Picking the right font for your brand’s logo can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. There are so many options out there, but sifting through them can get overwhelming, especially if you don’t come from a graphic design background.
When you create a logo, there are many different styles you can go for. Some logos are made up of just an icon, while others merge text and image. Today’s logo trends are all about simple, yet meticulously designed, text-based logos. This kind of timeless design requires a deep understanding of your brand identity, as well as attention to detail and an informed typographical choice.
To narrow things down, we’ve gathered a list of top quality typefaces to consider as you think about how to design a logo for your brand. When downloading and using any of the following logo fonts, make sure you’ve properly reviewed the licensing section. Take note that licenses differ between desktop, web, app and other usages. We'll get into the 20 best fonts for logos, both paid and free.
Types of logo fonts
Logo fonts play a crucial role in conveying the personality and message of a brand. There are various types of logo fonts, each with its own characteristics and suitability for different brands. Let's delve into some of the most common types of logo fonts that can help define your brand's visual identity:
01. Serif fonts
Serif fonts are characterized by small lines or strokes attached to the ends of characters. These flourishes, known as serifs, give the font a more traditional and formal appearance. Serif fonts are often associated with stability, trustworthiness and professionalism. They're commonly used in industries such as law, finance and academia.
Examples: Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia
02. Sans-serif fonts
Sans-serif fonts don't have the small lines or strokes (serifs) at the end of characters, resulting in a cleaner and more modern appearance. Sans-serif fonts are often perceived as more contemporary, which is why they're used most often in technology, fashion and design industries.
Examples: Helvetica, Arial, Futura
03. Script fonts
Script fonts mimic handwriting and have a fluid, cursive-like appearance. They're characterized by connected and flowing letterforms, adding a touch of elegance, creativity and personality to a logo. Script fonts are often used in industries such as fashion, beauty and food & beverage.
Examples: Brush Script, Lucida Calligraphy, Lobster
04. Display fonts
Display fonts are decorative and highly stylized, making them perfect for creating eye-catching and memorable logos. These fonts often feature unique shapes, exaggerated forms and intricate details, allowing brands to make a bold statement and stand out from the competition. Display fonts are commonly used in industries such as entertainment, hospitality and creative arts.
Examples: Impact, Cooper Black, Bangers
15 best fonts for professional logo design
5 best free fonts for professional logo design
15 best fonts for professional logo design
01. Avenir
Geometric sans-serif | Paid/Free on Mac
Design: Adrian Frutiger
Foundry: Linotype
Although classified as a geometric typeface, Avenir pushes the boundaries. These kinds of typefaces are traditionally based on geometric shapes. However, Avenir’s “o” is not a perfect circle, and its vertical lines (or strokes) are slightly thicker than the horizontals, giving a hint of harmony and warmth to this otherwise minimalistic font. Released in 1988, it takes inspiration from previous well-known typefaces such as Futura (see below).
There are six weights available—light, book, roman, medium, heavy and black, with an oblique version for each. This gives you the freedom to experiment with anything from a light and airy logo design, to a more dominant one, depending on your brand identity.
02. Agentur
Calligraphic sans-serif | Paid
Design: Kenneth Knutsen
Foundry: Good Type Foundry
With a unique and conceptual approach to typography, each of Good Type Foundry’s designs is full of character. Agentur, released in 2016, treads a fine line between a contemporary look and a more traditional, calligraphic style. It’s optimized for both print and web, so your logo can look its best in any context.
Agentur is available in one weight, but if you’re after a bolder and more distinct look, you can opt for Agentur Display, which is wider than its counterpart. Whichever style you go for, this typeface includes some highly stylized glyphs that can give your brand real character.
03. Canela
Display font | Paid
Design: Miguel Reyes
Foundry: Commercial Type
Canela is an unusual typeface in that it doesn’t fall under one particular classification; it’s neither serif nor sans-serif. The ends of its strokes are flared, but only subtly, giving it a look that is both classical and modern. You’ll also notice a stark contrast between thinner and thicker lines, an element typical of serif typefaces.
This display typeface is available in six different weights, plus italics for each one. Since its release in 2016, three new styles have been added—Canela Condensed, Canela Text and Canela Deck.
