My favourite free fonts on Google Fonts right now

Serifs, sans serifs, displays… oh my! It’s no secret I love typography. I’m not sure when it really happened exactly, but I know the passion really ignited when I began my self-employment journey. Before that, I didn’t really have the opportunity to indulge in much type exploration. I was limited to using what was available to me, and I don’t really recall my previous employers often splashing out on new typefaces unless they were completely necessary.

Now, I dream of serifs and ligatures. Of font families with minimum four different weights. Of extended sans serifs. My designs are usually heavily type-focused and I create a lot of word marks where customising individual letters or entire words is the norm and, in all honesty, it brings me so much joy. I spend so much time, each and every project, searching for just the right combination of typefaces for each job. I like to use fonts that aren’t too trend-focused (because, there’s a select few that are just everywhere right now, and I mean e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e), ones that will have a longer shelf-life and often from independent foundries.  And while one day I’d love to have a crack at designing my own fonts (hashtag dreams), right now, a lot of my expenses revolve around the purchase of said fonts. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind paying, not at all. But if there’s free alternatives available with the correct licenses, I’d be crazy not to utilise.

Enter: Google Fonts. An extensive font resource with an expanding selection of licensed fonts and font families, available for personal and commercial use, for free. Nothing. Zero dollars. Now I very rarely use these as my primary font selection when it comes to branding projects, but secondary fonts: sometimes. And complimentary fonts (often used for paragraph/body text in documents or websites): almost always. So I thought I’d curate a list of my current Google Fonts favourites for those of you maybe just starting out or looking to DIY some of your own designs and can’t justify the investment into a flashy font family just yet.

SERIF FONTS

Forum: A sharp and classic, Roman-style serif font that’s refined and traditional.

Crimson Text: One of my regular go-to’s for a classy serif with a fluid-style italic (I’m fussy when it comes to serif italics)

Cormorant: A really beautiful serif font with an extensive family - about as bit as it comes, really.

Noto Serif: A little bit chunkier than the previously mentioned serifs, with its solid slab-style serifs.

SANS SERIF FONTS

Poppins: One of my absolute favourites on this list. Rounded, full, geometric shapes with a full family of weights.

Montserrat: No Google Fonts list is complete without Montserrat. A firm, slightly extended font that is a fan favourite amongst designers everywhere.

Nanum Gothic: A new player to my go-to line-up, Nanum Gothic is contemporary, simple and grounded. Perfect.

Assistant: Another relative new-comer to my swag, I love the little tails on the letter ‘l’s. Tiny details make a big difference.

DISPLAY FONTS

Gotu: Display fonts are really in the limelight at present and it’s not hard to see why with fonts like Gotu available. Loops and curves in all the right places, without being too OTT. Love.

Philosopher: If a serif had a baby with calligraphy. Welcome, Philosopher.

Tenor Sans: Straightforward and understated, Tenor Sans is a reliable library addition.

Marcellus: With its flared serifs and sharp points, Marcellus is the right balance of contemporary meets traditional.

I hope this list helps direct you to your next beautiful, yet budget-friendly font addition.