Public domain fonts

1980 Portable is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was a condensed sans-serif with letterforms tilted at varying angles, meant to echo the visual language of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The checkerboard imagery associated with the ska band The Specials was a major influence, though the letterforms themselves came more from the narrow grotesques he had seen on 1960s lounge and jazz album covers.

Designed by Ray Larabie, 256 Bytes has been released into the public domain. The design came directly from the logo of the MITS Altair 8800, one of the first personal computers, introduced in 1975. The logo itself only provided a few letters, so most of the typeface was extrapolated from those forms.

The public-domain 6809 Chargen typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It was a tribute to the dot matrix fonts that shaped early computing and video game aesthetics. He wasn’t copying any one source; it was a general homage to the bitmap lettering that defined that era.

Ray Larabie designed Adriator, now available as a public-domain typeface. The result was a striped display typeface with bold thick-and-thin contrasts. Looking back, it reminds him of decorative details from The Price is Right set design or old drive-in theatre snack bars.

This public-domain typeface, Airmole, was created by Ray Larabie. The name came from the kind of psychedelic juxtapositions he liked in band names such as Led Zeppelin or Soft Machine. Since moles live underground, calling one “Airmole” felt memorable and a little absurd.

Almonte, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was a quick, top-of-the-dome attempt at a wooden sans look, created entirely digitally without reference to actual wood type. He just imagined how it should look and built it from scratch with digital tools.

Created by Ray Larabie, Angerpoise Lampshade is a public-domain typeface. At first, he called it “Anglepoise Lampshade,” after a song by the punk band The Soft Boys. He didn’t realize Anglepoise was also a lamp brand.

Anklepants is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by the display typeface used by CBS radio stations owned by Westinghouse. In 1963, Westinghouse Broadcasting rebranded as “Group W,” and part of that identity was a distinctive set of call letters and logos that stayed in use until 1995.

The design of Arnprior is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The name comes from Arnprior, a town in the Ottawa Valley near where he grew up. He didn’t actually live in the town itself — he was out in the woods — but Arnprior was the nearest big place, so the name stuck.

Asterisp is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The whole idea was to focus on the asterisk, a glyph that usually gets treated as an afterthought. He wanted to give designers more options — a toolkit of asterisks in different styles so they could get more specific about the symbol instead of being stuck with whatever came bundled in their fonts.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Astron Boy has been released into the public domain. The design was inspired by the logo for Astron Belt, a vintage laserdisc video game that, for a brief moment, felt like it was pushing the limits of arcade technology. The game itself used ITC Serif Gothic for its title, but the marquee logo was custom.

The public-domain Athabasca typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The name came from the Athabasca region in northern Canada; he wanted something that evoked ice and glaciers. His idea was to merge angular modernism with the utilitarian look of old railroad lettering, the kind where octagonal shapes were used more for ease of reproduction than for style.

Ray Larabie designed Baby Jeepers, now available as a public-domain typeface. The idea was to take the logic of a seven-segment LCD display and push it far beyond its usual simplicity. Instead of the minimal, utilitarian forms you see on digital clocks, he built an elaborate version with highly detailed, interlocking segments.

This public-domain typeface, Bailey's Car, was created by Ray Larabie. The name came directly from an incident he witnessed in Mississauga: the burning wreck of sprinter Donovan Bailey’s Mercedes. He went home and turned the event into a quick novelty font.

Baltar, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The name was a nod to the Battlestar Galactica character, chosen at a time when the newer series had not yet aired and the reference still carried the feel of a dated, mediocre show. He wanted the typeface to be deliberately heavy and crude, something that ignored refinement in favor of blunt impact.

Created by Ray Larabie, Barbatrick is a public-domain typeface. The name came from the cartoon Barbapapa, though the typeface itself has nothing in common with that imagery. The design was essentially a derivative of Hemi Head with speed lines added.

Baveuse is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The name came from the French word for a drooling woman, chosen simply because he liked the sound of it. The design itself was a comic-style typeface, informal and bouncy, aimed at capturing the lighthearted tone common in playful display lettering.

The design of Beat my Guest is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The name came from the Adam and the Ants song of the same title, which matched the violent, chaotic tone he wanted. Unlike many of his digital experiments of the time, this typeface began with ink.

Berylium is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design began with a scan of a metal typeface placed on the bitmap layer in Fontographer, which he then redrew with a mouse. His goal was to give the letterforms a jagged treatment, cutting deep into acute angles so they looked as if they had been trimmed with scissors.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Betsy Flanagan has been released into the public domain. It was intended as a purely utilitarian typeface, designed to resemble the look of keyboard caps found in software user manuals. Each character was based on a single image of a blank keycap, scaled to different widths.

The public-domain Biometric Joe typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It was based on his Hemi Head typeface, which had a square, mechanical structure. He reworked it in Fontographer by manipulating the outlines of Heavy Heap, adding and removing vectors and cutting polygonal chunks to simulate erosion.

Ray Larabie designed Birdland Aeroplane, now available as a public-domain typeface. He drew the letters by hand with a marker on newsprint, scanned them, autotraced the outlines, and then manually cleaned them up. The design had rough, eroded edges that gave it a distressed look.

This public-domain typeface, Biting My Nails, was created by Ray Larabie. He created it directly in Fontographer as an experiment in making a sci-fi display typeface that felt stark and unsettled. The design wasn’t fully rectilinear; he introduced diagonals at seemingly arbitrary positions to break the rhythm and make the forms look sharp, cold, and slightly illogical.

Blue Highway, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. At the time, there were no free digital versions of the FHWA Series of Standard Alphabets, commonly called Highway Gothic, so he wanted to make that style accessible. He had access to the FHWA drawings, though he didn’t trace them and largely ignored the grid in the specification.

Created by Ray Larabie, Bomr is a public-domain typeface. His intention was to design a graffiti-inspired typeface without imitating the look of spray paint or tagging. Instead, he tried to capture the spirit of graffiti through hard-edged geometry.

Borg 9 is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was inspired directly by the Airwolf television logo, which itself shared a lineage with Blue Thunder, another 1980s helicopter drama. The design was a wide, industrial style with unnecessary gaps cut into the strokes.

The design of Boron is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design drew loosely from 1960s techno typefaces and MICR-inspired lettering, but he added layers of complexity by introducing extra counters and circuit-like details. Above each character he drew vector lines that mimicked circuit board traces, connecting the letters as if they were components in an imagined electronic device.

