As a graphic designer, I spend much of my day working with fonts. We are all familiar with fonts but do you really understand what fonts do – beside the obvious of course. Using a cooking analogy, I like to think of fonts as the herbs, spices and condiments that add flavour to your meal; without these flavour combinations, meals would be somewhat boring and bland.

There are thousands of fonts available but as a designer I find I tend to go back to the many of the same fonts over and over because they work in so many scenarios. Of course, many of my standby fonts are commercial fonts that must be purchased before you can use them but luckily now there are many lovely fonts available for free too. I've selected some great fonts that can be downloaded for free (personal use only). Some free fonts offer an option to donate to the designer and as a fellow designer I often try to give them a small donation if I can afford to do so.  Please keep that in mind if you have the means because it takes a long time and effort to develop and design a font package.

Download these beautiful fonts here:

Great Vibes  |  Abraham Lincoln  |  Aller  |  Young & Beautiful  | Allura  |  Maven Pro  |  Habana  | Impregnable  |  Raleway  |  Connie  |  BlackJack  | Steelfish  |  Matchbook  |  SimpleSnails  | Vevey