171 JUST™ Creative Comments

• Kolbe Maison March 4, 2009 at 11:32 pm Reply

  And yet you only need 10, if you know how to use them.

• Athena Emily March 4, 2009 at 11:36 pm Reply

  oo.Thanks! Very interesting list. I am surprised that Century Gothic isn’t on it though

• Justin March 4, 2009 at 11:43 pm Reply

  What, no comic sans :) Also surprised Century Gothic isn’t on there.

• Abbas March 5, 2009 at 12:22 am Reply

  Century Gothic is bad font, you really need to start using Avant Garde or Avian. I have the PDF of this list, visually brilliant, but it’s only available in German unfortunately. Gotham is slowly becoming my favourite.

• Mohsin March 5, 2009 at 1:01 am Reply

  Excellent stuff! And thanks for the link Jacob. :)

• Luke's Beard March 5, 2009 at 1:10 am Reply

  I love this post

• Psiplex March 5, 2009 at 1:11 am Reply

  Thanks for putting this together. Always good to see how fonts emerge, adapt, change or dissolve away from the social and design stratum. One Love

• Zachary Schweitzer March 5, 2009 at 1:16 am Reply

  Thanks so much for including the designer and especially the year the font was created – always good to put the historical context around a font, and amazing that #2 on the list is based on a design that’s almost 500 years old.

• Nix March 5, 2009 at 2:14 am Reply

  No Trebuchet? </3

• Nix March 5, 2009 at 2:18 am Reply

  Okay, I was a bit hasty there. “Free fonts or operating system fonts were not considered, nor were fonts integral to standard software (i.e. Arial, Verdana, etc.).” I think Trebuchet falls in there. As does Century Gothic, I presume.

• Bob Marchman March 5, 2009 at 4:35 am Reply

  great list, except one thing: no Centaur. Screw Trebuchet. no Centaur. Can’t please us all, eh? ;-)

• Clay McIlrath March 5, 2009 at 5:29 am Reply

  Great list, there are some fonts in the top 33 I’ve never heard of which is surprising. Also surprising that Avant Garde and Avenir aren’t in the top. Kinda sad really. Great list mate, I’m gonna have to collect the ones I don’t have!

• Clay McIlrath March 5, 2009 at 5:31 am Reply

  Correction, Avant Garde is in the top.. good to see. Still.. some of these are somewhat unsettling.. Zapfino in the top 33.. OUCH

• Cristhian Bedon March 5, 2009 at 5:41 am Reply

  Thats alot of fonts to have, but like the first guy said (Kolbe) 10 fonts would be all you might need. Maybe 20 max.

• Logo Design Guru March 5, 2009 at 7:26 am Reply

  I have to agree that that is a good list. I love the fancy fonts like the ones that are often used for weddings and such. they look so nice and professional.

• Devlin March 5, 2009 at 7:30 am Reply

  Yeah, Kabel made the list, one of my favorites. They should do a best system fonts. It might be a short list though. But if they did that article they’d have to set the entire article in Papyrus and Comic Sans. That sounds so bad it would almost be good. ALMOST. Great post as usual Jacob.

• Robin Johansen March 5, 2009 at 8:13 am Reply

  Great list, really great, allthough not many surprises. However, I wish that pdf could be translated into English – if I just knew German, had it a year in school and all I can do is count to ten:)

• Fabio Sasso March 5, 2009 at 9:24 am Reply

  Filosofia and Mrs Eaves deserved a better position, they are simply amazing fonts. Thanks a lot for this great list.

• Cedric Nocon March 5, 2009 at 9:44 am Reply

  excellent article! i personally feel bad that I misuse Officina, Meta, Eurostile, and Lucida a lot.

• benson March 5, 2009 at 3:16 pm Reply

  I guess my slight issue with this list is that some of the top typefaces are also criticized for being the most over used, and very “un-designer”-esque. It’s somewhat of an oxymoron listing helvetica as the top font of all time, and in a similar link listing it as the most over used, and in a similar link identifying it as a font that “pseudo” designers use b/c they don’t know better. It baffles me that so many will praise this font, yet an equal amount of people will bash it. It’s the same case with other faces as well. pettiness aside, it’s a solid list; thanks for posting it.

