Mid century cursive font

Great free retro fonts have the ability to transport audiences back in time. With the right font, you can add age, texture and depth to your designs so it's crucial to choose a typeface that reflects the era you're representing.

In this post, we've chosen some of our favourite retro-style font designs. They won't cost you a penny but will add untold value to your retro projects.

There are hundreds of paid-for and free fonts available online. We've got details of all sorts here on Creative Bloq – including tattoo fonts, fun fonts, free script fonts and handwriting fonts. But for now, we're going to focus on retro fonts.

Mexcellent Font Family

Mexcellent Font Family was inspired by the Mexico Olympics. It's a trilinear display font that sings of the era and packs a visual punch. The updated version has redrawn glyphs, better spacing, better kerning, more languages, math symbols, fractions, and more. Get the regular and 3D styles for free commercial and personal use. 

Stiff Staff

This decorative free font takes us back to Germany or Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Designer Borislav Petrovs' use of geometry channels constructivism and austere industrial modernism, whilst still feeling somewhat video game-ish.

Gradientico

If you're keen to nail the look of early s desktop publishing, give Vladimir Nikolic's Gradientico a try. It's a fine-looking serif, bought to life by a splendidly scratchy halftone gradient that looks for all the world like it's just inched out of a dot matrix printer after a long session with Pagemaker. It comes in regular and italic versions, and it's free both for commercial and personal use.

Haike

Remember when computer fonts were supposed to look like this? Inspired by Moore Computer – a font designed for use with automatic cheque and document reading equipment – Haike, by Otto Maurer Design, is a fabulously retro vision of the future and comes in nine weights for all manner of uses. It's free for personal use; for commercial use you'll need a licensed version, which comes with extra Opentype features.

Haarlem Deco

Haarlem Deco is described by its creators, Fontdation, as a classic-retro-vintage-all-caps-semi-condensed-sans-serif typeface with an art-deco touch. Inspired by old Euro-American signage and advertising, it's available as a free demo version with limited characters; you can get the full version with italics, multilingual characters and more from Fontdation for just £

Inspired by handmade poster designs and illustrations from the s, with maybe just a hint of Saul Bass, West Side is a block-styled, handcrafted display font created by Artimasa Studio. It's big and bold with sharp edges, and is free for both personal and commercial use.

Palm Canyon Drive

You can get a free sample of premium monoline script Palm Canyon Drive – designed by Amy Hood, co-founder of Hoodzpah Design Co, in conjunction with retro and vintage design elements crafter RetroSupply – by signing up to the RetroSupply newsletter. (You'll get a bunch of other retro and vintage-themed design elements, too.)

Inspired by mid-century Southern California, the retro font is perfect for adding some old-school west coast goodness to your designs. It’s as comfortable on a Tikki bar matchbook cover as it is on a Hollywood movie poster, and the sample weights are free for personal use. 

Billionaire Medium Grunge

For an art deco look that's pleasingly rough around the edges, Billionaire Medium Grunge is just the ticket. It's just one of six fonts that make up the full Billionaire typeface by JumboDesign, and you can pick it up for free from Deeezy to give your work a bit of slightly faded sophistication.

Noir

Add a touch of elegance and style to your designs with this beautiful retro font Noir, by designer Matthias Guggisberg.

Frontage Condensed (Outline)

Created by Swiss art director Juri Zaech, Frontage Condensed is a beautiful family of retro fonts. Perfect for any vintage-style designs, Frontage Condensed is available in a variety of weights, one of which, Outline, Zaech offers as a free download. 

Say It Fat

Designer Timo Titzmann is behind free retro font Say It Fat. A bold, slab typeface, Say It Fat is great for creating eye-catching retro-style posters and much more.

Portico

Created by designer Mehmet Reha Tugcu, Portico is a display typeface, which includes an urban and rough version – perfect for any retro-style designs.

