Fonts

[Dan_zh]

Hi! I've been having problems picking a font for a map I am working on. My map is meant to look atlas-y, but also I just want to know what fonts you guys use. Thanks in advance!

[rdanhenry]

"Atlas-y" isn't a very exact descriptor. Perhaps if you could post an example of the maps you hope to emulate, someone could suggest a font that's a close match.

[Falconius]

Pick a clear and easily legible font. Use only one font. And that's about it. The normal most boringest fonts are what would be used in a modern atlas (if they still make them).

[ItemPouch]

I've actually done a ton of font gathering for my show. There's a lot of nuance to the process. It's all about narrowing down what you want by style and sifting through fonts in a swiftly previewed format to find what you're looking for.

You can get pretty far using Dafonts and 1001fonts.
What you think of as an atlas font is likely a highly legible font with interesting serifs or a script style font. I suggest you go to these sites and start by searching for Gothic fonts. These tend denote traditional fantasy aesthetics that you likely have in mind. Write various locations in your world as the preview text, max out how many fonts you can display per page then scroll through page after page until you find something you like.

If you find these fonts aren't really in the ball park of what you're looking for try searching script fonts. Remember, finding the right font is an exercise in research and productivity. Don't get distracted, just scroll, open something that catches your eye in a new tab and don't bother looking at it until you've opened quite a few tabs and you can compare them to find the one that feels right to you.

It's like clothes shopping at super sonic speeds...,but with words. XD

[somniacdelusions]

I highly recommend looking through Google Fonts https://fonts.google.com/, which are open source and easy to access and view.