Braeside is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The typeface was named after a former township in the Ottawa Valley where he had worked one summer at a lumber mill. It was meant as a personal tribute, but the design itself followed the logic of industrial stencil lettering rather than referencing anything he had seen on site.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Bramalea Beauty has been released into the public domain. It was a distressed grunge typeface created quickly by taking his Primer Regular font, running it through Photoshop with Alien Skin filters, and then autotracing the output. He didn’t add new shapes beyond what was already in Primer Regular; it was essentially a roughened version of an existing design, meant to look unattractive and uneasy.

The public-domain Burnstown Dam typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It was his take on the barnboard genre of novelty typefaces, but he exaggerated the concept so the planks bent in impossible ways, as if they were made of rubber. The letterforms were hand-drawn in Fontographer, including whimsical details such as punctuation that looked like nails, an asterisk shaped like a sheriff’s badge, and an at sign reimagined as a cowboy hat.

Ray Larabie designed Butterbelly, now available as a public-domain typeface. It emerged during a period when experimental modular fonts were popular. The inspiration came from Designer Republic’s work on the PlayStation game Wipeout, where they created letterforms by cutting apart a Microgramma numeral 8.

This public-domain typeface, Buxotic, was created by Ray Larabie. It was an experimental typeface where he pushed letterforms into strange, elaborate shapes that avoided conventional typographic norms. The design combined voluptuous curves with pointed, spiked features, creating a hybrid that was intentionally difficult to categorize.

Capacitor, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It began as a kind of experiment in segmented LCD typography. The name comes from the liquid crystal capacitor, the non-conductive dielectric layer sandwiched between two transparent electrodes that makes LCD technology possible.

Created by Ray Larabie, Charles in Charge is a public-domain typeface. It was part of the modular techno style that was popular at the time. He built it in Fontographer, following a simple rule set rather than a detailed design plan.

Color Basic is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was a direct homage to the TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo), the machine that first introduced him to programming and, eventually, to type design. His family got a CoCo in 1983, and he spent countless hours with it in his room, typing in BASIC games from magazines like Rainbow and Hot CoCo.

The design of Colourbars is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. He built Colourbars in FontLab. He first drew the components in an upright position so he could more easily measure stem widths and establish spacing.

Contour Generator is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by the stark geometry of the 1968 RCA logo. He didn’t attempt a strict recreation but used its three letters as a starting point for an entire alphabet.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Counterscraps has been released into the public domain. It was a dingbat font made entirely of pictorial glyphs, not letters or numbers. The idea came from experimenting with his Palm Pilot 1000, one of the grayscale PDAs of the late 1990s.

The public-domain Crackman typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design drew directly from the Pac-Man arcade marquee hanging in his workspace. He also owned a Ms. Pac-Man marquee, making it almost inevitable that the lettering style would find its way into one of his fonts.

Ray Larabie designed Cranberry Gin, now available as a public-domain typeface. The name came from a cocktail he was drinking a lot at the time, though it had no connection to the design itself. He was exploring octagonal, techno-inspired letterforms that resembled 1980s pen plotter typography, but with a slight science fiction edge.

This public-domain typeface, Credit, was created by Ray Larabie. Credit River was a modular serif design with the kind of deconstructive quirks that were common in the 1990s, such as a backward A and an unconventional lowercase g. Credit Valley kept those quirks but softened some of the more exaggerated traits, giving it a slightly more usable feel.

Cretino, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It began as a joke while he was experimenting with a new Wacom Graphire drawing tablet. He sketched clumsy calligraphy in his font editor, then exaggerated it by adding short, misplaced strokes and scribbles over the capitals as a kind of parody of fanciness.

Created by Ray Larabie, Crystal Radio Kit is a public-domain typeface. It was his tribute to Radio Shack, a brand that played a big role in his childhood. He grew up with their stores and catalogs, and the Radio Shack logo from the 1970s through the early 1990s left a strong impression on him.

Cuomotype is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. Cuomotype began as a distressed variant of Larabiefont after Mr. Cuomo suggested a rougher version. Its typewriter-like foundation came from the Olympia Senatorial No. 71, with digital wear added to produce an aged-document effect.

The design of Cyclopentane is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was inspired by the logo on the backglass of Bally’s 1980 pinball machine Xenon. That game was memorable to him as the first talking pinball table by Bally and the first to feature a female voice, but what stuck with him most was the artwork.

Dacquoise is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The idea began when he spotted an old patisserie awning in Nagoya. The sign had a stylized Art Deco look that stayed with him, and he used it as the starting point for the design.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Dazzle Ships has been released into the public domain. As an experiment in modular design. It was a single all-caps cut, based on the look of segmented LCD displays but taken to an impractical extreme.

The public-domain Deftone Stylus typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a single-style constructed script. The design was influenced by vintage auto garage signs and mid-20th-century American automotive logos, with the Raybestos logo serving as a starting point.

Ray Larabie designed Degrassi, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a graffiti-inspired display typeface. The name came from a coworker’s anecdote about meeting actors from the Degrassi television series on a Greyhound bus, though the font has no connection to the shows themselves.

This public-domain typeface, Delta Hey Max Nine, was created by Ray Larabie. It began as a single-style cartoon display typeface. Instead of using a drawing tablet, he constructed the letters with a mouse, which gave the design a rough, clunky quality.

Deluxe Ducks, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It began as a quick modification of his earlier typeface Pricedown. It was a single-style twin-line display font, created without much planning or ambition.

Created by Ray Larabie, Dendritic Voltage is a public-domain typeface. The idea began when he saw a photo of the Laox shop sign in Akihabara, Japan. The design was a bold techno display face, created to capture a futuristic look with direct reference to that sign.

Deportees is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a horror display font. The name came from Billy Bragg’s cover of a Woody Guthrie song, though the design itself was not connected to the music.

The design of Die Nasty is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It began as a free headline typeface influenced by the Kiss logo and glam rock lettering. The name was a play on their 1979 album Dynasty.

Dignity of Labour is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It began as a single-style techno display typeface. It was influenced by MICR-inspired fonts of the 1960s, such as Data ’70 and Westminster, but he pushed those ideas in a more exaggerated and decorative direction.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Dream Orphans has been released into the public domain. It was his first attempt at a humanist sans-serif. The name came from a Ron Sexsmith lyric that caught his ear; he liked its evocative tone even if he didn’t fully understand it.