• Thai Dang vu March 5, 2009 at 6:13 pm Reply

  No any of M$ cleartype fonts (like segoe, calibri, consolas …)? I’m looking for a nice monospaced font to use in Intellij Idea in Linux (Jaunty). Consolas looks good in Windows, but worse than Bitstream Vera Sans Mono in Jaunty.

• Photo sharing March 5, 2009 at 10:05 pm Reply

  I’ve used eurostile for years!

• Steve SEO UK March 5, 2009 at 10:43 pm Reply

  I started work in the Print industry when we used the term “hot metal”. I was a Compositor picking up metal letters from a Case and setting them into lines of type in a Typestick. Most memorable typefaces at that time were Helvetica, Times, Gill, Plantin and Palace Script. By the time I had completed my 6 year Apprenticeship, I could recognise and name just about every typeface in existance at that time. We had to, it was one of the important and necessary qualifications of the job. All the best, from a not too old a person, Steve.

• Rodrigo Teixeira March 6, 2009 at 12:59 am Reply

  Great compilation, one more time.

• Timothy March 6, 2009 at 1:08 am Reply

  Glad to see Helvetica in spot #1

• Laslo L March 6, 2009 at 1:57 am Reply

  Where is Georgia?

• RyanC March 6, 2009 at 2:59 am Reply

  Where is Times New Roman and Arial? I can’t find #1 on my PC anywhere?

• CGB March 6, 2009 at 3:20 am Reply

  Copperplate at 60!?! What kind of list is this? There is only 1 font you need, copperplategothicbold.com

• Aetoric Design March 6, 2009 at 3:34 am Reply

  Also confused about the lack of Georgia. Probably my favorite website font. So classy.

• JimK March 6, 2009 at 3:35 am Reply

  It would be interesting to see how this list would change if you factored in the font “sales” that come with every operating system. Comic Sans, Times New Roman and Courier would have definitely made the list.

• gersk March 6, 2009 at 10:04 am Reply

  Bodoni 1970? The right date is 1790, of course.

• Jacob Cass March 6, 2009 at 10:35 am Reply

  Thank you all for your comments and you’re welcome. Laslo, RyanC, Aetoric, “It is also worth noting that this evaluation consisted exclusively of licensed or commercial fonts only. Free fonts or operating system fonts were not considered, nor were fonts integral to standard software (i.e. Arial, Verdana, etc.). Font variations, which over the centuries have been individually interpreted by various Foundries, were uniquely evaluated as a class and the best variant was entered into the main judging process.”

• Caralyn Krail March 6, 2009 at 5:07 pm Reply

  It’s interesting to see where each font falls in order, would not have expected a couple listed in the top 10.. but there they were! Jacob, great job on listing the years of when the font was created.. and the name of the person who was responsible for the font.

• Corey Thompson March 6, 2009 at 6:55 pm Reply

  Yeah, I don’t agree with this list.

• Thomas March 6, 2009 at 9:07 pm Reply

  Great list !

• Vincent Le Pes March 7, 2009 at 6:24 am Reply

  I like helvetica, but if you have ever looked at your site on a Win/PC, is it hard to read. Helvetica looks terrible as body text, the letters come out all different sizes and the top line looks like a rolling wave. If you are interested, email me and I will show you a screenshot. A lot of popular blogs are hard for us Win/PC users to read and it seems that since Helvetica looks so good on a Mac or through Safari that most designers don’t realize it.

• Vincent Le Pes March 7, 2009 at 7:24 am Reply

  I thought I would share what I meant: http://twitpic.com/1vqp4 I wish more prominent designers would spread the word that helvetica should not be used for body text :)

• graphicartist2k5 March 7, 2009 at 11:54 am Reply

  This list is HIGHLY debateable. Why? Because there are a TON of fonts out there that are made for specific things, such as design elements in any given graphic design, such as Bokonon and Final Lap, but I don’t hear anyone saying anything about those fonts. This list is EXTREMELY subjective, because it all has to do with what you’re using the typeface for. If it’s for use as copy for the body of a page layout, then yeah, Helvetica, Arial, and so on are good fonts to use, but if you want to use a font as a design element, then you’d need a font that has the right look, if you know what I mean.

