Font Alternatives for the Every Man
April 14, 2011 | Posted by Cam Hoff
I know you're all tired of Arial or Verdana by now, and Times New Roman just isn't doing it for you anymore. You may have even gone so far as to thrown some *gasp* Comic Sans in the mix on occasion. But fear not, I've compiled a few designer-approved font alternatives that will help you elevate your next PowerPoint presentation or garage sale flyer to the top of the heap. Best of all, they're all free.
Museo Download
A geometric display font designed by Exljbris Font Foundry's super type designer, Jos Buivenga, Museo comes in a sans serif, semi-serif and slab serif. All are available for free in basic weights (but you'll have to pay if you want the entire family). Wildly popular in design circles, MyFonts named it one of the Top Ten Fonts of 2008. Museo makes a great modern alternative to Arial and Verdana, especially if you're looking for something a bit different.
Aller Download
Aller is a fantastic sans serif that comes in 7 weights all for free. It was designed by Dalton Maag Ltd. in 2008 for the Danish School of Media and Journalism. it too, is a great alternative to those tired old sans serif standards like Arial and Verdana.
DejaVu Serif Download
If you need something a little more business class to replace the Times New Roman, try DejaVu Serif. It's available in 8 free styles and will give your seriffed documents a more modern feel with it's unique square serifs.
GoodDog Download
So you're a closet Comic Sans fan, and you're looking for something a bit more playful to use in it's place. Look no further than GoodDog, designed by Fonthead Design. This hand drawn font offers a felt marker feel for use anywhere you need a casual fun touch. it's available in 3 free styles, including dingbats. While it may not be as designerly as my previous choices, it is a good option considering how poorly designed some of the more common hand drawn fonts are.
There you have it, a beginner's list of some free fonts that will help you add some new design flair to your home and office documents. Also be sure to browse around the foundry websites for more great free fonts to be had, and feel free to post links to your favorite free fonts in the comments. Happy font hunting!