IF YOU’RE DESPERATELY SEARCHING for the top logo fonts for your next project, then this may be the most important article you ever read. Here’s why:
Why Choosing The Wrong Logo Font Could Kill Your Branding
A font is more than letters on a page; it’s the voice of your brand. Meaning – get it wrong, and your brand is DEAD in the water before you even start! Your font is the first thing people notice about your logo, and… it sets the tone for how they think of you… for the rest of their life. First impressions count. And they last too.
The Hardships Of Choosing A Great Font
But choosing the right font can be tough. The countless options are overwhelming. With more coming out each day. Yet, you need not fear. Because I’m here. And I’ve curated a list of 100 top fonts for logos that will guide you to enlightenment. Or at least… inspire you to make less destructive choices…
How I Chose The Best Logo Fonts Ever
Let’s face it: We can talk about font versatility, readability, aesthetics, and mass appeal until we’re blue in the face. But the only real way to tell whether a font will work well for your branding is… to… put it out there, wait a hundred years… and if your business is still around, congrats! You hit the branding jackpot!
But most people don’t have a hundred years to see whether their font helped or killed their branding. So… we’re doing the next best thing. We’re looking at companies that have been around the block. They’ve dominated their industries, become the most beloved brands in history, and took over the world.
Let’s see what logo fonts they’ve used, fonts that have been proven to do well in the marketplace, and let’s just use the same fonts. Or maybe… just something similar at least. It’s way easier than waiting a century!
This isn’t just design or typography. It’s historical science.
So whether you’re planning to create a classic, modern, or playful brand to take over the world, there’s no doubt that you’ll find the perfect font you’re looking for on this list…
How I Made This List Easier To Navigate
Other than that, I’ve also included examples of ‘Logos in the Wild‘, so you can see how the logos were used in the real world. Let’s explore…
26 TOP CLASSIC FONTS
These are timeless and elegant options. Great if you’re planning to build a more traditional brand.
#C1. American Pop Font (Coca-Cola)
The Coca-Cola logo was originally drawn in a style of classic script handwriting called Spencerian Script. It was taught to children in schools in the 19th century.
While there are a lot of different Spencerian Script fonts, the American Pop font by FontMesa bears the closest resemblance here…
It works well if you’re trying to appeal to nostalgia and vintage familiarity. Makes for some pretty cool merch too, don’t you think?
#C2. Commercial Script Font (Ford)
Similar to the Coca-Cola logo, the Ford logo also uses a style of Spencerian script popular in the 19th and 20th centuries for its elegant and fluid strokes.
The Ford logo’s script is based on a specific variation known as “Ford Script.” There’s a free font available for personal use called Ford Script, which closely mimics this style of script. However, it’s considered by designers to be badly drawn and lacking the refinement of professional font designs. Here’s a better option:
The Ford Script is mostly based off of the Commercial Script font by Monotype. Its smooth, flowing characters made Commercial Script an attractively popular typeface in advertising in the early 20th century.
It also has greater craftsmanship and is available for both personal and commercial use.
#C3. City Medium Font (IBM)
The IBM logo was designed by Paul Rand in 1956. It’s based off of the City typeface created by Georg Trump in 1930. Specifically, the City’s Medium style. The font’s bold, geometric shapes helped IBM project strength and reliability. Rand further modified the logo with horizontal stripes.
This created a unique visual effect that made viewers feel a sense of speed, dynamism, and connectivity… all while maintaining the original typeface’s solid, authoritative feel.
The clean lines of the City Medium typeface makes the logo clear and easy to read across different media and formats. The addition of horizontal stripes created a modern and timeless design and positioned IBM as a leader in technology and innovation.
#C4. Engraver’s Old English BT (The New York Times)
The New York Times logo font was designed by Edward Benguiat. He was a renowned typographer, known for creating several famous fonts and logos for other well-known magazines, like Esquire and Reader’s Digest.
The logo font is inspired by a style known as Old English Text. And it includes Benguiat’s personal artistic flourishes. This made it stand out distinctively as the hallmark of the newspaper’s brand.