04. Separat
Geometric sans-serif | Paid
Design: GUNMAD
Foundry: Or Type
This unconventional typeface can add a strong sense of personality to any logo design. It’s the uppercase letters that really stand out, with many of them having “separated” sections, making for an undeniably quirky aesthetic. Take a look at the “M,” “X” and “K,” for example, clearly distinguishing between the different shapes that make them up.
Type designer duo, Guðmundur Úlfarsson and Mads Freund Brunse, released Separat in 2013. It’s available in four different weights—bold, regular, medium and black.
05. GT America
Sans-serif | Paid
Design: Noël Leu
Foundry: Grilli Type
Drawing inspiration from both traditional American and Swiss typefaces, GT America falls under the genre of grotesque sans-serifs. This means it is reminiscent of early 19th century typefaces, typically crude in their design and often used for large headlines. This extensive typeface family offers a more contemporary spin on this aesthetic.
GT America is available in six different styles, from a very narrow, compressed look to a much wider version. Each of these styles consists of six widths and seven weights, so you can really play around with the options in finding the right font for your professional logo design.
06. Futura
Sans-serif | Paid/Free on Mac and Adobe Creative Cloud
Design: Paul Renner
Foundry: Bauer Foundry
Despite being released in 1927, almost a century ago, Futura remains a highly popular typeface, used both in print and website design. Its timeless aesthetic is simple and stylish, inspired by the Bauhaus design philosophy. Futura is very much “no frills,” with no unnecessary details. Instead, it’s made up of geometric shapes, straight lines that are near-even in weight, and a minimal use of curves.
Futura is available in a variety of weights, styles and widths. You can see a few of them in use in famous logos, such as Calvin Klein, Domino’s Pizza and Supreme.
07. Recoleta
Serif | Paid
Design: Jorge Cisterna
Foundry: Latinotype
With a hint of 1970’s groove, this contemporary design is a fresh take on nostalgic typefaces. It’s made up of soft, fluid lines, merged with angled strokes and is sure to add a strong sense of personality to any logo design.
There are many styles and weights to choose from, as well as a version with alternate characters (notice the change in the “a” for example). To start playing around with it for free, you can download the Recoleta Regular Demo version.
08. Orelo
Variable sans-serif | Paid
Design: Adrien Midzic
Foundry: Pizza Typefaces
What makes Orelo stand out from the crowd is its high contrast between thin and thick lines. In small dimensions, the hairline strokes almost disappear from view. Increasing the weight will place more of an emphasis on this striking contrast. Additional unique touches are the triangular shapes that are formed on certain strokes (for example the tail of the “y” or a capital “L”).
Orelo offers you over a hundred styles to choose from. And if you really want a good logo design tip, go a step further and create an animated version, Orelo makes it a lot easier, as it also comes as a variable font. An animated logo can work well in various digital applications—something you may want to take into account when you create your own website.
09. Gotham
Geometric sans-serif | Paid
Design: Tobias Frere-Jones
Foundry: Hoefler & Co.
Since its release in 2000, Gotham has been used in many different contexts. You may recognize it from Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, as well as a number of other corporate identities, from Spotify to GQ (who originally commissioned the design). Unlike other sans-serif typefaces whose inspirations often lie in Swiss or German design, Gotham was influenced by New York City, particularly the lettering used in early 20th century signage.
Gotham is available in eight weights, plus four different widths for each one. Thanks to its versatility, it’s one of the best fonts for logos, enabling you to showcase your business name at its finest. Also available is Gotham ScreenSmart, a slight variation on the preliminary design and optimized for use on the web.
10. Whyte Inktrap
Sans-serif | Paid
Design: Johannes Breyer, Fabian Harb & Erkin Karamemet
Foundry: Dinamo
This typeface embraces one of today’s most up-and-coming typography trends - highly visible ink traps. In the past, certain letterforms were designed with missing corners (in other words, ink traps), that would naturally be filled in by ink once printed. These days, especially on the web, ink traps are no longer necessary. However, typefaces like Whyte Inktrap are now utilizing this retro typography feature to form unusual, quirky designs.