The public-domain Droid 1997 typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The idea began when he spotted a narrow unicase lettering style on a clothing store sign while riding a streetcar along Queen Street East in Toronto. The concept stuck with him, and he turned it into a unicase typeface where each letterform blends uppercase and lowercase characteristics.

Ray Larabie designed Dyspepsia, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was essentially a quick remix of Deftone Stylus, one of his earlier script designs. Where Deftone Stylus leaned back with a slanted rhythm, Dyspepsia was drawn upright and more condensed.

This public-domain typeface, Echelon, was created by Ray Larabie. It grew out of his experiments with drawing vectors on a Palm Pilot PDA. The vector grid on the device was coarse, which meant both node placement and Bezier handles were limited to fixed positions.

Eden Mills, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was his attempt at a postmodern geometric style that had been popular earlier in the decade, particularly through the Emigre catalog. By the time he finished it, the style already felt like it was fading, and his own version lacked the refinement of the stronger designs from that movement.

Created by Ray Larabie, Edgewater is a public-domain typeface. The design began with a scan of Microgramma from an old font catalog, a typeface he has long admired for its cold, sci-fi tone. He traced over this base to create a stencil effect, adding reverse spike forms and angular cuts to the strokes.

Edmunds is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was a display typeface with a deliberately silly, cartoonish character. Structurally it was a slab serif, but he distorted the letterforms to the point of absurdity.

The design of Effloresce is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It appeared the same day as Dream Orphans. While Dream Orphans was a sans-serif, Effloresce carried the same underlying shapes but with serifs added.

Electorate Boogaloo 3 is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was part of a series of art nouveau-inspired typefaces. This was the only design from that series that he retained.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Electroharmonix has been released into the public domain. It was a pseudo-Japanese display typeface that borrowed the look of katakana, hiragana, and kanji characters without forming legible Japanese words. For example, the W was shaped to resemble the kanji for “yama,” meaning “mountain.” At the time, he named it after the guitar effects company Electro-Harmonix, mistakenly believing the company was defunct.

The public-domain Engebrechtre typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It was his attempt at a flat-sided Art Deco typeface with a semi-industrial character. The design combined thick and thin strokes in the manner of Broadway, but with narrower proportions, squared sides, and a less decorative, more austere feel.

Ray Larabie designed Ennobled Pet, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was a novelty typeface made up of paw prints with letters inside them, designed with his mother in mind. She had become interested in computers in the 1990s and enjoyed working with Corel Draw, but none of his techno or heavy metal–inspired fonts suited her needs.

This public-domain typeface, Euphorigenic, was created by Ray Larabie. It was created under unusual conditions: he designed it entirely on a Palm Pilot during his bus and train commutes. The software wasn’t meant for font creation, so he could only view one glyph at a time on a small, low-resolution screen.

Fabian, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was a constructed script typeface intended to convey a 1950s technological style. The name was taken from the singer Fabian.

Created by Ray Larabie, Fadgod is a public-domain typeface. It was an experiment in pushing geometric Art Deco design toward extremes by relying almost entirely on triangular forms. He used a single master triangle, copying and scaling it to keep the angles consistent across the alphabet.

Failed Attempt is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was a pixel-based typeface that incorporated intentional gaps between the squares. The name reflected his sense that the design did not fully meet the goals he had in mind.

The design of Fake Receipt is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. His goal was to capture the low-resolution look of late-20th-century cash register receipts. He built it on a rough, slightly misaligned grid using overlapping ellipses.

Filepile is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was a pixel-based font with a drop shadow, created for the online community File Pile. File Pile was an early internet forum where members shared media in themed groups called “piles.” The design was loosely based on the forum’s logo.

Designed by Ray Larabie, First Blind 2 has been released into the public domain. It was intended as a follow-up to an earlier design and consisted of an all-caps alphabet with irregular construction. Some letters included small wing-like extensions, and the overall forms were unevenly developed.

The public-domain Fluoride Beings typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It was essentially an experiment with perspective effects applied to his Fragile Bombers font. The typeface features an angular design where the tops of the letters look big and wide, while the bottoms appear small and narrow.

Ray Larabie designed Foo, now available as a public-domain typeface. The design began after someone on a Usenet group asked him to make something like the lettering on a Rolling Stone cover for the Foo Fighters. He didn’t know at the time that the source was Showcard Gothic, a fairly new design by Jim Parkinson.

This public-domain typeface, Fragile Bombers, was created by Ray Larabie. It began as a single regular style. The design was narrow, built from straight lines with chamfered corners, and intended to suggest a militaristic mood.

Frak, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was one of his earliest attempts at type design. The name came from the invented swear word in the original Battlestar Galactica series.

Created by Ray Larabie, Frozdotre is a public-domain typeface. The design came out of his fascination with The Designers Republic and their work on the PlayStation game Wipeout from 1995. The manual for that game struck him as a vision of the future, and he wanted to capture some of that spirit.

Gargle is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a hand-drawn comic dialog typeface. The goal was to make something in the spirit of newspaper strips, especially Calvin and Hobbes.

The design of Ghostmeat is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was a wide cartoon bubble typeface designed with a playful but slightly eerie style. He added separate front and back layers so that designers could apply color effects.

Giant Tigers is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design began with a scan of Alternate Gothic from a metal type catalog. He applied blur and stripe effects in Photoshop and Alien Skin software, producing a textured, striped appearance.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Glazkrak has been released into the public domain. It was one of his earliest typefaces, built on a blocky alphabet likely influenced by Eurostile. To create the broken glass texture, he drew numerous polygons by hand rather than relying on filters.

The public-domain Golden Girdle typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design emerged while he was working on the real-time strategy game Dark Colony at Take2 Games. The project required him to design interface screens filled with futuristic, techno-styled elements.

Ray Larabie designed Goldsaber, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a single all-caps style. His aim was to create a display typeface that drew on Art Deco forms, emphasizing sharp angles and sweeping curves in a geometric framework.

This public-domain typeface, Goodfish, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was rooted in sign painting methods: he began with a skeleton, applied angled strokes, and finished the characters with triangular Latin serifs. The result was a geometric slab serif with sharp detailing and a slightly improvised quality.

Got No Heart, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was intended to capture the look of mid-century atomic age design. The letterforms drew on the kidney-shaped motifs of 1950s furniture and the streamlined curves of that period.