• Simon Page March 7, 2009 at 2:56 pm Reply

  This is a great list that they have compiled and for commercial fonts I think it has a large number of ones I would of choosen as well as a few new ones to investigate. I did one of my daily “typography is everything” series based on the top 4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52128710@N00/3333022851/

• Jacob Cass March 7, 2009 at 5:30 pm Reply

  Vincent, I have viewed my site on many, many computers and have never seen that problem of which you have told me about. Is it only on your computer that this happens? And helvetica works for body text in my opinion, very easy to read and great looking! GraphicArtist, I do realise that something like this is highly debatable, and it’s not going to please all but none the less, it is still a valuable resource. Simon, Thanks for your link to your typography series, quite interesting.

• Andrew Kelsall March 8, 2009 at 6:53 am Reply

  Thanks for the list Jacob. Just added to Delicious…

• BenSky March 8, 2009 at 8:50 pm Reply

  Thanks for the list, definate classics! Another one of my fav’s: Aperto.

• Matt Fouty March 9, 2009 at 12:45 pm Reply

  Jacob, I love this post. I still struggle with fonts and this list will help.

• Anthony Hortin March 9, 2009 at 4:14 pm Reply

  Hi Jacob, Great list. Thanks. I’d be interested in knowing if you have any personal favourites? Keep up the great articles. Cheers!

• Jacob Cass March 9, 2009 at 8:41 pm Reply

  Anthony, Well this website is set in Helvetica so that is one hint, but I also love Gill Sans, Bodoni & Rockwell as my personal favs.

• Paul March 10, 2009 at 8:34 am Reply

  nice list Jacob. Most of them are some of my favorite also, like Helvetica, Rockwell, Myriad, and Futura to name a few. Keep it up!

• chirag March 13, 2009 at 8:51 pm Reply

  Hi, Jacob Thank you so much for for the list…..

• kiran March 15, 2009 at 1:03 am Reply

  I always prefer and linke Century Gothic & Halvitica.Nice collection.

• Bernie Ebue March 16, 2009 at 4:09 pm Reply

  I’m liking the list Jacob, keep up the good work.

• Dave March 16, 2009 at 4:11 pm Reply

  Futura where are you?

• Dave March 16, 2009 at 4:11 pm Reply

  #5….Didn’t even see it there, damn…. Futura for the win.

• Scott March 17, 2009 at 5:25 am Reply

  For anyone complaining about the lack of Arial: Arial is just a copy of Helvetica! http://www.ms-studio.com/articles.html Helvetica all the way!

• Callum Chapman March 28, 2009 at 9:26 pm Reply

  I love avant-garde and eurostile, thanks for this!

• Poojith April 3, 2009 at 6:12 pm Reply

  I have to agree that is a good list. All are look so nice and professional.But where is Verdana and Arial?

• Tarek May 6, 2009 at 10:20 pm Reply

  And which ones of those are supported by default by browsers (Firefox, Chrome, and IE)

• Florida SEO May 26, 2009 at 4:13 pm Reply

  I find it hard to believe that Trajan … One of the most used fonts in cinema titles … is number 77 … Hows That?

• Chitra Appasamy June 12, 2009 at 11:54 pm Reply

  I feel like the one designer/design student who isn’t a big fan of Helvetica…is that wrong? It’s overused by designers like Comic Sans is overused by schoolchildren, I’m frankly a bit bored of it. That said, it’s a brilliantly designed and versatile font, admitted. :D

• Amanda June 20, 2009 at 6:54 am Reply

  I guess my slight issue with this list is that some of the top typefaces are also criticized for being the most over used, and very “un-designer”-esque. It’s somewhat of an oxymoron listing helvetica as the top font of all time, and in a similar link listing it as the most over used, and in a similar link identifying it as a font that “pseudo” designers use b/c they don’t know better. It baffles me that so many will praise this font, yet an equal amount of people will bash it. It’s the same case with other faces as well. pettiness aside, it’s a solid list; thanks for posting it.

