Light/thin fonts are the fonts that are usually slim and slender than usually fonts. Using light fonts one can create beautiful typography, websites, banner and etc. In this post we are exploring basic characteristics of lights fonts , some examples of light fonts and sharing some best free light fonts on the web.
What the Hell is Light Font?
Light font does not mean that the font will be titled as light font. It is all about visual aesthetic. One way to distinguish light font is obviously the size . The font body size is very thin and most light font tend to have pointed serif and ascender . For example : look at the following image. There are couple of light fonts in the image compared to regular Helvetica. That should give you general idea what light fonts should looks like. Some fonts also goes to Ultra Light which are really really thin.
Some Examples?
Below are some examples of how light fonts are used in web design. You will see that light fonts are used in title, tagline, navigation, buttons and more through out these websites . We have highlighted the area where light fonts are used.
1. My Favorite Thing
2. Eye Draw
3. Arteye
4. A White Box
5. WebMynd
6. Sage Blue
7. DEQQ
8. Weightshift
9. Duoh!
10. Daniel Marino
Do’s of Light Font
- Use contrarys color such as dark background color and light font color or dark font color and light background color.
- Use Bigger font size. Use it for tagline, little intro, headline.
- Keep it simple
Don’ts of Light Font
- Don’t make the font color similar page content! Makes the font hard to read
- Since the font is already light don’t use tiny tiny size such 10 px. Keep it above 14px. Makes the font legible.
- Don’t over use it. Light font pops out when it is used wisely among regular fonts. Using too much light font make the webpage distracting and visually annoying.
- Don’t try Letterpress with light fonts. Probably won’t see the effect.
Web Safe Light Fonts ?
There are not that many web safe lights font yet. We would have to wait for CSS3 for that. For now your best bet is using Helvetica, Courier New. They look pretty light compare to other websafe fonts. There is also javascript solution if you really want to use a font. Using light font in images is best method for now.
Best Light Fonts on the Web
We went through couple of font websites and gathered most downloaded and nice looking light fonts. Yes they are all free.
More Light Fonts
There could lot more things we have not covered about the light fonts. Feel free share your opinion and ideas.
Author: Kawsar Ali
Kawsar Ali is a web designer who also likes blogging. He is the curator of Desizn Tech. In his spare time he walks around with a Nikon D5100 hunting for good textures.
great collection. thanks
Informative post, I never make use of this kind of light fonts…..light fonts will also be attractive I’ll check it out.
Just wanted to leave a quick comment – Thanks for your post, I enjoyed reading it. Cheers.
very cool graphics. maybe i will try using these on my website to add some flavor to it.
hello there lovely site and web theme. Hopefully I’m not troubling you I merely wanted to ask exactly what wordpress plugin you make use of to display the latest responses on your blog? I really want to do something like that for my free iphone 4 site but I can’t acquire the plugin or widget for it. Thanks for your time :)
What a beautiful post and beautiful website! thank you for the list of fonts. You are truly a artist.
WOW, great collection. but you should include also source fonts for the sites you specified.
Thanks
great post..thanks for sharing..
En, very useful post about the font usage. For a successful design, color is just as important as the graphic itself. Thanks!
Light fonts are great as long as you don’t get too carried away:)
This was one of the best roundup of Light Fonts Ive come across , I like the way you have exemplified the use of Light Fonts through the display of various sites using them . I have a vast collection of fonts , and despite the fact that my preference is rounded bold fonts such as Vag Rounded , I love many of the lighter fonts as well such as : Monako, & Steiner and of course : Caviar Dreams & Champagne & Limousines which are by my good & SUPER Talented friend NYMPHONT .
Great roundup ! Kudos :)
M.
.-= Mia´s last blog : Steampunk art : revisited =-.
Useful post,I never use this type of light fonts…..
light fonts are also attractive i will try it.
Thanks for Sharing.
very informative…. but i donk know about the fonts thou!!!! do light fonts have to be like this all the time is very thin and tendendy to have pointed serif and ascender?
Very interesting post.. I didn’t know nothing about this thing..
Wow..the list is just so perfect..! Thanks for sharing.!
.-= WordPress hacks´s last blog : Test Your Cross Browsing Compatibility =-.
