Fonts are a source of endless debate for designers. Some we love, some we hate, some we just love to hate (hello, Comic Sans). Some time ago, the folks at FontShop took on the daunting task of ranking typefaces, and compiled a list of the 100 Best Typefaces of All Time. Of course, the credibility of any “Best Ever” list depends a lot on the criteria used to rank the winners. In this case, FontShop used three measures (one objective, and two subjective): sales figures, historical significance, and aesthetic quality. Free fonts were excluded, and types sold by different foundries were judged as a single entry, (e.g. there’s just one Garamond on the list).
For a time, FontShop also sold the typefaces in the list as a collection, and produced a PDF (in German) with trivia and background info on each typeface. Much of the content of that PDF is translated into English at 100besttypefaces.com, and now they’ve also created a Pinterest board you can check out to browse the list.
If you’ve never seen the list, I won’t spoil the “surprise” of what’s at #1. But there are also several interesting lesser-known typefaces to discover, and the trivia and histories make the list required reading (and pinning) for any font addict.
This article was last modified on July 31, 2021
This article was first published on September 10, 2012
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