Handwritten Typography (Uses+Inspiration+Free Fonts)

April 7th 2009

Typography

by Tom

This post looks at the common uses of handwritten typography within web design. It showcases some excellent uses of handwritten typography, and also provides the 10 best free handwritten fonts to use in your own designs.

Handwritten Fonts:

Handwritten fonts are hugely popular in the design world, and perhaps nowhere more so than in the field of web design. Particularly in the recent years of ‘grunge design’ trends, handwritten fonts have been pushed to their very limits, often with fantastically creative outcomes.

We’re going to look at just how to integrate these awesome fonts into successful designs, and get the most out of the trend that is handwritten typography.

20 Best Free Handwritten Fonts

I’ve narrowed down the 10 best handwritten fonts. These free fonts are sure to give your work a professional look!

10. Honey I Stole Your Jumper

Handwritten Typography in Web Design:

Handwritten typography can give an impression of detail and preciseness to a web design. Additionally, it can denote creativity, and naturalism.

The 10 websites below show excellent examples of handwritten typography:

Barista use handwritten typography to create a fun atmosphere that engages the viewer. The combination of handwritten text and hand-drawn arrows entice the user to click on the various parts of this website.

Many web design agencies utilize handwritten typography, and VSplash is a great example of this. The combination of standard web fonts and handwritten typography subtly signify a fusion of creativity and function.

BrandNew use handwritten typography to fit with their easy-going, creative philosophy. The way that their menu navigation appears to be simply scrawled on a wall shows how they are able to think outside of the box, a sentiment that is echoed on their about page, and in the homepage video.

Alex Saunders’ portfolio combines handwritten fonts and bright colors to create a very approachable, friendly atmosphere within his website. The website is almost child-like in this respect, but in terms of design is highly professional and deliberate.

SprocketHouse has combined the styles of handwritten, grungy and retro to great effect. This design shows how handwritten fonts can really give a sense of authenticity to more retro designs, as regular fonts would spoil the effect.