Let’s talk about open-source fonts. Business owners that don’t have a degree in design can take charge of their digital aesthetic by experimenting with these two elements. All too frequently, we become disenchanted with our design projects, losing the initial jubilation somewhere between the fifteenth and sixteenth iterations, failing to translate the original vision into a concrete final draft. At these moments, approaching from an alternate angle can forcibly extract us from the pit of inside-the-box thinking we slip into. Like colour, font is one such angle — a basic but crucial component of design, one that anyone can experiment with. It may refresh your written content, as you find more elegant ways to display text, or it may trigger new design ideas, as you discover a font that lends itself to an image, graphic design or colour scheme. Here are the best resources for open-source font mining.
Google Fonts
As is often the case, Google outdoes most of the competition with Google Fonts. With 1284 high-quality font families, this should be your first port-of-call for inspiration. The intuitive service allows you to type your own text in, so you can experiment with how different copy generates different visual qualities. The tools used by top, high-paid web designers and marketers are no flashier, a simple combination of sleek fonts and compelling copy that jumps out to passers-by. You can achieve a similar effect by keeping your text sparse and your fonts crisp.
Open Foundry
Packed with slick fonts, Open Foundry is another high-quality provider. The text can be changed to whatever copy you’ve generated, and you need only click on the font’s link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the download option.
The League of Movable Type
The League of Movable Type is a highly-varied platform. You can find more comical, characterful fonts, and you can find classic, professional styles. Consider this option if your business wants to tickle and amuse its customers with a less rigid, professional tone.
MyFonts
MyFonts is one of the largest resources on this list. With both free and purchasable options, the library is extensive, and even the free fonts are impressive. MyFonts shows you the successful businesses using these very fonts, revealing how excellent typography is well within your domain of possibility.
Small businesses have increasing access to good visual design. What used to be an elite club of professionals has now opened up to allow thousands of freelancers (even those working from home) to step into the field, creating options for every price range. Learning resources are now available that permit anyone and their grandparents to learn the basics of design. Ross Pike of web design agency Koreti Ltd comments, ‘High-quality visual branding has transitioned from a luxury to an expectation, and there are more designers offering their services than ever before. Trade secrets are out, the community is in discussion and the bar just gets continually higher.’ The most important change for the average business owner or employee is that it is far easier now to break down the various daunting components of design into surpassable hurdles. Professional fonts are one such component, and can make the difference between a visual catastrophe and a truly impressive webpage.
*Collaborative post