Your choice of fonts can make or break your greeting cards or posters.

So, to help you get it right, here are 20 basic, geometric, whimsical, bold, and dingbat fonts that are guaranteed to add flair to your creations.

Basic Fonts

Simple and readable, a basic font is ideal for clear headlines or body text. You can't go wrong with the likes of Helvetica and Futura, but here are a few more worth considering.

1. Public Sans

public sans

This open source font from the US government is clean, neutral, and familiar. It works almost anywhere, for headers or text.

2. Metropolis

metropolis font

Metropolis is a modern, minimalist sans-serif font that is a good option when you're looking for an alternative to Helvetica.

3. Bodoni XT

bodoni xt

Whether you're making inspirational posters, wedding invites, or Christmas cards, Bodoni XT will help bring a touch of class to your designs.

Geometric Fonts

Geometric fonts are simple, yet deliver a more distinctive look than you'll get from basic fonts. They have rounded shapes, and modern, clean styles.

4. Equinox

equinox

Equinox is a minimal, sci-fi-inspired geometric font. It makes for a good alternative to Futura, although you need to be aware that it doesn't contain any lowercase characters.

5. Gilmer

gilmer

Another clean and versatile geometric typeface, Gilmer also includes an outline font that will work on a variety of poster designs.

6. Fox and Cat

fox and cat font

Fox and Cat is a lovely, light typeface with both upper and lowercase characters. The quirky design is ideal for greeting cards, and the license even allows for commercial use.

7. Anders

anders font

This is a minimal yet very distinctive font that will bring a striking look to your posters, greeting cards, or anything else you're working on.

Whimsical Fonts

When you want to inject a sense of fun or whimsy into your designs, something like a handwritten typeface is the go-to option. Here are some that will liven up your birthday cards and other projects.

8. Windsong

penultimate

This calligraphic script font is a popular choice thanks to its OpenType feature support that helps to achieve the authentic handwritten look.

9. Fabfelt

fabfelt

Fabfelt is a handwritten font with a more casual, retro feel. It's available in OTF and TTF versions, and includes a full range of characters.

10. Janda Happy Day

janda happy day

Janda Happy Day is the definition of a whimsical font. The curly-styled characters are fun, yet it remains highly readable.

Bold Fonts

To create real impact, choose a bold font. They can be serif or sans-serif, condensed or handwritten. Either way, they pack a punch.

11. League Gothic

league gothic font

Inspired by vintage Gothic typefaces, League Gothic is a classic that works in a whole range of projects. It's open source, too, so use it however you like.

12. Chunkfive

chunkfive

Chunkfive is indeed chunky; a serif font that makes a real impact. This slab font is best used on posters where you need to get your message across without fuss.

13. Brusher

Brusher

This bold, brush-lettered typeface offers impact without compromising on style. To download Brusher, you have to sign up for a free download link using your email address.

14. Zenfyrkalt

zenfyrkalt

Zenfyrkalt is a hand-drawn bold font with a truly unique style. It combines impact and whimsy and works for fun projects.

Dingbat Fonts

Dingbat fonts are an easy way for those of us who don't have the greatest artistic skill to add some cute drawings to our creations.

15. Bella K Dings Are Cool

bella d wingdings

A large selection of shapes that are suitable for many projects on a whole range of subjects. The hand drawn style adds a nice touch.

16. Heart Doodles

heart doodles dingbats font

Heart Doodles has got everything you need to enhance your homemade Valentine's Day cards, with its selection of heart-based shapes.

17. Mustache

mustache dingbats

There's a dingbats font for every occasion. To prove the point, here's a collection of 26 mustache styles, to cover all of your facial hair needs.

18. Pea Jelene's Doodles

pea jelenes doodles

Pea Jelene's Doodles are great for posters and greeting cards, and much more---a cake design, or the menu at a coffee shop, for example.

19. KG Christmas Tree Fonts

kg christmas tree fonts

Featuring over 50 Christmas trees and more, this font collection will add a seasonal touch to your Christmas cards and party posters.

20. MFT Itty Bitty Baby

IttyBitty

Finally, this baby-themed collection is the perfect accompaniment for baby showers, Congratulations cards, or even T-Shirt designs.

How to Get Even More Free Fonts

Do you want more free fonts for birthday cards, greeting cards, or posters? Take a look at our picks of the best websites for free fonts to see where you can get them. Then find out how to add fonts to Microsoft Word.

Also, you can get your designs looking as professional as possible by making sure you always choose the right fonts for your projects. Our guide detailing how to pick the right font pairs will help get you started.