C. Willis & Co.

View Original

10 Free Google Font Downloads for Your Pinterest Graphics

I am on Pinterest a lot as a Pinterest & Brand Strategist, and with that, I see a lot of the same fonts.

I know that as creatives, we all want to stand out from the crowd and be different from the next but if we are all using the same graphics, fonts & templates, are we really standing out?

Graphic designers, web designers, lifestyle brands & photographers are ALWAYS looking out for fonts they can use for their Pinterest graphics, client projects, or even their own creative projects.

I know I am always on the lookout for new (and free!) fonts as well when creating customized Pinterest graphics for my clients that I think you’ll love too!

In this blog post, I’m sharing with you 10 FREE Font Downloads you can use for your Pinterest graphics to stand out in the crowd, convey your brand message & tone, all while attracting your ideal audience to your business.

What exactly is a Font?

I know when I first started out blogging and designing my own Pinterest graphics, I heard the term ‘font’ a lot and never really looked too much into it.

But since I’ve been studying brand design & taking on clients with my branding studio, I am well aware of what a font really is now & how it can impact the message deliverability of a graphic or brand.

A ‘font’ simply is a collection of characters that all have a very similar design.

So here, we’re talking about letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and even symbols. Included in a font are a particular size, weight, and also the particular style of the typeface.

What is a typeface?

A typeface (or font family) is a certain style or look of the font characters. For example, in some font types available to you, you’ll have italic or bold.

Both italic and bold can be in the font family but both can help to convey different messages or feelings in your branding. Italics are typically used for emphasis or contrast in a message and bold is used to highlight and capture your reader’s attention quickly.

The font examples I’ve listed for you below all were selected for their variations in their typefaces that gives you greater flexibility when it comes to creating your Pinterest graphics without feeling restricted.

Why Fonts Are Important

Some of you may be wondering why a font would matter much when you’re creating a Pinterest graphic, but let me dive into why a font really matters for your visual graphic.

Fonts and branding actually go hand in hand.

Choosing the best font for your Pinterest graphics are important because they do one of these things:

  1. They affect your feeling towards something

  2. They help to communicate your message

  3. They can influence your buying decisions, your reading interest, what audience you are trying to reach, or your aesthetic and feel.

Once you have the right font, it can completely transform your branding, messaging & audience resonance.

We don’t even realize it but every day, we are influenced by font types. One of the biggest questions I ask myself when I’m scrolling through Pinterest, what is it about a particular graphic that catches my eye?

Many times it’s the photo that was used or the color choices of their branding.

But another large majority of the time why a Pinterest graphic stops my scroll is because of the font that was used.

I literally could go on about this because I’m so passionate about helping you convey your message clearly to your audience. If you’re ever curious and want to dive deeper into the psychology of fonts, I highly suggest the book “Why Fonts Matter” by Sarah Hyndman (affiliate link).

The Best Way To Create Pinterest Graphics

One of my favorite ways to create Pinterest graphics for some of my clients is Canva (affiliate link).

If you are familiar with Canva, you know that it is one of the easiest, most versatile, user-friendly, free (or paid) design apps out there for non-designers.

For years, many people have felt challenged about creating Pinterest graphics because they never had the advanced skillset of using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.

I am one to say that I personally LOVE Canva. It is (and has been!) my go-to for creating all of the graphics that I use for Pinterest, social media, and even my blog.

With Canva, anyone can feel like a graphic designer as they have thousands of templates, fonts, photos & videos to choose from.

I personally love the Pro version (paid) and have used it for years.

I love all the many applications the Pro version gives me when it comes to creating promotional graphics such as resizing options, the ability to remove image backgrounds, upload branding kits, and schedule to social media.

I will go on to say that over time, Canva has added quite a few unique fonts for you to choose from, but this post is for the people who want to add a little oomph to their Pinterest graphics.

Thinking of trying Canva? If so, use this link to get your FREE 45-day trial of Canva Pro!

What Are The Best Fonts For Reading on Screen?

With the fonts I’ve provided you below, I specifically chose them with reason.

There are literally millions of beautiful & dreamy fonts out there freely available for you to use, but I will preface this to say - not all fonts are easy to read on-screen.

Especially mobile screens.

When choosing a font for your graphics, you have to keep in mind that people are on the go. They are busy & in a rush and want to find the best information they can find in less than 3 seconds.

A lot of the time we may come across a beautiful script font and think it’s a perfect font to use as a title to your graphic.

But, when you (or your potential reader) comes across your graphic, they might not be able to read what it’s about, simply because your choice of font was chosen for the purpose of aesthetics rather than legibility.

Trust me, I love a script font much like anyone else, but if they are to be used, you should keep in mind the purpose & functionality of its use first.

When I’m pairing fonts for my branding clients, I make sure to choose an appropriate hierarchy of fonts that serve the purpose of the brand’s values but also for accessibility.

How To Download Free Fonts From Google

Find a free Google font you like then click on the font title or the font card and a new window will open up.

Make sure to check out the font variations to see if the font is legible & if they will work with your brand.

Once you’re satisfied with the font, navigate to the upper right-hand corner and click on “Download Family” if you’re happy with all variations.

If you’re wanting only one or two variations of the font, click on the “ + Select this style” button that’s located to the right-hand side of the font instead.

Once your selection has been made, the font will be immediately downloaded for you to use right away on anything you like.

I also want to mention to you the importance of paying attention to the font license.

Some fonts are available that you can use on products, images, or projects for free but you’re not able to use them for any commercial, print, web, or paid products.

Before you download any free font, make sure to check out the font license to see what you’re able to use the font for.

All the fonts I’ve provided for you in this post are free for commercial use, so no worries there!

More of a visual person? Check out the video below.

See this content in the original post

How To Upload Free Fonts Into Canva

Like I previously mentioned, I love Canva for the ease of creating my graphics for Pinterest, social media, and my blog.

To upload free fonts into Canva, you do need to Pro account (affiliate link >> if you sign up for Canva Pro, you’ll get a free 45-day trial!) to be able to use this feature.

Head to Canva & log in to your account. From your homepage, navigate to Brand Kit from the left-hand side panel.

Under Brand Fonts, click Upload a font and select the font you want to upload. The font file types that are supported are OTF, TTF, and WOFF.

Before the font is uploaded, you will need to confirm if you have the license/rights to use the font. If you’ve downloaded a font that’s free for print or digital, commercial or other use, click Yes, upload away!.

Need to see it in action? No worries - it’s quick & easy to do.

See this content in the original post

So now that you’re familiar with what a font & typeface is, how to download your Google font & upload it into Canva, here are your 10 Free Google Fonts that you can use for your Pinterest Graphics!

10 Free Google Fonts for Your Pinterest Graphics

  1. Archivo Black

  2. Barlow

  3. Epilogue

  4. Fahkwang

  5. Gentium Basic

  6. Lato

  7. Open Sans

  8. Roboto

  9. Sora

  10. Tenor Sans

YOU’LL ALSO LOVE…


See this content in the original post