Whyte Inktrap comes in ten different weights (from thin to super), plus italics for each one. The heavier the font, the more apparent the ink traps become. There’s an additional version, Whyte, that is available without the ink traps.
11. Ogg
Calligraphic serif | Paid
Design: Lucas Sharp
Foundry: Village
This ornate, calligraphic typeface was inspired by the 20th century hand lettering artist Oscar Ogg. The intricate details and interconnected letterforms of the design make it a truly expressive typeface with a luxurious feel—a definite statement for a logo font.
Learn more: Handwriting fonts
Ogg comes in a total of five weights, with an italic version for each one. Since its release in 2013, an additional variation (Ogg Text) has been developed for use in long-form copy. You can use it for writing a blog post or a product description on your site, for example.
12. Proxima Nova
Sans-serif | Paid/Free on Adobe Creative Cloud
Design & Foundry: Mark Simonson
Since its release in 2005, Proxima Nova has been a highly popular typeface, particularly across the web. It takes inspiration from other widely used sans-serifs, like Futura and Akzidenz Grotesk, merging their geometric and modern styles into one clean look.
This logo font comes in seven different weights, plus matching italics for each one. There are also three optional widths available.
13. Lydian
Calligraphic sans-serif | Paid
Design: Warren Chappell
Foundry: American Type Founders
Released in 1938, this typeface can add a vintage feel to any logo design. It’s classified as humanist, a typography term that generally implies a more hand-made look, with organic curves and natural spacing between letters. And if Lydian looks familiar to you, you’re probably either a seasoned designer or a Friends fan, as this font was used in the end credits for the hit TV show.
Lydian contains two styles (Roman and bold), plus their italic counterparts. The designer, Warren Chappell, also released Lydian Cursive, which is a more flowing and calligraphic version of the typeface.
14. Noe Display
Serif | Paid
Design & Foundry: Schick Toikka
This expressive typeface makes a strong visual impact, with a high contrast between thick and thin lines, and triangular serifs. Counteracting these sharp edges are flowing, elegant curves, forming a dramatic look that merges genres.
Noe Display is available in four weights, from regular to black, along with corresponding italics. There’s also a text version of this typeface, more suited for writing long-form text, such as the content on your website.
15. GT Super
Serif | Paid
Design: Noël Leu
Foundry: Grilli Type
While GT Super was released in 2018, its inspirations lie in typefaces from the ‘70s and ‘80s, particularly those used in newspapers from the time. The result is an expressive typeface with relatively sharp serifs and a diverse range of stroke widths within each letterform.
There’s a text and display version for the typeface, so you can choose which font best suits your logo. Each one comes complete with five weights and italics to match.
5 best free fonts for professional logo design
01. Raleway
Sans-serif | Free
Design: Matt McInerney
Foundry: The League of Moveable Type
Raleway is a neo-grotesque typeface, meaning it has a clean, simple design and lies in the same category as popular fonts like Helvetica and Arial. However, there are a few special touches that make it noteworthy. It has an elegant look to it, with a subtle and unexpected tail on the lower-case “L” and a criss-crossed “W.”
Originally released as a single thin weight typeface by Matt McInerney, Raleway has since been expanded into a family of nine weights, designed by Pablo Impallari and Rodrigo Fuenzalida. Now you can enjoy it in all its diverse forms, ranging from thin to black, as well as italics.
02. Cormorant
Serif | Free
Design: Christian Thalmann
Foundry: Catharsis Fonts
This typeface takes inspiration from the old-style Garamond - a family of 16th century typefaces. The main difference is that Cormorant is a display typeface, intended for use in larger dimensions. This makes it a great logo font, especially as it also works on a smaller scale. It’s characterized by its flowing curves, contrasted with sharp serifs and dramatically tall accents.
Cormorant is a versatile typeface, available in nine different visual styles (Roman, Italic, Infant, Infant Italic, Garamond, Garamond Italic, Upright Cursive, Small Caps and Unicase). In addition, each one comes in five optional weights.
