Fonts for Pubs

I’ve been on a lot of trips to England this year so have been reminded about just how many pubs there are 😂. Having previously worked on some branding and a few websites for pubs, I thought it would make a good next topic in the ‘fonts for’ series. Here I’ll share a few ideas for fonts I would choose for pub branding and why they might be good choices.

Freight Sans

I’m using a couple of heavy weights of Freight Sans from The Freight Collection here to bring the attitude. I played with the pairing of the condensed and regular widths along with the type sizes to help bring some contrast. Aligning the K with the vertex of the A also helped for this lock-up. That combined with the weight brings enough of a punch to the generally more plain letterforms.

Sweet Fancy Script & Wedding Gothic

Here I’ve paired Sweet Fancy Script from MVB Fonts and Wedding Gothic from American Type Founders Collection to bring the ‘American’ pub feel inspired by the bottle designs of the likes of Budweiser.

Spirits Sharp

Spirits from Latinotype brings a bit of a feel of ITC Benguiat and those classic ’80s horror novel covers. Maybe this is the place you come to read with a pint?

Serifa

Something about matching the weight of the monolinear forms of Serifa from URW Type Foundry with the outline stroke feels really solid and trustworthy to me. Modern and no-nonsense is what I’d expect from this pub.

Oskar

Oskar from Bold Monday feels distinctly European in many ways, and to me echos some of the classic pub signage you regularly see in Gill Sans and ITC Johnston but with a bit of a twist.

Cabazon

Some pubs in England have been around a very, very long time. Cabazon from Parkinson Type Design is a solid blackletter typeface to help bring the long established vibe here.

Citrus Gothic Rough

Citrus Gothic from Adam Ladd gives me the perfect vibe for a larger chain pub where you know you’re down for great service. The rough edges help to give it a more human/personal feeling and it’s got that little bit of quirkiness with the flicks on the S, W, and A — somewhat like a swan neck!

Etna Condensed

I bet I’d find a wonderful roaring fireplace in a pub with this branding. Etna from Mark Simonson Studio brings a touch of vintage class here and the ampersand tops it off.

You can find more inspiration like this in the previous posts of the series — Fonts for Coffee, Plant Stores, and Tennis!