• Amanda June 20, 2009 at 7:04 am Reply

  All are gorgeous typefaces Check my wedding fonts collection… Wedding Fonts http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/7235224-gorgeous-wedding-fonts-collection-90-fonts-download

• rob June 21, 2009 at 6:33 pm Reply

  Nice list, other than cooper black, I hate it personally, though its ok used in the right situation but more often than not it isn’t, like the old Cooper Tire logo, just because the names are the same doesn’t mean it is the right choice.

• FDA Lawyer July 15, 2009 at 5:40 pm Reply

  This is an excellent post … I use HelveticaNeuveLt on Most of My Design Work I Love It… Thanks … :)

• rik July 16, 2009 at 11:12 pm Reply

  33 best fonts!

• Juan July 23, 2009 at 3:51 am Reply

  Ultimately Helvetica is in the first place ’cause is the most used font in the whole world. Definitely is very practical and clear. Having thousands of fonts to work with, it’s so difficult to say which one is the best (not the most beautiful), but when works comes and comes and the clients ask for changes, is easy to understand why this font is the winner. The clients wants some clear texts and us wants less changes. We (the designers) have other fonts that we will use in our own projects and maybe with some “Art Lover” client. Good post.

• Juan July 23, 2009 at 3:56 am Reply

  Correcting the last part of the first paragraph of my comment. “The clients wants some clear texts and we want less changes.” Thank you.

• Ashutosh July 28, 2009 at 7:36 pm Reply

  Hey where is monotype corsiva. That the most one of the pretty looking fonts.

• Sujit July 31, 2009 at 2:11 am Reply

  Great list of FONTS, these are really good looking fonts for new trend websites!!! Thanks

• Rak Design August 27, 2009 at 4:57 pm Reply

  Great list! My all time fav has to be Rotis collection!

• Douglas Bonneville September 11, 2009 at 12:38 am Reply

  I just completed a survey based on a reasonably large sample of favorite fonts from blogs, websites, sales charts, and a lot independent discussion from blogs and forums. I tallied all the names and number of references from all these sources and came up with this combined result: http://bonfx.com/19-top-fonts-most-preferred-by-graphic-designers-from-around-the-web/ All the fonts I found are, of course, on the big German list. But it was cool to see that of the top 10 font for both lists, 7 fonts overlap, but my data was purely based on the opinion of the self-reporting font-loving designers who took the time to post. I would gather that people for whom Comic Sans is their font of choice, they were to embarrassed to admit it online :)

• Sokobanja September 27, 2009 at 12:07 pm Reply

  I love the fancy fonts like the ones that are often used for weddings and such. they look so nice and professional.

• Lenok November 4, 2009 at 10:54 am Reply

  Why free fonts were not included? Just because it was not possible to estimate sales figures?

• Andrew February 7, 2010 at 6:58 am Reply

  Vincent, Either you have a very bad clone with Helvetica posing as “Helvetica” on your system or the browser you’re using is not rendering Helv correctly. I have Helvetica and never have had the wavy-text problem with it when using it as body text on websites. Though I prefer to use Verdana if it’s going to be screen display text as not everyone owns a copy of Helvetica on their system.

• Andrew February 7, 2010 at 7:00 am Reply

  Lenok, Exactly. What sales figures? They’re FREE fonts. Also very hard to track a history for many free fonts as often times, we don’t know where it came from and who designed it. Other considerations such as legality for commercial use and whether or not it’s a clone of an existing font, etc.

• lirik April 8, 2010 at 5:08 am Reply

  great list.. thanks for sharing

• mego April 30, 2010 at 10:49 pm Reply

  gooooooood

• Jeff@South Florida SEO June 5, 2010 at 7:42 pm Reply

  Thanks for the post. Well for me the best font is the Garamond, I often used it.