Monthoers

Retro-style typeface Monthoers was created by graphic designer Agga Swist'blnk. She comments on Behance: "Monthoers is the latest version of Rochoes typeface, which I made almost a year ago. It is free for personal and commercial use."

Hamster

Hamster is a cursive typeface inspired by brush lettering and traditional sign painting. Crafted carefully to equalise its dynamic flow and legibility, Hamster is free to download for both personal and commercial use.

Lazer 84

Transport yourself back in time with Lazer Created by art director Juan Hodgson, '80s-inspired Lazer 84 is a retro-style brush font that comes complete with numbers, symbols and accents.

Ansley

Graphic designer Kady Jesko created typeface Ansley, after searching for a free retro-style font and couldn't find one that suited. Jesko now generously offers it as a free download for both personal and commercial use, with donations, as ever, gratefully received.

Berlin

Berlin was created by Brazilian graphic designer and illustrator Antonio Rodrigues Jr. "Berlin is a group of display fonts, inspired by the classic geometric typefaces from early last century," he explains. So far Rodrigues Jr has created four versions – Berlin, Berlina, Slaberlin and Uberlin – all of which are available in regular, bold and x-bold.

Sabo

Sabo, by graphic designer Philippe Moesch, is a striking pixel-style font. Available in two styles – inline and filled – Sabo is great for any retro arcade-themed design.

Bobber

Looking for a unique typeface, designers Lucas Almeida and Dmitry Goloub decided to create their own. Inspired by bobber motorcyles, the duo developed this slab serif. With a cool, vintage design, this grid-based font is free to use for both personal and commercial projects.

Glasoor

Created by type designer Sergiy Tkachenko, Glasoor is an experimental font with a playful retro design that's perfect for posters, logos and more.

Zebrazil

Zebrazil was created by Burmese graphic designer Zarni. This deliciously retro font features lovely thin letterforms married to bold serifs, and is one of many created by Zarni, who generously offers his design as a free download.

Canter

Designed by New York-based creative Christopher J. Lee, Canter is an all caps, condensed typeface available in six different weights. It was designed as a display type for titles, headlines, and posters and will work well with any retro execution.

Alt Retro

Alt Retro Typeface is a free five-weight typeface that channels all the art deco inspiration you can muster. Perfect for eye-catching creations, Alt Retro is a playful font that will serve as a brilliant experimental offering. The intricate design makes it a stand out retro font.

Rispa

This retro typeface was inspired by designer Konrad Bednarski's new hometown. The free test version is available to download for free, with a corrected and extended version with more weights soon to be available. Like this font? You can also get Rispa Regular T-shirts, prints, tote bags, pillows and much more from Society6.

Betty Noir

This typeface was developed Blambot, a company that "proudly provides comic fonts and lettering". You have to pay for many of its brilliant designs, but the team generously offer Betty Noir free for use in personal projects. This is one of our favourite free retro fonts, it's definitely worth checking out.

White Rabbit

Inspired by eras gone by, this is one of the coolest free retro fonts we've seen in a while. Developed by Alice Creative, this typeface is available free for personal use, with donations to the author, as always, greatfully received.

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Kerrie Hughes is editor of Creative Bloq. Kerrie was staff writer for 3D World magazine before joining the original Creative Bloq team in Since then she's written regularly for other publications, including ImagineFX, 3D World and Computer Arts magazines. 

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Market Deco by Steve Ferrera

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Circus by Dan Roseman

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Riesling à by Bright Ideas

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Aftur Seven by Aqamulhaq Abdurrazaq

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Curated by Samantha Warren

As the Senior Experience Design Manager for Adobe Stock and Type, Samantha heads the product design team and vision for Adobe’s creative marketplace. She has been a design director for agencies on the East coast, a product design consultant for startups across Silicon Valley, and a designer at Twitter. A few years ago she championed http://styletil.es/, a method for establishing a visual language during the design process. She loves the outdoors, mid-century modern furniture, her fearless puppy Ray Ray, and her cross-eyed cat.