The intricate, ornate letterforms give viewers a sense of tradition, authority, and timelessness. The aim was likely to help highlight The New York Times’ reputation for journalism.
One of the most stunningly similar typefaces in the Old English Text style is the Engravers Old English BT font. And if you look closely, you’ll see why it works well for logo design. Lots of serifs, lots of elaborate detail, help to instantly make any brand memorably stand out.
It instantly gives out a feeling of established authority and credibility, that’s crucial for brands like The New York Times. Don’t think the font mattered that much? When the company attempted to tweak their logo font once, they lost over 1,000 subscribers – a massive number back in the day. They never did it again!
#C5. Victorian Orchid Regular (Rolex)
It is said that the original Rolex watch logo font was created by the founder of Rolex himself, Hans Wilsdorf. And while the original font was handcrafted and tweaked over the years up ’til its current iteration, the main feeling of the font was kept consistent.
It features strong serifs and thick strokes, demonstrating the boldness to reign as king of all watches.
The previous version of the Rolex logo featured a prominent up-pointing ‘R’ tail stroke, as if looking in casual defiance at the world. The current modification of the logo loses this stroke for a more dominant and less casually luxurious feel.
However, the Victorian Orchid Regular font by Dharma Type is the font I’ve found that bears the closest resemblance to both the current and previous font iterations. It’s the perfect font for your brand, if you believe your products have the quality to claim dominance of your industry.
Considering how small watch faces are, you can be sure that this font works well at small sizes.
#C6. Garamond Classico Font (Harvard University)
For decades, the emblem and associated fonts of Harvard University have come to define the upper class of institutional learning. The Veritas emblem (representing truth) come in two forms. With just the shield of books, or adorned with wreath and embellishments (used during events).
The Harvard logo uses fonts from the Garamond font family. And while there are probably hundreds of variations of the Garamond font, I’d say it most closely resembles the Garamond Classico font variation by Linotype.
The serif font is highly readable, whether from a distance or at smaller sizes. And it works well for building an upper-class brand that gives a feeling of old-world establishment and authority.
#C7. CG Triumvirate Font (Hershey’s)
The Hershey’s logo font is based on a custom-designed typeface built in-house, called Milton font. It was named after Hershey’s founder, Milton Hershey. It focuses on simplicity, and boldness.. with a tint of velvety smoothness snuck in… reflected by the ending curve on the ‘R’.
The CG Triumvirate Extra Compressed font most closely mimics the structure and typographic feel of the logo, with the exception of the personalized apostrophe. The letters are rectangular and blocky, reflecting blocks of chocolate. And the slightly raised x-height promises an elevated experience.
If you have a simple standardized product or service that promises to quickly, directly, and consistently satisfy your prospects every time, this might be a good font to look into…
#C8. Nicolas Cochin Font (Dior)
The Dior logo is said to have been created to reflect femininity, elegance, and romance. This is reflected in their font choices for the logo.
The logo seems to be based on the Nicolas Cochin font family, created by French engraver Nicolas Cochin in the 18th century. The font has strong thin serifs, and an elegant, geometric curvature. The simple, yet minimalistic font design speaks to both luxury and elegance.
If you have a brand that conveys the same feelings, this might be a winner.
#C9. Penumbra Serif (Time Magazine)
The Time Magazine logo uses a customized serif font in the style of Roman Square Capitals. This includes sharp strong serifs, thick and thin contrasting strokes, and squarish dimensions. It gives the logo a very standardized, clean, orderly look that is positioned to stand out, yet not distract.
The closest typeface to the Time Magazine logo font seems to me to be the Penumbra Serif font family.
The art director of Time Magazine, Arthur Hochstein, once mentioned that the best cover designs are all about simplicity, strong typography, and clear imagery. The typography used for the font is both simple, strong, and also clear. A great font choice if you’re constantly projecting your branding on top of images.
#C10. Jindo Bold Font (Chanel)
Chanel uses a simple sans-serif font that aims to merge classic simplicity with modern elegance. The geometric shape, thick lines, and square capitals helps them achieve a timeless look.
While the Chanel logo font is largely a custom design, the Jindo Bold font comes extremely close to mimicking the original effect. With its geometric letterforms, thick lines, and square capitals, it looks great for a brand that want to merge the simple classics with timeless elegance.