• webdesign bremen July 11, 2010 at 11:45 pm Reply

  Wow… Its really amazing & helpful for everyone … its really a gift for web developers ..really inspirational stuff :)

• Wall Stickers by Alex July 16, 2010 at 1:03 am Reply

  I like Optima and Myriad, although others are great! I agree with first comment – in reality you just simply need only 10 to create many more! Thanks, Alex

• Chris R August 4, 2010 at 2:07 am Reply

  Will we ever be free of the tyranny of Helvetica!?!? That typeface haunts me everywhere, give me Baskerville any day.

• Concursuri machiaj August 23, 2010 at 4:31 am Reply

  I’m a sucker for curly fonts, like scriptina or Hallmark ones.

• montreal website design August 24, 2010 at 4:01 am Reply

  Very nice list friend! I admire Trajan and Stone

• deko mühendislik August 25, 2010 at 9:16 am Reply

  Thanks for sharing, very nice list..

• vanessa November 7, 2010 at 8:17 pm Reply

  and Century Gothic :(

• HigherVisibility November 26, 2010 at 10:43 pm Reply

  These are some good fonts. I work for an interactive marketing agency and we use a few of these when we do web design. We might try a few of these others. Thanks!

• Cassive Brewster January 7, 2011 at 2:37 am Reply

  Where’s VAG Rounded?

• JR February 2, 2011 at 10:23 pm Reply

  Excellent stuff!

• Phoenix Dentist February 22, 2011 at 2:07 pm Reply

  loving the new Google Fonts too

• Overtly Creative April 14, 2011 at 2:15 am Reply

  Interesting list. Blur – now there’s a font I haven’t seen for a while!

• Lomas April 27, 2011 at 6:28 pm Reply

  Something like this as you have just saved me alot of time scanning textures and image..

• Language Fonts May 6, 2011 at 1:38 am Reply

  Sound my luck! I was looking same…This is a great list. As a web developer it’s very beneficial to me.

• Samantha June 16, 2011 at 10:25 pm Reply

  I’m in year 12 and have been using these font for years in all my designing. Futura is defanitely one of my favourtires. Thanks for posting this up :)

• Josh June 29, 2011 at 10:41 pm Reply

  Century Gothic is Microsoft’s version (copy) of Futura.

• Virtual Agents September 5, 2011 at 9:42 pm Reply

  Excellent stuff!!! Wonderful fonts, thankful for the list Jacob. I often used this and love to struggles with this fonts. Thanks for this, cool.

• John U September 27, 2011 at 6:08 am Reply

  Excelent list of fonts. Thanks for sharing.

• Daniel NIelsen October 5, 2011 at 4:35 pm Reply

  I wish I could download these in one package?

• Craig October 18, 2011 at 6:24 pm Reply

  Love a bit of Impact!

• Charlotte November 23, 2011 at 9:50 pm Reply

  My favorite is #26. Zapfino, I love cursive fonts. ?

• Tjerja December 9, 2011 at 2:36 pm Reply

  Hi design colleagues!, Great news! An amazing new font project will be started with Google & font designer Natanael, IF – within 16 days from now – another 20% project funding is raised. If this project reaches its funding goal,, it will be published for free use in Google’s Web Fonts Directory and the designer will adapt a web version too. It truly is an amazing sans serif family that every designer should get his hands on. :) And now you can. Check out this amazing project and donate a small (or large bit :) to get your hands on this great sans serif typeface!. All project details can be found here; http://kck.st/tivQep Please help out the global webdesign community and all graphic designers in need of a cool font. Spread the word in your social media circles, copy/paste this message on your twitter, Facebook and Google+ and let’s raise some more money together the next 2 weeks. Happy designing!! Cheers, T.G. :)

• Classic fonts January 23, 2012 at 3:12 pm Reply

  Oh! Such classic fonts! You can use them everywhere- they are so organic and in the same time traditional! Thanks for the review!

• Handwriting fonts January 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm Reply

  Great list but why no to list some nice handwriting ones?

• Sabine February 14, 2012 at 5:09 pm Reply

  English version now online: http://www.100besttypefaces.com/

• Sabine March 6, 2012 at 3:21 pm Reply

  The original font ranking by FontShop is now available in English: http://www.100besttypefaces.com/