03. Poppins
Geometric sans-serif | Free
Design: Johnny Pinhorn & Ninad Kale
Foundry: Indian Type Foundry
Poppins is a multilingual font, supporting both the Latin and Devanagari writing systems. It’s a classic geometric typeface, made up of perfect circles and based on geometric forms. The overall appearance is clean and simple, with almost all lines being the same width throughout the different letterforms.
One of the best fonts for logos with a minimalistic aesthetic, Poppins is available in nine weights, with matching italics for each.
04. Eczar
Calligraphic serif | Free
Design: Vaibhav Singh
Foundry: Rosetta Type Foundry
Eczar started out as a student project by Vaibhav Singh during his MA in Typeface Design at the University of Reading (UK). It’s a multilingual typeface, supporting both Latin and Devanagari languages. With dominant serifs that are especially apparent in the heavier weights, Eczar has a strong personality.
There are five weights available for this typeface, but no italics. The bold and extra-bold weights are particularly distinctive, making for a logo font with an intriguing look.
05. Roboto Slab
Slab serif | Free
Design: Christian Robertson
Despite its prominent serifs and mainly geometric forms, Roboto Slab still manages to exude a certain softness. A benefit of this neo-grotesque typeface is that it makes font pairing simple, having been initially created to use alongside its sans-serif counterpart, Roboto, which is also a free font. The two contrast with one another, while simultaneously forming a look that can work well as part of a whole visual identity.
Developed by Google as a system font for their mobile design, Roboto Slab comes in nine different weights, from thin through to extra-bold and black. Roboto is also available in a condensed version, and it also supports Cyrillic and Greek.
Looking for more inspiration for your logo? Check out these best logo makers.
Main logo font takeaways
Choose a font that reflects your brand personality. Is your brand modern and innovative, or classic and traditional? Your logo font should convey the same tone and style.
Consider your target audience. What kind of fonts do they find appealing? If you're targeting a younger audience, you might want to choose a more modern font. If you're targeting an older audience, you might want to choose a more classic font.
Prioritize legibility. Your logo should be easy to read, even at small sizes. Avoid using fonts that are too ornate or too thin.
Think about scalability. Your logo should look good at all sizes, from business cards to billboards. Choose a font that has a variety of weights and styles so you can adjust it as needed.
Don't rely on color. Your logo should look good in black and white, as well as in color. This will ensure that it looks good in a variety of applications.
Keep it simple. The best logos are often the simplest. Avoid using too many different fonts or colors.
How to design a logo in these easy steps
Designing a logo that effectively represents your brand requires careful consideration and a strategic approach. Here's a step-by-step guide to designing a memorable and impactful logo:
Define your brand
Before you start sketching or designing, take some time to thoroughly understand your brand's essence, values and target audience. What does your brand stand for? What message do you want to convey? Who is your ideal customer?
Research and collecting inspiration
Immerse yourself in the world of logos and design. Look at logos of successful brands in your industry and related fields. Analyze what makes their logos effective and consider how those elements could be adapted to align with your brand.
Brainstorming and sketching
Start generating ideas by brainstorming and sketching different logo concepts. Don't limit yourself at this stage; explore various styles, shapes and symbols that capture your brand's essence.
Refining and digitizing
Select the most promising logo concepts and refine them further. Digitize your sketches using design software or tools to create clean, scalable and professional-looking logo variations.
Color selections
Choose a color palette that aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your target audience. Consider color pyschology and how they can evoke specific emotions or associations.
Typography and font selections
Select fonts that complement your logo's overall design and convey the desired brand personality. Ensure the fonts are legible, versatile and work well across different applications.
Gathering feedback
Gather feedback from colleagues, potential customers or a focus group to assess the effectiveness of your logo design. Be open to constructive criticism and consider making revisions based on the feedback.
Versatility and scalability
Ensure your logo works well across different sizes, mediums and applications. It should look consistent and recognizable whether printed on a business card, displayed on a website or used on merchandise.
Professionalism and brand guidelines
Create a style guide that clearly defines the logo's usage guidelines, including color specifications, font variations and proper spacing. This ensures consistency and maintains brand integrity across all platforms.
Seek expert guidance
If you lack design expertise or need additional support, consider seeking assistance from a professional graphic designer or branding agency. Their expertise can elevate your logo design and ensure it aligns with your brand's overall identity.