When creating a design influenced by the art and culture of a particular era, it is best to choose fonts that visually represent that period. Fonts are integral to the style of the time and can tell you a lot about it.
Retro web fonts are full of character, and they can give your graphic design project a nostalgic feel. The word “Retro” in this context describes fonts that were either created in the 20th century and have survived to everyday use or were created by modern designers trying to emulate one of these styles.
Even those who have never witnessed it are familiar with popular 20th-century typography because we still see posters with fonts from different decades extremely often. These bold retro fonts look best in large sizes, on billboards and posters, as well as in web versions.
In this article, we’ve put together a collection of high-quality vintage and best retro fonts for you to add a touch of nostalgia and unique style to your work. We’ve included fonts inspired by the aesthetics of different times, from the pop art of the 50s to the classics of the turn of the century.
Today you can find a huge number of both paid and free fonts in any style, but we’ll focus on the second option. Below you’ll find different free typefaces that are perfect for all sorts of vintage and retro style projects, whether it’s logos, posters, or even t-shirts.
This illusory retro font was created by Nick’s Fonts by Nick Curtis in 2006. It supports 41 languages. The font subfamily is Regular. The letters in this font contain both tonic and heavy lines, which are perfectly balanced with dividing lines that add lightness and elegance. At the same time, the font looks very edgy and sleek.
This smooth serif font in retro style was designed by Richard Willam Muller in 1993, and belongs to the Regular family. The Titania typeface, which is available in 39 languages, also has Shadow and Outline versions. Bold and stable letters of this typeface look extremely elegant due to the smooth contours and small playful serifs at the ends of the letter lines.
This decorative slab serif typeface was designed by Fontalicious typography and reminds us of the 1980s and the hippie culture. The “Hippy Chic” turned into a “Chick”, can be useful for nostalgic posters, connected to music, or bright flowery t-shirts, where the graphical elements will be supported by the small minimalistic flowers, replacing the negative space of the capital letters in the font, or a dot above the lowercase “I”.
Inspired by the folios computer game, PacMan, thick heavy futuristic typeface still has a retro feeling in it. It was designed by Fontslicious in 1998 to celebrate the culture of the 1980s. The font is available in 12 languages and is absolutely free for personal use. Will be a great addition to any project, connected to video-gaming and arcade style. The heavy geometric letters of the typeface can work without any graphical additions.
JFRingmaster was designed by Jester Font Studio in 2001. It is an ornamental elegant typeface with vignettes at the bottom of the letters and a gradient striped pattern. The font is available in 12 languages and resembles Wild West saloons, with very special cowboy energy. It is more of a historical typeface, which has very narrow period associations and will suit some unique stylized projects.
Also Open is a font, designed by Jonathan Hill in 2009. This fancy retro typeface features heavy and stable letters in solid massive elements, placed at a small distance from each other, letting in some air, and making the lettering look sharper. The extra-bold lowercase characters of the font have additional arched cut-outs, which create an elegant feeling, softening the heaviness and strictness of the letters.
Farouk is an illusory retro typeface created by Harold Lohner in 2001. The main feature of this heavy sans-serif typeface is the vertical and diagonal thin lines folded into broad elements that complement the classic straight contours of the letters. this font is capable of adding sophistication and style to any minimalist, modern design.
This extremely stylish geometric typeface was originally designed in 1929 by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre from Deberny & Peignot typography. The font was reinvented in 2004 by Richard Keglar, receiving the name P22 Bifur. This Art Deco typeface will be a great addition to any stylized project in solid and intense color palettes, with geometric lines and clean contours. Bifur is a stencil sans-serif font with interesting elements, formed by extra-thin stripes, replacing some of the bars.
This font, designed by Blambot typography, is very feminine and cool and resembles pin-up posters with colorful women on them. Betty Noir is a retro typeface in an Art Deco style, with arched lines in some letters, balanced by straight bars with diagonal cuts of the others. The characters of Betty Noir font are slightly condensed, but still, look very stable and clean.
Caligari is a retro typeface, designed by Jerome Berthemet. This font features super heavy glyphs with almost no negative space and cut-outs in them. Caligari is very stable and brutal, resembling computer games from the 1980s, and some progressive ideas of those times. Today it can be used with designs, based on a space theme or some robotic motives.
Mexcellent typeface from Typodermic Fonts typography is an elegant yet stable Two-linear sans-serif font with arched contours of the letters. The font has a very disco mood, especially when used in color. Here are two versions of the Mexcellent type — Regular and 3D, where the striped pattern of the letters is accompanied by a bolder line of a shadow.
