Worship Media Arts

There are few styles of fonts as fun as grunge fonts. I’ve collected a lot of them over the years. When used appropriately (and somewhat sparingly), they can really take a design to the next level.

Here are 20 fonts of the best on my system:

1. 321 Impact  Cost: Free  http://www.dafont.com/
Tired of the old standard system font Impact? This font takes it to the broken grungy place.

2. Ammonia  Cost: $39  http://www.fonts.com/
I don’t recall why I bought this font, but it’s come in hand a few times. I like the messy marker-ish feel it has.

3. Artistamp  Cost: Free   http://www.urbanfonts.com/
This is a really cool font. Great for creating that partially inked rubber stamp look… hence the name.

4. Awaken  Cost: Free   http://www.dafont.com/
Awaken is what I often think of when I think of grunge fonts. It looks like it’s been drug through the streets, beaten to a pulp, and torn to shreds. While it’s nice to use every now and then, it’s a bit on the hard to read side, so save it for special occasions.

5. Badoni  Cost: $39  http://www.fonts.com/
This font looks like it’s printed on a burlap or other another highly textured surface. I don’t use it often, but it’s good every now and then.

6. Barrio 30  Cost: Free  http://www.dafont.com/
Need something that looks like over sprayed paint through a template? This is your you font then. Although it has a pretty specific use, I think it’s well designed, and has come in handy several times.

7. Bluecake  Cost: Free  http://www.urbanfonts.com/
I really like this font. It’s easy to read, but has a nice organic feel. The only real downside is that it doesn’t have an uppercase set.

8. Caslon Antique  Cost: $32  http://www.fonts.com/
Every designer has a few “go to” fonts. This is one of mine. If I need something very readable, but with a bit of grunge thrown in this font is my favorite. It also has a nice “antique feel”… imagine that. Worth the cost for sure!

9. Cracked/Crackhouse  Cost: Free or $50  http://www.houseind.com/
This is a font that came free with some the the software I have on my Mac. If it weren’t free, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. It is readable, but a little looser than I’d like to use most of the time. If it looks familiar, it’s the font they used for the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

10. Crud  Cost: Free  http://www.eknp.com/
This font is classic. It looks like courier got into a bar fight and lost. Every system needs a good typewriter font with an edge.

11. De Generate  Cost: Unknown Something Similar: Free  http://www.dafont.com/
I’ve always liked this font for it’s slight grunge and high readability. I have had it so long that it appears to have disappeared from the web. I’ve searched up and down and can’t find it. If you can, let me know where. A similar font (that I don’t like quite as well) is Carbonated Gothic. See the link above for download location.

12. Dirty Ego  Cost: Free  http://www.dafont.com/
I’m a fan of the twice cancelled TV series Jericho. I even got involved in some fan based marketing. This font was a close match for the custom logo created for the show. Therefore I love it. It’s stencil feel makes look great on the side of boxes, walls and anywhere else that looks haphazardly done.

13. Distress Cost:  Free  http://www.searchfreefonts.com/
I like the boldness of this font. It’s great when you want that “chunky” feel. The missing parts have a really natural distressed feel- imagine that!

14. Downcome  Cost Free  http://www.dafont.com/
This is a really well made grunge font. It’s easy to read, and has a very nice aesthetic. It’s another Jericho-esque font. The only real downside is that it’s an all caps font.

15. Dynamoe  Cost: $44  http://www.fontshop.com/
Sometimes I’m amazed at the originality of fonts. This one isn’t exactly grunge, but it has a rough feel that I thought was worth putting on the list. I don’t recall what I purchased this for, but it’s obviously made to resemble those self labelers. It’s got a pretty specific purpose, but is great when you need that look.

16. Fragile icg  Cost: free  http://fontpark.net/
I’ve had this font for an eternity. It can be a really great choice, but I use it sparingly. It’s only good in small doses, and it can be very hard to read. It’s also all lower case which is a downer.

17. Inky Black  Cost:Free  http://fontpark.net/
This font has that “when good printing goes bad” look. It has the appearance of a printing mistake where the ink has bled outside the normal bounds of printing. I like that it’s very easy to read, and has a boldness that many other fonts don’t.

18. Overprint  Cost: $14.97  http://www.fonts.com/
This font also looks like a printing error. I like it’s uneven-ness. It’s highly legible while still being grunge which makes it a great choice for larger bodies of text.

19. Schmutz ICG Cleaned  Cost: Free  http://fontpark.net/
Every designer should have a good organic looking typewriter font. Schmutz is a prefect choice. There are several variations worth checking out at www.fontpark.net, all of which are free.

20. Stampete  Cost: Free  http://www.dafont.com/
I love this font. It’s tall slender appearance, mixed with it’s distressed unevenly applied ink feel makes it really cool. It definitely looks lives up to its name which implies it’s been applied with a Stamp.

So there’s my list, what are some of your favorites?