Last Updated on June 3,

Hailed as a timeless, go-to look, mid-century modern design and its elements has been a staple in many industries, from architecture, interiors, to packaging. If you look around your room now, you can bet that there’s at least one item there that’s inspired by this concept.

What has made mid-century modern design endure all these years?

Events That Influenced Mid-Century Modern Design

It’s still a matter of debate on the exact period of when mid-century modern first sprang to life. However, experts and historians can agree that it began after the war (post WW II) and continued in the s.

One of its heavy influences was the Bauhaus movement that started in Germany. The concept in Bauhaus is that form follows function. It has similarities with Scandinavian design, which emphasizes organic materials, clean lines, and smart use of resources. After the war, these ideas made sense because people wanted things that were practical, innovative, and fresh.

With the expansion of cities, advances in science and technology were also inspirations for the mid-century modern look. With humankind perfectly poised for space came new materials to experiment with. There was fiberglass, steel, aluminium, foam, and plastic. These lent incredible textures, shapes, and hues that would pave the way for Space Age and Pop Art.

Why We Love Mid-Century Modern Design

Mid-century modern design has five key characteristics:

• Functionality over form;
• Sleek, clean lines and geometric shapes;
• Minimal decorations or embellishments;
• Use of unconventional materials; and
• Juxtaposition of contrasting materials or elements.

Because these traits lend an uncluttered and compact appeal, it’s not difficult to incorporate mid-century modern design into almost anything. It’s also easy to integrate them into existing themes, whether it’s Art Deco, Classical, or Oriental.

With installations or 3D projects, you’ll find that using unusual or organic materials will give your works interesting textures, shapes, and feel. This type of design is an amazing choice especially if you’re a big fan of sci-fi, futuristic, modern, minimalist, or Scandinavian concepts.

For digital designs, a mid-century modern vibe is all about accessibility, functionality, and fluidity. While some designs in this area can look radical, it will still feel familiar and classic. Adding this to your website, social media, banners, and graphics is easy as pie. Just pick bright, vibrant colors; mix serifs with sans; and opt for geometric lines and forms.

Awesome Mid Century Modern Fonts

No need to travel back in time to enjoy these unique looks. Re-create postcards, posters, labels, signage, and shirts in mid-century modern design with these fonts.

1. Strikeout &#; Bold Script Typeface

Strikeout is a beautiful script typeface inspired by s and s baseball era. Strikeout allows you to create hand lettering in an instant. This super handy typeface is ideal for logos, product packaging, headers, posters, merchandise, handwritten quotes, social media, greeting cards, and much more. If you love baseball and retro typography, then this font is for you!

Download Strikeout

Download Mayburn

5. Boardley Script

Craft Supply Co. presents this layered font that includes two styles, Regular and Extrude. Drawn from scratch with new and vigorous detailing, no expense was spared for this bold script lettering that will continue to be trendy, regardless of the period.

Download Boardley Script

6. MidCentury Typeface

Fill your life in vintage color with this retro offering from The Good Store. Featuring an all-caps font and various templates for flyers, logos, Instagram posts, as well as background patterns and mid century icons – you’ll have your hands full with all things good and wonderful.

Download MidCentury Typeface

7. Kansas Casual

If you’re looking for a modern alternative to the conventional sign painter&#;s one stroke, Very Cool Studio has got you covered. Featuring a total of 6 fonts with wide language support, OpenType fractions, and arrows, this all-caps set is ready to get friendly.

Download Kansas Casual

8. Silverlake

Introducing this bright and versatile all uppercase mid-century font duo from Touch and Form. Available in 2 variants (Sans Tall and Regular Sans), they’re a pair you can count on for personal or commercial projects.

Download Silverlake

9. Tide Sans

A beautiful font family that blurs the line between being carefree and hardworking, the set has a total of 18 fonts (9 weights with matching italics) you can either take to the beach or to the office.

