Playfair Display
Claus Eggers SørensenSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 6 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Free didone fonts
Extreme contrast between thick and thin, with flat hairline serifs joined to the stem at a right angle.
About didone typefaces
How to recognise it
- Extreme contrast — hairlines against heavy stems, with nothing in between.
- Flat, unbracketed serifs that join the stem at a right angle.
- Strictly vertical stress and very round bowls.
- Ball terminals, usually perfectly circular.
Didone or high contrast?
Every didone is high contrast; not every high-contrast face is a didone. The didone is a specific eighteenth-century structure — flat serifs, vertical stress — rather than a general description of thick against thin.
High contrast fonts →Where it works
Fashion mastheads, gallery invitations, book covers, anything set large enough for the hairlines to survive.
Where it does not
Small sizes, low-resolution screens and anything that will be printed on absorbent paper. The hairlines are the first casualty of all three.
Abril Fatface
TypeTogetherSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · 1 weight · OFL · Türkçe
Prata
Ivan PetrovSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 1 weight · OFL
Bodoni Moda
Owen EarlSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 6 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Playfair
Claus Eggers SørensenSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Antic Didone
Santiago OrozcoSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 1 weight · OFL
Libre Bodoni
Pablo Impallari, Rodrigo FuenzalidaSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Old Standard TT
Alexey KryukovSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 2 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Vidaloka
CyrealSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 1 weight · OFL
Italiana
Santiago OrozcoSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · 1 weight · OFL
Questions
- What is a didone font?
- Extreme contrast between thick and thin, with flat hairline serifs joined to the stem at a right angle. Extreme contrast — hairlines against heavy stems, with nothing in between.
- When should I use a didone typeface?
- Fashion mastheads, gallery invitations, book covers, anything set large enough for the hairlines to survive. Where it does not work: small sizes, low-resolution screens and anything that will be printed on absorbent paper. The hairlines are the first casualty of all three.
- What is the difference between didone and high contrast fonts?
- Every didone is high contrast; not every high-contrast face is a didone. The didone is a specific eighteenth-century structure — flat serifs, vertical stress — rather than a general description of thick against thin.
- Are these didone fonts free for commercial use?
- Yes. All 10 of them are published under licences that permit commercial use — the SIL Open Font License, the Apache License 2.0, the Ubuntu Font Licence or a release into the public domain — with no fee and no credit required. Every download on this site includes the licence file inside the zip.