As a brand designer, I’m obsessed with fonts and font psychology. It’s not exaggerating to say that fonts have the power to make or break your brand and can seriously impact your credibility (don’t believe me, ask the CERN scientist who presented a groundbreaking presentation in Comic Sans).
When I’m creating a custom brand identity for a client, I’ll often use commercial fonts to enhance the brand and elevate the design. Great typography can be pricey (although totally worth it, in my opinion). But for those of you who aren’t ready to invest in your brand identity yet, here are some of the best free boho fonts I’ve found.
What makes a font boho?
Whilst there are a few different boho or bohemian styles, bohemian style is usually characteristic of a sense of freedom, creativity or the Avante Garde. Bohemian style usually has an organic element to it; it’s relaxed and doesn’t follow strict design rules.
Boho fonts will generally be expressive, irregular or non-uniform, they may have a sense of movement or decorative element. It’s worth noting that not all boho fonts will suit all boho brands. So before you choose your typeface, make sure you are clear on your brand personality and voice, because the font you choose can enhance or detract from your brand message.
Scroll down the page to see my best boho fonts on Canva.
11 of my favourite free boho fonts
Not all fonts are created equal, and each has a unique personality, so you must choose your brand fonts carefully. I’ve hand-selected 11 of my favourite boho fonts here:
Simonetta is a unique display font perfect for logos and headers. The unevenness of the letters has an organic feel. Its lightness and the irregular angles and shapes of the letters adds a sense of movement and emotion. Free from Google fonts.
Noto Serif Display is a brand designer’s dream. This font comes in a global collection for writing in all modern and ancient languages and multiple weights and widths versions perfect for just about any use you can imagine, and it has over 3,250 glyphs.
This font would be perfect for feminine boho brands or adding a sense of boho luxury to higher-end brands. The versatility of this type family offers endless design possibilities. Free from Google fonts.
Marcellus might be my favourite free boho font ever. It’s the font used by the boho clothing company Free People. It’s beautiful in its simplicity as a semi-serif font, but the contrasted weight, generous curves of the O’s and R’s and slight trumpeting of the cross strokes add just enough personality to stop it from feeling austere whilst retaining its minimalist charm.
Wintersoul is a beautiful handwritten font. Handwritten fonts are packed full of personality, so tread carefully and choose a font with the right legibility and energy balance for your brand. This brush script font is easily read at larger sizes and is weighty enough to be easily used on posters and websites.
Use script fonts sparingly, and avoid using them in smaller font sizes where they can be hard to read. Free from Dafont.
Valkyrie Bold Extended features beautiful accents that add a unique decorative touch to this rounded and friendly-feeling serif font. If you want to add a touch of whimsy to your brand this is a great font choice. Free from AZ Fonts.
And here’s a selection of my latest Boho font finds. Butler is a fantastic font choice with multiple weights, but the free version doesn’t come with italics.
Cinzel Decorative is a beautifully romantic font with an ethereal feel to it, perfect for soft, feminine, boho brands. Be aware that it only comes in upper case, so it’s unsuitable for body text use.
Hill House is a typeface based on the distinctive handwriting of Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). I love the unusual accents, making for a memorable display font. This would be perfect to add personality to a logo. Free from Font Space.
Fondamento is an unusual display font that looks hand-drawn. It’s perfect for a relaxed boho style. I would pair it with a simpler body font.
Rondal is perfect for bolder boho brands that want to feel feminine and edgy. Its high contrast weighting makes for a dramatic statement. It can be used in both upper and lower case and comes in a range of weights for versatile use.
Maragsa is a display, semi-serif typeface inspired by the accent marks used to guide the correct pronunciation of Filipino words. It features tapered tips, sharp edges, hastily-flowing strokes, and abrupt cuts in the characters. Its heavier weight lends itself to more masculine and gender-neutral brands and it’s available in both upper and lower case. Again, this is best used for logos and title text; this heavy-set font won’t work at smaller sizes for body text.
Best free boho fonts list with links.
These free boho fonts are all available to download in either ttf or oft files and can be used in Word, PowerPoint, photoshop, illustrator or other design software. Always check the license use terms when you download them.
- Curvilingus
- Beau
- Hill House
- Awal Ramadhan
- Aliquam Regular
- Ranget
- Norse
- Valkyrie Bold
- Peapod Thai
- Kenta
- Yagpo Tibetan Sambhoto Uni
- Naila
- Wintersoul
- El Messiri Bold
- Butler
- Cinzel Decorative
- Marcellus
- Fondamento
- Rondal
- Maragsa
Where to find more free boho fonts
It’s important to know that you can’t just use any font you find online. Fonts, like photos, have owners and are covered by copyright. Most fonts are sold for commercial use – that’s how the creators put a roof over their heads and pay their bills.
However, there are free fonts and public domain font available. The best place to find free fonts is Google fonts. The fonts you’ll find here are free to use on the web and in design work, which means you can legally use it on ebooks, Instagram posts etc.
You’ll also find fonts available online for free on various sites, including Font Space, but make sure that the license covers the use for which you need it. If you’re a business owner you need to look for fonts that are free for commercial use.
All fonts shown here are free for all uses, including commercial use, which should have you all doing a happy dance.
18 Boho fonts on Canva
If, like me, you love Canva. Things have changed quite a bit since their earlier days of limited choice. Now there’s a huge choice of all types of fonts including boho fonts on Canva.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend upgrading to a Canva Pro account i.e. the paid version. You’ll get far more fonts to choose from as well as a whole library of illustrations, stock photos and templates.
Also, with a Canva Pro account you can upload your own brand fonts if they aren’t already available on Canva.
Here’s a list of some of my favourite Boho fonts on Canva
- Aprila Bold
- Buffalo
- Madelyn
- Sunborn
- Afrah
- Indian
- Pierson
- Themysion
- Agrandir Grand Medium
- Cupcakes
- RoxboroughCF
- Alegreya
- Comfortaa light
- Athena Inline
- Barrio
- Charm
- True Typewriter
- Beach Resort
Some of the fonts listed are only available in Canva Pro but a huge number of alternatives are available in the free version.
Brand Font advice
When it comes to choosing fonts for your brand, less is generally more.
Ideally, you should choose no more than 2-3 fonts for your brand.
Remember, some fonts come in font families that include the font in different weights and styles i.e. bold or italic that you can use when you need to change things up.
The main fonts you’ll need are
- A Header Font
- A Body Font
- and an Accent font
Bold display fonts – like Aprila bold, Sunborn or Barrio (the canva fonts shown above) work well for header fonts.
Simple, easy to read fonts work best for body fonts (remember that people need to be able to read it on a mobile device).
Script or handwritten fonts like Madelyn, Buffalo, Beach Resort and Indian (shown in the Canva example above) work well as accent fonts when you want to inject a bit of personality.
Found a great free boho font?
I’d love to know if you’ve found a great free boho font. I might even add it to my next free font roundup.
Need some brand love?
If your brand needs some love why not schedule a free discovery call to discuss your options. I offer a range of brand design services as well as brand consultancy to inject some love back into your brand.
Full disclosure: I am a Canva affiliate. If you upgrade to Canva Pro I receive a small fee, which I will most likely use to buy crystals and dog treats for Red.
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