#C11. Goudy Old Style (Guinness)
Guinness uses a custom typeface for its branding. It has evolved over the years with many design enhancements by John Gilmore. One of the most iconic features of the logo that has been kept over the years is the iconic slits in the letter “N”.
While the exact Guinness font is not available for commercial use, the Goudy Old Style Std Bold font comes remarkably close to achieving its likeness. With the exception of the slits in the letter “N”, of course. If you’d like to achieve a bold and straightforward brand, that is iconic with black-and-white aesthetic, then this might be for you.
#C12. Marcelo + Rosella Fonts (Prada)
For their logo, Prada uses a custom classic serif typeface that portrays elegance and high contrast between its thick and thin strokes. Its blocky contours creates a feel of high-end fashion coupled with sophisticated luxury.
Click To Try Marcelo Font
After much observation, I’ve found that the Prada logo font is most similar to a combination of the Marcelo font and the Rosella Pro Solid font with some slight modifications. Most notable is the modification of the extended ‘A’ top, and the squarish curvature.
Well, there’s no rule that you can only use one font in a logo. As long as they both look good together, and work well to achieve the desired result, have at it…
#C13. Baskerville Font (Tiffany & Co.)
The Tiffany & Co. logo font very closely resembles a variation on the original Baskerville font by Linotype. Some subtle tweaks compared to the Baskerville Font include larger font sizes for the ‘T’ and ‘C’ that help to highlight punctuation. The ampersand ‘&’ has also been toned down from a more playful feel, to a more refined, prim and proper look.
The Baskerville font works well if you’re looking to merge classic appeal with elegance for your brand. It is simple, clean, and delicate as well, depending on the feelings you’re trying to convey.
#C14. Leviathan Font (Levi’s)
The Levi’s logo font uses a lot of contrasting elements, yet blends them together in a confident way. From the contrast between uppercase and lower case letters, to the contrasting lines between thick and thin.
If you are creating a brand that wants to be unconventional, yet confident at the same time, then this boldness is what you want. While the Levi’s logo is a custom font, the Leviathan Black font by Hoefler & Co. makes a strongly similar substitute with a very slight difference.
The original Levi’s font is tighter has more tightly closed apertures, making it feel slightly more rational and exclusive, while the Leviathan font is slightly more dynamic, open and friendly.
#C15. Ye Paradigma Font (National Geographic)
The font used in the National Geographic logo is a custom sans-serif typeface. It’s bold, has all caps, providing a clean modern look that works well with its iconic yellow rectangle. The emphasis is on simplicity and strong brand recognition.
The font I’ve found that gives the closest feel to the original typeface is the Ye Paradigma Condensed font family. The National Geographic font is somewhere between medium and bold. But either way, the styles do well maintaining the simplicity and openness of the original, removing even the bar on the G.
It’s a great font to use if you’re going for a simple and classic, yet modern and clean look for your branding.
#C16. TXTGroovy Smooth Font (ABC News)
The ABC logo is a custom sans-serif typeface that features bold, simple geometric letterforms. The circular simplicity, paired with its trademark circle, creates a timeless and recognizable identity that you grasp immediately. While a timeless classic, it has built a clean and modern appearance at the same time.
The font that most closely resembles the ABC logo is the TXTGroovy Smooth font. To be precise, it is very similar to the previous version of the logo which had a shorter ‘b’ extender and more open ‘c’ mouth than the current version. However, over the decades, the company has been constantly adjusting these two variables, hovering between bigger and smaller extenders and openings constantly.
The typeface is very simple, clean, and easy to get. It works well for a brand that wants to be known for its simplicity and easy recognizability.
#C17. Corporate A Font (Mercedes Benz)
Mercedes-Benz uses a sans-serif typeface called the “Corporate A” font, designed by Prof. Kurt Weidemann. It is interesting because this typeface was first designed as a trilogy, together with the “Corporate S” font, and the “Corporate E” font. Together, they were known as Corporate ASE.
This complements the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star logo, which symbolizes the brand’s power over land, sea and air.