
- post 40 Free Fonts For Professional Design and
- at the section Fonts which has a number of typography-related posts.
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Free Fonts of the Month: Revalo, Nadia Serif, Qlassik

By Smashing Editorial, September 13th, 2007 in Fonts | 69 Comments

Sometimes web design is just about beautiful typography. Used with a profound understanding of white space, basic typographic principles and usability heuristics, it can sufficiently highlight the main sections of the site and its key-elements. Font size of headers, body copy and navigation is important. Leading is important. Line length is important. And the visibility of links is important. Basically, that's it - really, you don't need more. There are literally thousands of professional typefaces you can use, you might use dozens of them; however there is also a plenty of high-quality freefonts which can serve as reasonable and feasible alternatives and fulfill your requirements just as well. We collect all of them regularly, so you don't have to.

Over the last month we've found six high-quality free fonts you can use for both private and commercial projects. Please check out the license agreements before using these typefaces - disclaimers can change from time to time.
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80 Beautiful Typefaces For Professional Design

By Smashing Editorial, August 8th, 2007 in Fonts | 398 Comments

You don't like to scroll? Be prepared. (We warned you.)

Every now and again designers stumble upon the very same problem: the choice of a unique and beautiful typeface which manages to fulfill three basic tasks. Support the corporate identity, enrich the visual appearance and is compatible with the overall design. However, usually there are simply too many options you can consider, which is why you need time to find the option you are most comfortable with. Although the choice usually depends on clients' requirements, it is necessary to have some pretty starting points for your font decision.

So which typefaces are "bulletproof"? What fonts can be used effectively in almost every Corporate Design? And what are the options for unique, but still incredibly beautiful typefaces?

We have answers. Over the last few days we've browsed through dozens of type foundries, read dozens of designers' articles about typography, analyzed font rankings and visited bookmarked font-related suggestions. So this post has 'em all. Well, OK, at least many of them.

Let's take a look at over 80 gorgeous typefaces for professional design, based upon suggestions from designers and web-developers all over the world. Most screenshots are taken from the foundries and provided specimens - particularly on Veer.com and Fontshop.com.

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Free Fonts of the Month: Geo Sans, OT Versa, Diavlo

By Smashing Editorial, April 2nd, 2007 in Fonts | 52 Comments

We continue to collect most beautiful high quality freefonts, which can be used for both private and professional projects without any restrictions whatsoever. They are hard to find, but the search is definitely worth it. Over the last 30 days we've managed to find few oldies such as famous Geo Sans and Mank Sans by Manfred Klein, but also some newbies such as Jos Buivenga's Diavlo. You might also be interested in further free fonts we've presented recently. Before using the font, don't forget to read the legal agreement carefully. They change from time to time. If you like this series of articles, please spread the word, so that 1) we know you are interested; 2) many designers as possible can improve the quality of typography on their web-sites.
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5 More Freefonts: Chúcara, Preface, Colaborate

By Smashing Editorial, February 24th, 2007 in Fonts | 30 Comments

High quality freefonts are always nice to have, but usually they are extremely hard to find. Usually it requires much time and patience to get a lead on some gorgeous typofaces out there. Every week we take a close look around, visit dozens of typography-related sites, check out the latest updates and choose the best free fonts, which have been released or appeared over the last few weeks. And all the fonts we find are getting published immediately, here on Smashing Magazine. So what did we find this week?

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Fertigo - Free Font Of The Week

By Smashing Editorial, December 11th, 2006 in Fonts | 9 Comments

We continue to collect most beautiful high quality freefonts, which can be used for both private and professional projects without any restrictions whatsoever. They are hard to find, but the search is definitely worth it. Over the last 30 days we've managed to find few oldies such as famous Geo Sans and Mank Sans by Manfred Klein, but also some newbies such as Jos Buivenga's Diavlo. You might also be interested in further free fonts we've presented recently. Before using the font, don't forget to read the legal agreement carefully. They change from time to time.
Read more...