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Great graphic design is powered by great font selection. But picking great fonts is a challenge most people. Luckily, Canva has made choosing great fonts for your designs much easier. In this tutorial, our team of design experts will cover the best retro fonts in Canva.
What are Retro Fonts?
Retro fonts often harken back to a specific era or style of the past, and they come in various forms that reflect the graphic design trends of different periods. Here are some characteristics of retro fonts:
- Serifs: Many retro fonts, particularly those evoking the 19th and early 20th centuries, often have pronounced serifs. Serifs are small lines or strokes attached to the end of larger strokes in a letter or symbol.
- Chunky and Bold: Retro fonts often have bold, thick letterforms, making them noticeable and impactful. They may be inspired by mid-20th century advertising, signage, or poster design.
- Script Styles: Retro fonts can often mimic handwriting or calligraphy, reflecting the script styles of various historical periods. For example, some retro fonts may have a mid-century cursive style or imitate the ornate calligraphy of the Art Nouveau era.
- Geometry: Some retro fonts, particularly those inspired by the 1920s and 1930s, may use geometric shapes in their design, reflecting the influence of movements like Art Deco.
- Ornamental and Decorative: Some retro fonts include elaborate decorative elements, similar to what might have been seen in Victorian era signage and documents, or in the ‘groovy’ 1960s and 70s.
- Variety in Line Width: Retro fonts often play with a variety of line widths in a single character, moving from thin to thick, to create a stylized and vintage look.
- Distressed Appearance: To mimic the look of aged, weathered print, some retro fonts include intentional imperfections, like rough edges, irregular lines, or a ‘grungy‘ texture.
- All Caps: Many retro fonts, particularly those reminiscent of old posters or signage, are designed to be used in all capital letters.
Best Canva Retro Fonts
1. Mak
Mak is a simple and elegant sans-serif font that is characterized by its clean lines and minimalistic design. It is a versatile font that can be used in a wide range of applications, from logos and branding to body text.
2. Retropix
Sniglet is a rounded, bubbly typeface with a playful and fun aesthetic. It’s perfect for child-friendly designs or any design needing a touch of whimsy.
3. Pacifico
Pacifico is a cursive font that is inspired by the handwriting of the 1950s and 1960s. It features fluid, flowing lines and has a retro, nostalgic feel. It is often used in designs that evoke a sense of vintage or retro style.
4. Nectarine
Nectarine is a playful and informal script font with a bouncy, handwritten style. It features a mix of thick and thin strokes and has a slight slant to its letterforms, giving it a dynamic and energetic feel.
5. Genty
Genty is a sans-serif font that features a clean and modern design, with condensed letterforms and distinct serifs. It was designed by Indonesian graphic designer, Agga Swistblnk. The font has a strong geometric structure, with letterforms that are narrow and tall. The serifs on each letter add a touch of elegance and help to distinguish it from other sans-serif fonts. The stroke widths are consistent and uniform, which gives the font a polished and professional look.
6. Nine by Five
Nine by Five is a digital typeface that was designed by Jim Lyles in 1991. It is a bitmap font, which means that it is created using a grid of pixels, rather than vector shapes. The name “Nine by Five” refers to the dimensions of the font, which is 9 pixels wide and 5 pixels tall.
7. Metropolis
Metropolis is a sans-serif font that was designed in 1927 by German typeface designer and teacher, Ludwig Goller. It was heavily influenced by the Art Deco movement of the time, which is reflected in its geometric shapes and clean lines. The font gained renewed popularity in the 21st century and is often used in modern designs that aim to evoke the glamour and sophistication of the 1920s and 30s.
8. Zeky
Zeky is a modern, geometric sans-serif typeface that features sharp edges and clean lines. This minimalist font is perfect for technology or design-related projects, such as logos, websites, or marketing materials.
9. Bangers
Bangers is a playful and energetic font that features a bold and chunky design with rounded letterforms. The font is characterized by a retro and casual feel, making it ideal for use in headlines, titles, and other display applications where a fun and lively look is desired. The font’s bold and playful style makes it perfect for projects such as posters, banners, logos, and branding materials.
10. Awesome Lathusca
Awesome Lathusca is a unique and stylish serif font. Awesome Lathusca is well-suited for advertising, branding, logotypes, packaging, titles, headlines, and editorial design.
Conclusion
I hope you found this guide covering the best Canva retro fonts, useful! Be sure to check out our blog for more article covering the essential tips, tricks, and advice for Canva! Also, if you haven’t already tried CanvaPro, you can try it for free for 30 days!