Great font tips I love using a light font in contrast with something more bold.
Using light fonts is a distinct idea, but reading such type of fonts exerts pressure on sight to view the contents.
Excellent resource,thanks for sharing this info
.-= francodane´s last blog : Logo design realizzare un logo floreale con illustrator =-.
always learning something new, thanks for the info
Yeah, light fonts should be used properly. I tried out a few light ones myself before I just settled on a bolder type, I guess because I prefer using letterpress. You have got beautiful collection.
Thanks for letting us know about these fonts – they will be useful for a couple of projects I’m working on.
Eoin
.-= Web Design Kilkenny´s last blog : Web Design Kilkenny – New Website Launched – Warehouse Tiles and Bathrooms =-.
Nice examples..thanks for sharing
there are so many different types of fonts it’s crazy, they should do a study to see how many are actually used
Slightly offtopic, but the screenshots you’ve taken with the darkening and light-effect. Did you do that in Photoshop or do you have a tool that does that automatically. :)
It is taken using Photoshop. Black layer with low opacity on the top and. Then using the Marquee Select tool and feather options delete the are where you want to highlight
Awesome, awesome post! I had to look at the samples again. I’ll definitely share this post to all my friends on StumbleUpon. Keep the cool posts coming.
.-= Girlie | Brochures Printing Online´s last blog : 22 Greyscale Brochure Design Inspiration =-.
thanks for featuring EyeDraw :)
.-= Piotr Godek´s last blog : I’m new! =-.
great examples, thxs for sharing ;)
Nice article — DUGG!
Yeah, light fonts should be used properly. I tried out a few light ones myself before I just settled on a bolder type, I guess because I prefer using letterpress.
But you know what, instead of letterpress on light fonts, I think using one of those subtle darker fills for the bottom half of the text (or a light fill for the top half) would be okay, what do you think?
Great post, thanks for this. Light fonts is very nice for me to.
.-= 3d web design´s last blog : Изработка на новинарски сайт Вести =-.
Great post, very informational!
Awesome examples! I’m downloading some of these right now!! Cheers!
.-= Web Design by 314media.com St. Louis ´s last blog : WordPress Design Hourly Rate =-.
Great article. Thanks for useful tips!!!
Great fonts! Very elegant :)
.-= Marcell Purham´s last blog : 4 quick tips to help you create a better mockup/design in photoshop =-.
Cool Post :)
http://www.yank.fr
Nice post with excellent collection. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Waheed Akhtar´s last blog : 20 Creative Flash Websites From The Creative Minds =-.
Great article. Thanks for useful tips.
What a insight man, Really liked this article. Thanks for compiling.
.-= Bariski | TutZone.net´s last blog : 7 jQuery Cheatsheets For Every Designer & Developer to Have =-.
Had known many stuff i skipped through my designing experience.. luvly posts, thanks :)
Jalane Light is nice :)
I prefer clean, classic type like Helvetica Neue Light (UltraLIght is too thin), and another good one is Vegur (fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Vegur)
.-= ThisIsInspired´s last blog : Roundup: 10 Interior Design Blogs for Inspiration =-.
I know Ultra Light is too thin, but I cant get enough of it though
A great post about “lite fonts” and when or where they are used in web pages… a cool little post… with a slight tutorial twist… thanks Desizntech for sharing !!
Beautiful collection. I went for a sleek light font based header myself for my portfolio.
Your logo font is Kravitz right?. Looks nice.
yup it is. thanks :)
My favorite thing is brilliant. I never thought an elegant site could be made using such light fonts and colors. You have stirred my thoughts. Thanx
Excellent resources to reference! Thank you for researching these and posting them.
Another fantastic typography site / forum to find exclusive / new and foundry fonts is http://www.pilo.me
It is the best typography forum for graphic designers / typographers on the internet. I believe it is an invite only site, similar to ffffound and behance, but a little more homegrown, personal and underground, but the content they have available is amazing. Simply Amazing.
Thank you again, I will definitely be bookmarking this!
Cool post! I always love the thin fonts because of their elegance! Keep it up, bro!
.-= Lam Nguyen´s last blog : Collection Of Awesome Christmas Giveaways Around The Web Design Community =-.
True Lam. I am a sucker for light fonts