The lower case j in Futura looks like crap, as unlikelymoose pointed out in his blog post, “Futura Book “j” stinks. However, Futura is such a standard for font choices. Futura is so round, geometric, it exudes a classic feel. If you want to keep that round feel, here are some alternatives to Futura: Avenir, Avant Garde, Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk, Century Gothic, Gill Sans, and Kabel.
Avenir is an excellent alternative to Futura. It takes the simple, clean, geometric shapes in Futura and modernizes them to be more current and functional. Kabel is a step in the wrong direction. I haven’t used Gill Sans since college. What was I thinking back then?
I hate Kabel with a passion. However, I must include it to be politically correct in fontage. The number one font alternative to Future is Century Gothic. No doubt. The great thing about Futura is how it’s so pointy in the capital A, M, N, V, W. All the fonts I have listed here don’t have that point–except Century Gothic. Then again, Century Gothic’s x-height on the lower case letters is WAY too big. Avenir does a better job of retaining the lower x-height.
I don’t like Futura or Gill Sans because the uppercase J falls below the baseline. How stupid!
Futura Alternatives
Does exist one free for commercial an personal use (and for web pages) alternative tho the ones here or one of them could be used that way?
How did you forget Neutra Face?
I only wish I had Neutra Face.