Download Tide Sans

Space-Age Retro Dingbats Font

Step into the future and feel like a Jetson using the space-age symbols font with 62 unique handcrafted characters from Pacific Modern Art. Product contains 2 bonus seamless patterns to complement your designs.

Download Space-Age Retro Dingbats Font

Lustik

Francis Chouquet proudly gives you this one-of-a-kind layered font created specifically to be layered on top of the other. A definite conversation starter, you can use any color or even add an overprint effect to really drive home that retro vibe.

Download Lustik

Halau Serif

Need a vintage typeface for your 60s movie title or groovy postcards? Look no further than Vintage Voyage Supply’s funky casual font family that comes in 5 weights guaranteed playful and fresh!

Download Halau Serif

Tipique

This revival of an early s sans designed in the spirit of geometric Bauhaus typefaces, this font is both modern and retro, making it the ideal choice for organic branding as well as corporate logos.

Download Tipique

Sylvester Typeface

Reminiscent of cigar boxes and classic lettering, Millieangelo gives you this all-caps font that’s available in Rough and Regular styles.

Download Sylvester Typeface

Jaywalker

Inspired by mid-century illustration and design, Turncoat Studio brings you this off-kilter sans serif that will go well with your spunky t-shirts, logos, posters, packaging designs, invitations, and greeting cards.

Download Jaywalker

Jeames

This detached extended serif with curved, heavy, joints comes in 3 solid weights everyone will be taking seriously. Best applied on headers, titles, signage, and labels.

Download Jeames

TAN SONGBIRD

An ode to 70s retro, TanType’s tightly spaced but slightly bulging serif has the right amount of groove for any project that wants to party until dawn.

Download TAN SONGBIRD

Palm Canyon Drive

Inspired by 40s and 50sCalifornia, this monoline script comes complete with popular catchwords so you’ll have no trouble applying it to branding, ads, editorials, or DIY crafts that need a little warm Hollywood optimism.

Download Palm Canyon Drive

Milan

If you’re ever strapped for inspiration, try this gorgeous and classic all-caps sans by Jen Wagner Co and feel instantly enthused. With a cool modern-meets-vintage vibe, it easily pairs with dainty serifs for pastel posters, Instagram photos, quick ads, and more.

Download Milan

The Big Tickle Font Family

What do you get when you combine the smooth jazz of the 50s with the rock ‘n roll vibes from the 60s? You get this amazing font family packed with 15 unique fonts, plus graphic elements to help you begin your mid century modern adventure.

Download The Big Tickle Font Family

Meisterz Typeface

Is it for horror or for fantasy? You decide with this fancy typeface from Gumico Studio. Product contains badges and vector illustration so you can play it up for any theme you see fit.

Download Meisterz Typeface

Goal Digger Font Collection

Kissed by the sun and blessed with super rich textures, this collection from Maryam Kamal Co comes in a total of 5 fonts with a sweet vintage twist. Hand-drawn with 2 fonts available in SVG, the pack includes more than 13 stylish crayon swashes to ramp up your designs in a snap.

Download Goal Digger Font Collection

Snifter

Inspired by Mad Men, StudioWorks gives you this spirited retro display typeface straight from the boardroom bar cabinet. A warm mix of style with substance, its sharp serifs, graceful curves, and shuffling baselines is perfect for ads, branding, product labels, and the usual quote images.

Download Snifter

Jurta Sans

Vintage but playfully modern, this display type by Ideabuk has influences from the 60s, as seen in its varying thick to thin widths. But thanks to its clean, sleek lines, you’ve also got yourself a minimalist font you can pull in an instant.

Download Jurta Sans

Cornhusker Regular

Inspired by s Midwestern signage, this condensed sans by Section Type is like tall corn husks in an Illinois cornfield in September: proud, delicious, and lovingly made by hand.