Created by Ray Larabie, Graffiti Treat is a public-domain typeface. It began as a single-style display typeface. The design was based on graffiti he noticed under a bridge in Mississauga.

Green Fuz is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by vintage horror comics and by the logo of the band The Cramps. It featured dripping letterforms intended to evoke the style of classic B-movie horror graphics.

The design of Groovy Ghosties is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was based on cartoon ghost shapes and was intended as a playful display typeface. The name was a reference to the pop punk band The Groovie Ghoulies.

Guanine is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by lettering seen on vintage buses, possibly from the 1930s. It featured coarse, industrial letterforms with art deco traits.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Gumtuckey has been released into the public domain. The design was based on his Vibrocentric typeface, modified by adding boot tread shapes to the letterforms to create a footwear-inspired effect. The name came from an Ottawa Valley expression for rubber boots.

The public-domain Hamma Mamma Jamma typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by 1970s display lettering styles, particularly those associated with van culture graphics. It was developed as a condensed, upright variation of his Husky Stash typeface, released the same day.

Ray Larabie designed Hawkeye, now available as a public-domain typeface. The typeface was inspired by large-scale graffiti he had seen in Toronto. The design used a modular construction and included separate front and back layers to allow for coloring effects.

This public-domain typeface, Heart Sweet Heart, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by cross-stitch lettering found in traditional samplers. In 2004, he added a variant called Heart Sweet Heart, which incorporated heart motifs.

Hello Larry, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was influenced by the Y2K-era aesthetic and developed without a direct reference point. It combined graffiti-inspired forms with a counterless structure and included decorative “eye” shapes within some letters.

Created by Ray Larabie, Highway to Heck is a public-domain typeface. The design was derived from his Blue Highway typeface. He applied an asphalt texture in Photoshop and then auto-traced it to create a crackled effect.

Holy Smokes is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was created in Illustrator using a custom brush tool and a tablet, resulting in letterforms shaped like curved cigarettes. It was intended as an experimental display typeface.

The design of Hooked Up 101 is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design featured sharp, rectangular corners and a forward slant. The inspiration behind the typeface and the meaning of its name are unclear to him now.

Horsepower is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It began as a display typeface. It was a variation of his earlier Induction design, both of which drew from Wim Crouwel’s 1967 New Alphabet.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Hurontario has been released into the public domain. The design was an experiment in creating a connected, constructed script style. He named it after a street near his home in Mississauga.

The public-domain Hurry Up typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a display typeface. The idea came from Ed Emberley’s 1977 book Great Thumbprint Drawing Book.

Ray Larabie designed Husky Stash, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a display typeface. He wanted to capture the visual language of 1970s van culture graphics, so he experimented with modular construction and oversized swashes.

This public-domain typeface, Huxtable, was created by Ray Larabie. He aimed to create a casual slab serif with a hand-drawn quality. The design was based on the forms of an IBM Selectric typewriter font, possibly Prestige Elite.

Hydrogen Whiskey, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It began as a free display typeface. The design was built around wide, capsule-shaped letterforms that echoed the aesthetics of 1960s science fiction.

Created by Ray Larabie, Icicle Country 2 is a public-domain typeface. It began as a free display typeface. It was an experiment in giving Impact a winter theme.

Induction is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a free display typeface. The design was influenced by the cover lettering of New Order’s 1988 compilation Substance.

The design of Inflammable Age is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It began as a free display typeface. The design was built around octagonal corners, giving it a more aggressive look than his earlier Droid, though in practice the two ended up looking very similar.

Injekuta is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It began as a paid display typeface. The design was influenced by the sleek look of automobile badge lettering, with compressed proportions and sharp curves meant to echo the way car emblems were styled in metal.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Instant Tunes has been released into the public domain. The design was influenced by Edwardian book cover lettering, with added abstract elements that gave it a less traditional appearance. The name came from the XTC song “Instant Tunes,” chosen for its sound rather than any direct connection to the design.

The public-domain Interplanetary Crap typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design began with a scan of Alternate Gothic No. 3 from a catalog, which he modified by stretching and adding stencil struts in Photoshop.

Ray Larabie designed Iomanoid, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a free display typeface. The design was based directly on the logo for Taito’s 1986 arcade game Arkanoid.

This public-domain typeface, Jandles, was created by Ray Larabie. An unpublished 2001 version preceded the public release. Larabie considered that first attempt too crude and refined the design for its eventual debut.

Jigsaw Trouserdrop, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was derived from his Blue Highway typeface. A friend suggested he create a jigsaw puzzle font, which led him to experiment with adding puzzle-like forms to the letters.

Created by Ray Larabie, Jingopop is a public-domain typeface. The design began as an attempt to adapt the Coca-Cola logo into a typeface, but he abandoned that direction when it proved impractical. Instead, he reworked the partial drafts into a jumbled, experimental design that became Jingopop.

Johnny Fever is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was an all-caps design influenced by 1980s science fiction and computer graphics. The original version included long swashes in the uppercase slots, which, along with spacing problems, made it difficult to use.

The design of Karma is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It began as a free typeface. His aim was to capture the feel of bitmap fonts from the Windows console, the kind you could generate by adjusting system settings in the 1990s.

Kicking Limos is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was constructed from repeated loop shapes that he arranged and combined to form letterforms, giving it a modular structure. The name was chosen for its strong, stylized sound rather than for a direct connection to the design.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Kilsonburg has been released into the public domain. It began as a free typeface. The design was inspired by the December 1925 cover of Vogue, which featured a striking approach to thick and thin strokes.

The public-domain King Richard typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a free typeface. The design was based on the Plymouth logo that appeared on cars from 1964 to 1994, which featured subtly flared strokes and squared terminals that suggested strength and speed.

Ray Larabie designed Kingsbridge, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a free slab-serif family. The design was built around square slabs and sharp points, aiming for a bold, assertive look.

This public-domain typeface, Knuckle Down, was created by Ray Larabie. It began as a free font. It was originally an all-lowercase design with the capital positions cut out on the right side, so round letters would overlap when typed in sequence.

Krait, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. His goal was to create a contemporary display typeface that combined Art Deco influences with modern geometric principles. The design worked as a layered system, with a solid layer, an outline layer, and a fill layer that could be combined for offset effects.

Created by Ray Larabie, Kredit is a public-domain typeface. It began as a free font. The design was intended to emulate the embossed numerals commonly seen on credit cards.

