Good things often spring from the union of commerce, art, and charity, as these “fonts with a purpose” illustrate. The Arrels Foundation for the homeless has partnered with the Cyranos McCann agency and a handful of homeless people to create Homelessfonts. The handwriting of these people living on the streets of Barcelona—used to adorn their cardboard signs—has been turned into professional fonts for sale. The project is intended to bring awareness to the homeless issue in Europe, as well as give the homeless creators a source of pride and dignity.
The Homelessfonts.com website features ten people whose writing has been (or is in the process of being) expertly converted to digital fonts. Each typeface—named for its creator—is also accompanied by the creator’s photo and their backstory, as well as examples of the typeface in use. The Homelessfonts typefaces range in price from 19€ (personal license) to 290€ (commercial license), with the funds going to the Arrels Foundation to further aid their efforts to end homelessness. The fonts may be a little on the expensive side, but remember you’re not just getting a new font, you’re giving back as well.
This article was last modified on July 29, 2021
This article was first published on August 21, 2014
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