The Following is an Exclusive Guest Contributed Post to Merch Momentum from Hillary Dunks of Dunks Design.

Today we are going to chat about some awesome font options you can use for beautiful, text based t-shirt designs. Font choice is very important in a text-based design because it must get the message across to the viewer very clearly, or the design will not be effective.

There are thousands of fonts out there to choose from and it can become really overwhelming when trying to choose the best font for your design. My goal today is to help you narrow it down and give you some solid fonts to work with. This could help you avoid spending hours online searching for a perfect font to use… I have done that too many times!

Before you choose a font to work with, make sure you know what type of message you are trying to convey in your design. It is also helpful to know your audience.

This will help you determine what type of font to use. Will your message be aimed at females in their 20’s? Perhaps this is a message for men who workout… Or maybe this is shirt design for teens. Different fonts work for different ages, genders and groups.

After you have narrowed down your audience and message, it is time to pick a font or maybe a couple of fonts for your design. Below are 5 different fonts that I personally love to work with because they are modern, clean and eye-catching!

All fonts below can be found and downloaded on Google Fonts.

1. Classic Font – Crimson Text Family: This serif font is classic, sleek and timeless!

2. Modern Font – Montserrat Family: Bold, easy to read and modern. I use this font family the most!

3. Cursive Font – Sacramento Regular: This font is beautiful, flowy and still legible.

4. Hand-written Font – Satisfy Regular: This font is super eye-catching and trendy. It can work for male & female which is a huge plus. I highly recommend!

5. Playful Font – Quicksand Family: This font is fun, young and playful without being over the top!

Some fun things to consider for your design:

  • Have fun with font pairings! Spice up your design by pairing two different fonts that compliment each other well. For example, use a classic sans serif font along with a hand-written script font to show some variety in your message & to even highlight a specific word. All of the fonts above can pair really well with each other. Try Montserrat and Satisfy for an eye-catching combo.
  • Play with different font weights. Some words can be thin in weight, while others can be more bold. See what looks best and makes the most sense for you message.
  • Give your font a tilt or even an arc to spice up the design. Some words can be straight across while others take on a different shape or direction even.
  • See if your word or phrase looks good with an outline. Maybe your design looks good in only an outline! Try it out for a different effect.
  • Experiment with the size of text on the shirt. Some text designs work really well when they are large and in charge. Others can be really effective in a small size on the front pocket. See what looks best and don’t be afraid to try new things!