Metro Retro is a fancy serif typeface, which was designed by Wadsworth A. Park at the end of the 1920s, and brilliantly reflects the aesthetics of those times. This is a very decorative typeface, which can be used for a title or a logotype, as there are many small ornamental details in its bold straight geometric letters. The glyphs of Metro Retro will look great in white color on a contrasting background, with the ornaments on thick bars becoming sheer, and adding texture to the image.
Velocette font, designed by K. Steens, is a very elegant medium-weight slanted typeface, which reminds us of retro scooters and Roman streets. This script font will look great in projects of any type, from t-shirts and posters to websites with modern graphics, which have to be complemented by a retro touch, but a delicate and actual one.
Título is an illusory serif font with bold lines, created by Fontographer in 2011. The elegant and classy contours of the massive letters are accompanied by thin white lines, which make the characters lighter and more delicate. The glyphs feature bold triangular serifs, which can look both strict and playful, depending on the background and the context.
Ecyuer Dax is an elegant serif typeface, designed by Paul Daxhelet. The glyphs of the font feature expanded contours and striped patterns, with thin horizontal lines accenting the width of the letters even more. The thin and sharp triangular serifs on the letters of the Ecyuer Dax font look very sophisticated, perfectly reflecting the retro mood and the true meaning of elegance.
This calligraphic retro font was designed by David Rakowski in 2009. The elegant cursive letters of the typeface feature bold lines with thin transparent outlines, arched contours, and elongated tails of some bars. It looks very tender and feminine and will perfectly complement any modern design for a brand, connected to beauty and fashion, adding a touch of sophistication and delicacy.
Pasta Palazzo is a super stylish narrowed retro sans-serif typeface, which was designed by Mike Brandonisio in 2010. Although it is a retro-style font, it can easily be used in modern graphical projects, as has really unique contours of the glyphs, which can change the mood depending on the background and placement. The combination of rounded and straight corners in the narrow characters of this typeface makes it truly unique.
Repro 89 is a bold and smooth retro typeface with a futuristic mood and unique shapes of the glyphs, with rounded ends, softened angles, and asymmetrical negative space figures. Designed by Guido Holz, this font will be a brilliant addition to a techno 94 space-regaled project, which needs to be slightly smoothened and balanced. This is a truly unique and very cool typeface, which can be downloaded for free.
Billo Dream is a cool cartoonish sans-serif font, designed by Fontalicious. It has something in common with Chicky, which we mentioned before, but Billi Dream is a rounded type, which looks more feminine, or even girly. It is a retro-futuristic font, which will suit a cartoon project, or something connected with kids, from fashion to books. The lowercase “J” and “I” in this typeface are accompanied by cure slanted five-pointed stars.
Automania is an extra-bold contoured sans-serif font, designed by Fenotype. The rounded floors of the typeface look massive and stable, and the thin white lines, placed in the center of the characters and repeating their contours, add lightness and brightness to the lettering. This futuristic font will suit any cartoonish or video-game-related project, as well as will perfectly accompany any grunge design.
Namesake NF is a vintage serif font, designed by Nick’s Fonts. The tall and narrowed glyphs of the typeface look super Art Decoish and sleek, with the arched silhouettes and sharp short serifs on the ends of the lines. Although the characters of the Namesake NF font look very elegant and sophisticated, they can easily be imagined in a modern cartoon project, as those unique shapes of the letters can play differently on various backgrounds and styles.
Bittersweet NF is another Nick’s Font foundry baby, which looks very cool. It is an Art Deco rounded sans-serif font, with elegant glyphs executed in medium-weight lines with softened ends. Looking at the inscriptions, executed in this outstanding font, you immediately recall The Great Gatsby and the aesthetics of the 1920s in America, with all the glitters, feathers, and columns.
Debonair is one more font by Nick’s Fonts, but this time the foundry created something with the Art Nouveau style. The lines arched letters of the typeface feature arched silhouettes and thin sharp serifs on the ends of the bars. The elegant glyphs can add sophistication and style to any retro concept, focused on fashion and beauty.
Cast Iron is a retro font, which is pretty close to JFRingmaster, but with fewer ornaments and more stability in its glyphs. The typeface was designed by West Wind Fonts and reflects the aesthetics of the cowboy saloons. The letters feature horizontally striped patterns at their top parts and vignette ornaments at the bottom. It is a very narrow-direction typeface, which will be a brilliant accompaniment to a Wild West-related project.
Daddy Don’t Disco is the last but not the least font in our today’s list. And, for sure, it has the most memorable name. Designed by Bradley Abrahams, Daddy Don’t Disco is an ExtraBold sans-serif typeface with heavy geometric glyphs, accompanied by thin lines, cutting them up into fragments, and letting some air into the inscription. This futuristic font will perfectly suit a game-related project or a modern street fashion brand. Daddy Don’t Disco font is a statement itself, and doesn’t need much graphics around.