Kwokwi is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design began with Mikadan, a typeface he developed for Bioware’s Dragon Age series. That commission required a pre-hinted font aligned to a low-resolution pixel grid so it would perform reliably in the game engine.

The design of Lady Starlight is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It began as a single-style display font. The design was directly inspired by the Scorpions’ band insignia, which he later learned had also been used in the Rollerball movie poster from 1975.

Lesser Concern is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was developed by taking the outline strokes of his typeface Kleptocracy and applying a nib stroke effect to them. The result was a vertical, disconnected script with angled stroke modulation.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Let's Eat has been released into the public domain. The design was created by modifying his Fragile Bombers typeface. He applied Photoshop’s emboss effect to simulate reflections, then added additional highlights by hand with a tablet.

The public-domain Letter Set typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design was based on a set of ceramic letters he found at a garage sale in Mississauga, originally used by amateur filmmakers in the 1960s for titles and credits. He scanned the letters on a flatbed scanner, applied digital effects, and autotraced the results.

Ray Larabie designed Lewinsky, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was an all-lowercase techno-style typeface influenced by the snowboard aesthetic of the late 1990s. The design included horizontal lines running through the middle of the letters, though the spacing and alignment presented difficulties.

This public-domain typeface, Liliput Steps, was created by Ray Larabie. This pixel typeface drew inspiration from EarthBound, known in Japan as Mother 2, and took its name from the game's second sanctuary near Happy Happy Village. It was one of two EarthBound-related fonts Larabie created, alongside Orange Kid.

Living by Numbers, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was not based on a specific typeface but on the idea of creating a jagged, irregular style. The letterforms were spiky and uneven, with nervous, jittery outlines that gave the typeface an energetic quality.

Created by Ray Larabie, Lockergnome is a public-domain typeface. The typeface began as a response to a request from Chris Pirillo, founder of LockerGnome, Inc. and host of TechTV’s Call for Help.

Lucky Ape is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The typeface was inspired by his experience working at a lottery booth in Oakville, Ontario. He wanted to create a design that resembled the rollers on a slot machine.

The design of Lunasol is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was influenced by the twin-striped lettering on Toronto Blue Jays jerseys. He developed a futuristic, square-form typeface with parallel stripes running through the letters.

Mai Tai is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The typeface was created as a bitmap design that he later autotraced into vector form. The result featured compact, boxy letterforms and a very small x-height.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Mail Ray Stuff has been released into the public domain. The design was influenced by the visual style of 1980s Menudo record covers. He aimed to create a typeface with organic letterforms that suggested a casual, playful quality.

The public-domain Malache Crunch typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design was based on his Budmo typeface; he isolated its dot pattern and applied a heavy outline effect, producing letters made up of small rings. The appearance suggested chains or hole-punch reinforcement rings.

Ray Larabie designed Manbow, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began with a sketch of a ‘B’ featuring a decorative loop, which reminded him of clever loop treatments he had seen in thin strokes of Art Deco typefaces. That small detail set the direction, and he developed the rest of the alphabet into a geometric display face with strong Art Deco influences.

This public-domain typeface, Mango, was created by Ray Larabie. Unlike many of his earlier typefaces, it was originally sold rather than distributed freely, apart from a limited free release of the Mango Scribble layer. He developed the design by drawing letters freehand with a Sharpie in an upside-down orientation, which created irregular, awkward forms.

Map of You, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The typeface began from a concept drawing created for an online multiplayer clan logo. The idea suggested a sci-fi tribal style, but it provided only a few characters, so he expanded the design into a complete alphabet.

Created by Ray Larabie, Marquee Moon is a public-domain typeface. The design began with an experimental concept for the letter N and developed into a typeface influenced by Compacta. Its main features were condensed proportions and twin stripes running through the letters.

Massive Retaliation is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design combined elements of Art Nouveau with angular forms associated with techno typography. It was intended as a display typeface that reflected stylistic trends of the late 1990s.

The design of Mesmerize is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was his second attempt at using interpolation properly, after an earlier trial with Kingsbridge. Until then, he had been working out weight blending manually with charts and calculations.

Metal Lord is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was based directly on the Iron Maiden logo, which itself came from an earlier typeface he had not identified at the time. His first version contained only the letters visible in the logo, but as more information surfaced—through fan discoveries and archival materials—he expanded and modified the font to include a full character set.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Minisystem has been released into the public domain. It was based directly on the segmented fluorescent displays used in a Technics audio minisystem he owned in the 1990s. That display style was not unique to Technics; similar versions appeared across many brands of consumer electronics at the time.

The public-domain Minya typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It grew out of a marker scrawl he had used for years on family greeting cards and gift labels. The process was deliberately raw—he drew the letters by hand, scanned them on a flatbed scanner, and then autotraced them without much cleanup.

Ray Larabie designed Minya Nouvelle, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a reworking of his earlier Minya typeface. While Minya had been created quickly from marker drawings and scans, he wanted this version to have a more consistent stroke logic and a cleaner, digital foundation.

This public-domain typeface, Misirlou, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by Mike Daines’ 1971 Letraset typefaces Sunshine and Moonshine. Sunshine featured hollow letters with a light halftone drop shadow, while Moonshine reversed the approach with solid letters and hollow shadows.

Mississauga, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was derived from his Credit typeface, which he modified to create a more experimental style. He named it after Mississauga, the city where he was living at the time.

Created by Ray Larabie, Mister Firley is a public-domain typeface. The design combined several influences: the unicase style associated with 1970s lettering, exaggerated stroke contrasts reminiscent of psychedelic forms, and soft-edged square shapes common in 1990s techno typography. The result was a display typeface that reflected the design trends of its time.

Mlurmlry is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design began as a modification of Neuropol; he condensed the forms and retraced them by hand, producing irregular outlines. The result was an experimental display typeface with a distorted appearance.

The design of Mob Concrete is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was derived from Vibrocentric, which itself was an expanded version of Hemi Head. Mob Concrete exaggerated those heavy forms further, producing a rough, blocky style.

Model Worker is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. He created the design using a damaged Speedball dip pen nib that he altered with pliers. Writing with it on ordinary printer paper produced rough, irregular strokes as the nib tore the paper fibers and the ink soaked unevenly.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Moja has been released into the public domain. Unlike most of his earlier typefaces, it was originally sold rather than distributed freely. He developed it by adapting his Meloche design and applying a fur-like texture effect.