Download Cornhusker Regular

Desk calendar using Futura Black, photograph courtesy of H is for Home

By Stephen Coles
fontsinuse.com

Mid century typeface: Helvetica and the cold sans serif

In the documentary film, Helvetica, graphic designer Michael Bierut sums up the mid-century modernisation of graphic design by describing a single Coke ad from “It’s the real thing. Period! Coke. Period! In Helvetica. Period! Any questions? Of course not. Drink Coke. Period! Simple.”

McKann Erickson’s campaign exemplifies a s revolution of clean, modernist typography. The short, bold, sans-serif statement was a stark reaction to the hand-rendered script lettering and long-winded copy that cluttered print advertising of previous decades.
 

Mid century typeface: Futura and the clinical side of modernism

The credit for sparking this shift could go to Doyle Dane Bernbach, whose “Think Small” ad for Volkswagen turned heads in Designer Helmut Krone used a traditional ad layout: two-thirds image, one-third copy, with a headline between them. What made the ad so striking (besides the spare photography and Julian Koenig’s clever copy) were the short paragraphs punctuated by single-word lines, all set in a typeface rarely used for text: Futura.

Geometric and uniform sans serifs are indeed typographic symbols of modernism. But Futura, Helvetica, Univers, and Eurostile were by no means the only typefaces favoured by mid-century designers. To me, they represent the colder, clinical, machine-made side of modernism. More metal than wood.
 

Mid century typeface: Century Expanded and the sculptural serif

When I think of the sculptural teak of a Juhl or Wegner armchair, or the fluidity of Saarinen’s Tulip chair, or the organic curves of the Eames’ bent ply, I think of warmer stuff. I think of the rich sparkle generated by serif text type like Caledonia and Century Expanded. I think of Ultra Bodoni, Craw Modern, Carousel, and Pistilli Roman — curvaceous sirens whose extreme stroke contrast (the difference between thick and thin strokes) and big ball terminals attracted viewers to advertising, logos, record covers, and magazines. An industrial stencil variation on this theme was used by Le Corbusier in his plans, later by the Eames, and now in the pages of MidCentury magazine. The period –75 was also the heyday for other bold stencils, like Futura Black and Glaser Stencil.

Along with high-contrast serifs, the period is marked by weighty, stout slabs like Egyptienne, Hellenic Wide, Clarendon (a favourite of graphic/industrial designer Massimo Vignelli), and Volta (found on Josef Albers’ album art and the covers of children’s book author Dick Bruna).
 

Mid century typeface: the workmanlike warm sans serif

There are warm mid-century sans serifs, too. Akzidenz-Grotesk (sold to English-speakers as Standard) was Helvetica’s predecessor and frequently employed throughout the s and s. ATF’s Gothics (Franklin, News, Alternate) and Trade Gothic were American staples ever since the ’30s. And Stephenson Blake’s and Monotype’s Grotesques were similarly common in the UK. These sans serifs are unadorned, but their subtle weight modulation and angled endings lend more life than Helvetica can. They are unpretentious and workmanlike; clean, but not sterile.
 

Mid century typeface: a reflection of Modern architecture

At its best, mid-century modernism married two moods: cold and warm. The strict, straight, and mechanical was tempered by a human touch and the imperfection of natural forms. And despite the emphasis on functionalism, the movement also had a sense of humour and whimsy. This was reflected as much in mid-century typography as it was in furniture and architecture.
 

Useful Links

Visit Fonts In Use to see examples of the typefaces mentioned in this article

Read Stephen Cole&#;s review of the typefaces in MidCentury magazine

For more on the redesign of MidCentury magazine, check out the magculture review

See Herman Miller ads from  and Architectural Record covers from that use Futura

See Domus Danica logo and ads from that use Optima and Helvetica

See Herman Miller ads from that use Caledonia and Century Expanded

See a Herman Miller ad from  that uses Standard