The public-domain Mold Papa typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The typeface was derived from Soul Mama, a sans serif design with outlines and drop shadows, and its simplified companion Soul Papa. Mold Papa was a distorted variant of Soul Papa, created as a separate experiment in form.

Ray Larabie designed Motorcade, now available as a public-domain typeface. The design began as an adaptation of his Inflammable Age typeface, which he reworked in Lightwave 3D to create a blocky, three-dimensional style. The result resembled lettering from 1960s racing graphics, with a strong high-contrast 3D effect.

This public-domain typeface, Naftalene, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was based on a piece of lettering found on an onion box; a font enthusiast sent him an image, and he adapted the angular style into a digital typeface. He saw it as a translation of architectural brutalism into typographic form.

Nasal, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was derived from Nasalization, with a blur effect applied to create softened outlines. Nasal was released a few weeks after Nasalization.

Created by Ray Larabie, Neurochrome is a public-domain typeface. The concept was simple: he took Neuropol and rendered it in Lightwave, a 3D modeling program, applying extrusion, beveling, and reflections to make it look like chrome. The result was a spectacle more than a practical tool, and he never expected it to find much use.

Neuropol is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by Brendel Type Studio’s Digital Sans from 1974, which he had admired since childhood without knowing its name. He didn’t attempt a direct revival; instead, he added his own twist.

The design of New Brilliant is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It emerged during a period when he was producing a number of techno-style typefaces. Its design is very wide, with geometric construction and deliberate gaps in the strokes, similar to the fragmented look seen in science fiction graphics such as the Blade Runner logo.

Night Court is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design featured a recurring ornamental form that first appeared on the N and was then applied across other letters. The result was an experimental display typeface with highly unusual shapes.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Nightporter has been released into the public domain. The design was created by taking Fragile Bombers and applying a ripple effect in Photoshop, which produced a distorted texture across the letterforms.

The public-domain NK57 typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. His goal was to make a programmer-friendly typeface with multiple widths, something that would let coders fit a precise number of characters on different display panels. The family launched with sixty styles in total: six weights, five widths, and italics.

Ray Larabie designed No Clocks, now available as a public-domain typeface. The typeface originated in 1997 when he created a design for Real Doll, a company developing a proposed line of robot and cyborg dolls under the name Replicants. They requested a wide, futuristic style similar to China/Chimes, a 1970s typeface that later influenced his Korataki design.

This public-domain typeface, Numberpile, was created by Ray Larabie. It began as a simple tool for adding circled numerals to maps and diagrams. The first version included 80 circled numbers and was distributed with a free commercial-use desktop license.

Octoville, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was influenced by the title font from the sci-fi film “Outland”, though he aimed to make it distinct. It became a compact, octagonal typeface with a low x-height in its lowercase letters.

Created by Ray Larabie, Oil Crisis is a public-domain typeface. The typeface originated from a collection of Consumer Reports magazines from the 1970s and early 1980s that he found while helping his aunt clean out her mother’s basement. Each issue contained diagrams of cars such as the Dodge Omni and Chevrolet LUV.

Olivers Barney is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by lettering he noticed on the facade of an old department store in England during his first visit there. The letters appeared to date from the 1940s; they were blocky, plain, and geometric, a style often called stovepipe lettering because the shapes resemble bent pieces of stovepipe with straight lines and rounded corners.

The design of Operational Amplifier is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was a boxy, techno design that leaned heavily toward slanted and extended forms, which limited its usability. In the 2010s, he revised the typeface, reducing the slant and adjusting proportions to make it more functional.

Orange Kid is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was a strict replica of the main font used in the Super Nintendo game Earthbound. At the time, he hadn’t actually played the game himself; a fan sent him screenshots, and those provided everything he needed to reproduce the pixel font.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Outright has been released into the public domain. He first called it Outright Televism. The design was a 1990s techno interpretation of an art nouveau style; it had blocky shapes, irregular counters, and flared elements.

The public-domain Overload typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design was based on Eurostile, also known as Microgramma; he kept its modular structure but altered it with distressed forms that resembled degraded video output. He also added alternate A and E characters, which made a unicase effect possible.

Ray Larabie designed Paint Boy, now available as a public-domain typeface. The typeface was created through experimentation with a new feature in Adobe Illustrator that allowed objects to be turned into brushes. He drew a paintbrush, converted it into a brush, and used it to form the letter shapes.

This public-domain typeface, Pants Patrol, was created by Ray Larabie. It was conceived as a derivative of his earlier typeface 20th Century Font, which was later rebuilt and relaunched as Wevli after a trademark issue prevented continued use of the original name. Pants Patrol was essentially a heavier version of that design, with a striped texture applied to give the effect of woodcut or woodgrain surfaces.

Paraaminobenzoic, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was one of his earliest experiments with science fiction display type. He built it using a process he was relying on a lot at the time: drawing glyphs as bitmaps, blurring them in Photoshop to create smoother edges, and then auto-tracing the results.

Created by Ray Larabie, Peatloaf is a public-domain typeface. It was based on his earlier design Yawnovision, with the grunge treatment obscuring many of the structural weaknesses of the original. The texture gave the letterforms a rough character that suggested both medieval and otherworldly qualities.

Plain Cred 1978 is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was a geometric sans serif derived from his earlier typeface Street Cred. It was influenced by 1970s hand-lettered layouts and shared traits with Herb Lubalin’s Avant Garde Gothic, particularly the slanted A, M, V, and W characters that suggested custom lettering.

The design of Planet Benson is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was based on graffiti styles he observed around the Greater Toronto Area, ranging from elaborate work in Toronto’s Parkdale neighborhood to crude lettering in suburban towns. Planet Benson drew more from the latter, intentionally embracing an unpolished, awkward quality.

Plasmatic is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design began with OCR-A as a reference point, but he pushed it toward a distorted, psychedelic style. He wanted a typeface that looked mechanical but warped, almost as if it had passed through an unstable digital filter.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Plastic Bag has been released into the public domain. It was his attempt to build a typeface from hexagonal units rather than the rectangular grids usually used for segmented display fonts. The structure was influenced by LCD segmented lettering, but he wanted the modular geometry to feel unusual and rigid, almost uncomfortable to read.

The public-domain Po Beef typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The idea was to make a heavy sans serif that exaggerated weight and proportion to the point of awkwardness. The letterforms were blocky and compressed, leaving little room for subtlety or refinement.

Ray Larabie designed Poke, now available as a public-domain typeface. The design began with a squarish slab serif structure, which he combined with decorative striped forms reminiscent of hot-rod graphics. The result was a display typeface with unconventional contrasts between rigid letterforms and ornamental detailing.

This public-domain typeface, Pop Up Fontio, was created by Ray Larabie. The typeface was built from his earlier design Lockergnome, which he modified by removing curves to create polygonal letterforms. He then imported the shapes into Lightwave, a 3D modeling application, where he extruded each letter and placed it above a modeled jack-in-the-box form.

Port Credit, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The typeface was an attempt to create a humanist sans serif loosely modeled after Optima. The design incorporated curling details that gave it an ornamental quality, though the result lacked the balance and refinement of its inspiration.

Created by Ray Larabie, President Gas is a public-domain typeface. The idea came from a logo on a can of house paint; just a few letters, but enough to spark the thought of building a complete alphabet. He drew it with geometric proportions and octagonal shapes, keeping the design square and angular for display use.

Pretender is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The idea came directly from the lettering on a 1935 sheet music cover for the waltz ballad “Mexicali Rose.” he took the forms of the words on that cover and expanded them into a complete typeface. The E in the source looked more like a lunate E—a C with a crossbar—while the L had a hooked form, almost like a reversed J.

The design of Prime Minister of Canada is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was influenced by Ed Emberley’s Great Thumbprint Drawing Book from 1977. His simple, approachable drawing style suggested a hand-lettered cartoon typeface, which he developed with irregular, humorous forms to echo that spirit.

Primer Apples is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was created with teachers in mind. It was originally called Primer Print, after the oversized pencils used in early schooling.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Primer Print has been released into the public domain. It was created with teachers in mind. It was originally called Primer Print, after the oversized pencils used in early schooling.

The public-domain Propaniac typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by the sleeve for the Pointer Sisters’ 1984 single “Neutron Dance,” created by Shoot That Tiger Creative Services in London. He didn’t trace the lettering but based his work on the same Memphis-style geometric forms that gave the original its look.

Ray Larabie designed Pulse State, now available as a public-domain typeface. The typeface was conceived as a horror display design. He drew the letterforms by hand on paper, shaping them to resemble tangled organic structures such as nerves or veins.

This public-domain typeface, Pyrite, was created by Ray Larabie. The typeface was directly inspired by the Def Leppard logo designed by Alan Schmidt, with its jagged triangular forms. Since the logo wasn’t based on a functioning typeface, the challenge was figuring out how to make those shapes work together without collisions or awkward gaps.

Quadaptor, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was based on the lettering in the Dynaco amplifier logo. Only the letters present in that logo served as direct references; the rest of the alphabet was extrapolated from its geometry.

Created by Ray Larabie, Quadrangle is a public-domain typeface. It was a square techno typeface with chamfered corners, designed as a straightforward geometric display font. The name reflected its rectilinear appearance.

Quinine is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was developed as a soft techno display typeface and derived from an unreleased design called Quinoline. Quinine featured rounded letterforms combined with unusual angular details, producing an ultramodern but unrefined appearance.

The design of Quixotic is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was created during the final years of the grunge typography trend and took the form of a deconstructed display design. The process involved modifying an existing typeface in Photoshop by removing and distorting sections of the letterforms, producing fragmented shapes that emphasized thin, weakened structures.

Radio Stars is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was a squarish display typeface with rounded stroke ends to soften its appearance. The name was taken from a Kraftwerk song, reflecting its link to a retro electronic aesthetic.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Radios in Motion has been released into the public domain. The typeface was created at the request of a hobbyist who wanted a tool for teaching Morse code. Each letter and numeral was represented by its Morse code sequence of dots and dashes, with the corresponding character displayed below.

The public-domain Rafika typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. Rafika was intended to feel authentic and rugged. Larabie began with a facsimile of a typical mid-20th-century geometric sans serif, akin to Futura, then distressed it extensively in Photoshop.

Ray Larabie designed Razor Keen, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was conceived as a horror display typeface. He created the letterforms with a mapping quill on newsprint paper.

This public-domain typeface, Relish Gargler, was created by Ray Larabie. It was meant to capture the energy of vintage gaming graphics, using a bold octagonal framework with proportions that set it apart from other fonts in the genre. The sides and tops of the octagons were shorter than the diagonals, giving the letters a skewed, angular rhythm.

Renju, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was conceived as a follow-up to Gomoku, which had been an all-caps design. For Renju, he added lowercase forms and applied a rubber stamp texture created through Photoshop.

Created by Ray Larabie, Rina is a public-domain typeface. The design was influenced by the 1990s trend of altering classic typefaces, a style associated with Neville Brody. He used elements of Bodoni, cutting and recombining parts of the letterforms to create altered structures that deviated from the original.

Riot Act is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was based on pencil sketches that he scanned and digitized, with the intention of creating letterforms that suggested organic, visceral shapes. The initial scans produced irregular vectors that were difficult to refine.

The design of Robokoz is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was produced in Fontographer using a drawing tablet and nib setup. Unlike some of his other typefaces from that year, this one was completed quickly and without extensive refinement.

Rothwell is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It emerged during a period when he was focused on modular typefaces. It was conceived as a unicase display design with an astro-militaristic character.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Rustproof Body has been released into the public domain. The design was inspired by the DeLorean automobile logo, which he frequently saw on a car parked along his commute. He drew the letterforms from memory rather than working from a direct sample, which produced an interpretation rather than an authentic reproduction.

The public-domain Sad Films typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It reflected the techno aesthetic of the 1990s, with a distinct slant that was characteristic of the style. An earlier version, called Bad Films, included small round notches in the letters, but he later removed them as they did not enhance the design.

Ray Larabie designed Sandoval, now available as a public-domain typeface. It began as a modification of his earlier Sofachrome design. He narrowed the capital letters, created a lowercase set, applied a pronounced slant, and added a horizontal cut across each letter.

This public-domain typeface, Sappy Mugs, was created by Ray Larabie. The idea came from his habit of filling office whiteboards with quick, often absurd sketches while working in the video game industry. He later transferred that same energy to a drawing tablet, producing a set of small illustrations that he compiled into a dingbat font.

Saved by Zero, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was based on the headlines he remembered from Omni magazine, which had a distinctive science fiction look in the 1980s and 1990s. The letterforms were drawn with worm-like curves to echo that retro sci-fi style.

Created by Ray Larabie, Sayso Chic is a public-domain typeface. It began as a commission for LED signage. The client needed a font that would scroll across short message panels built with square pixel modules.

Screengem is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. He built it using elements of his Sui Generis typeface, but the goal was different: he wanted to capture the bouncy, mixed-case display style that had been popular in the 1960s. That look had returned in the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially in children’s cartoons, toys, and media tied to the Y2K aesthetic.

The design of Scritzy X is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was one of his earliest attempts at making a font and may have been the first. He used the grid feature in his font software and applied a slant to the outlines, which gave it an angular, broken look.

Send Cash is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was released under the Typodermic brand. The design process began with his Axaxax typeface, which he stretched, joined, and then further distorted in Photoshop.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Senior Service has been released into the public domain. The idea came while he was working on menus for the video game Dark Colony, where he needed futuristic control panels with tiny pixel writing and made-up technical jargon. He built a three-pixel-high lettering system for the game and liked it enough to turn it into a font.

The public-domain Sexsmith typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. At the time, he was experimenting with drawing fonts on a Palm Pilot PDA, which pushed him into making shapes he probably wouldn’t have attempted on paper or a full screen. The result was a slab serif typeface loosely inspired by late nineteenth-century styles.

Ray Larabie designed Shifty Chica 2, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was a redesign of the earlier Shifty Chica, which he had withdrawn because it was built on another designer’s work. For the new version, he started again from scratch, using chunky polygons rather than curves.

This public-domain typeface, Should've Known, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by Jonathan Barnbrook’s Mason and Mason Sans, both published by Émigré in the early 1990s. He borrowed the idea of gothic arch forms but applied them to a crude, industrial framework rather than the classical Roman shapes Barnbrook had explored.

Skeletor Stance, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The typeface came about through an unusual collaboration with a stranger who contacted him to describe a font he had envisioned in a dream. He decided to interpret his description and turn it into a working design.

Created by Ray Larabie, Skraype is a public-domain typeface. It was a distressed companion to Doradani, which he had designed earlier. He used a drawing tablet in FontLab to add scrape-like effects directly into the vectors.

Skrybylr is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was a graffiti-style typeface created quickly and without much refinement, and in retrospect it was not among his stronger designs. He did not release it widely at first; instead, he uploaded it as a hidden link on the Larabie Fonts website, where it could be discovered by chance.

The design of Sloe Gin Rickey is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was a structured script typeface named after the cocktail of the same name. The design shared elements with his earlier typeface Deftone Stylus, though Sloe Gin Rickey featured more elaborate wing-like flourishes.

Snidely is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was created by drawing the characters with a pen, scanning them, and tracing the results digitally. The design produced curly letterforms, but the spacing and proportions were inconsistent.

Designed by Ray Larabie, So Run Down has been released into the public domain. The typeface was created with a broken Speedball pen nib on newsprint, producing rough, rune-like forms. It included details such as devil horns and an inverted pentagram in the letter O, which drew complaints from some users.

The public-domain Spectrashell typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. He designed Spectrashell in 2007 as part of a side project to launch a passport case. He drew the letters manually in FontLab and built them around angular, hexagonal principles, which were meant to connect visually with the shell-like pattern of the case itself.

Ray Larabie designed Spongy, now available as a public-domain typeface. He does not recall the origin of the name, and the design itself did not have a clear connection to it. Unlike many of his other projects, this typeface did not emerge from a specific concept or source of inspiration.

This public-domain typeface, Squealer, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was based on Gerard Huerta’s 1977 logo for AC/DC’s album Let There Be Rock. He improvised the rest of the alphabet letter by letter, extending the logo into a full typeface.

Stasmic, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was a wide, slanted techno-style typeface. Unlike most of his work, he did not clearly recall creating it, and it remained unpublished in his archive for some time.

Created by Ray Larabie, Stentiga is a public-domain typeface. The design was inspired by the extended-line lettering seen on the television game show Match Game, which originally aired in the 1970s. He constructed the letterforms in FontLab using modular geometric components, translating the stretched strokes of that style into a digital typeface.

Stereofidelic is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. He constructed the base alphabet in Fontographer, inventing the letterforms but shaping them in the manner of Alternate Gothic. The idea came from 1960s album covers, especially jazz and lounge records that often used tall, condensed lettering with decorative arrows.

The design of Still Time is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design was a manual effort in FontLab, inspired by the distinctive lettering on Prince’s Purple Rain album cover. He did not trace the original; instead, he improvised a full alphabet in a similar spirit.

Stitchen is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was intended to resemble a sans serif design such as Helvetica but altered to appear as though the letters were constructed with stitched lines. The original version had significant spacing problems that limited its practical use.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Stormfaze has been released into the public domain. It emerged during the early period of his type design work. The concept was influenced by the futuristic aesthetics of 1980s action and science fiction films, with angular, geometric forms intended to suggest high-tech lettering.

The public-domain Strasua typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It was an industrial-influenced display typeface with minimalist forms that produced a distorted appearance. Strasua was closely related to his earlier design Plain Cred, and the two typefaces were nearly identical in construction.

Ray Larabie designed Street Cred, now available as a public-domain typeface. The design was influenced by the geometric lettering styles used on custom vans in the 1970s. It featured reductive letterforms with twin stripes running through them, creating a stylized display typeface.

This public-domain typeface, Stryofoam Feelings, was created by Ray Larabie. It was conceived as a playful serif typeface with exaggerated Latin serifs that extended sharply into surrounding letters. The intent was to create a cartoon-influenced design with an unusual, pointed structure.

Stupefaction, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The name was taken from a song by Graham Parker and the Rumour. The design was created through an experimental process: he first produced it as a bitmap, then applied blur and sharpen effects in Photoshop before tracing the result into vector form.

Created by Ray Larabie, Subpear is a public-domain typeface. The design was a compact sans serif typeface that he had intended to expand into a family with multiple weights and styles. After completing one style, he found the results unsatisfactory and chose not to develop the family further.

Sudbury Basin is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by the logo of Inco Limited, a Canadian mining company that was a major nickel producer in the twentieth century. The Inco logo’s octagonal structure suggested a techno style that he adapted into a typeface.

The design of Superglue is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was an attempt to capture the look of Japanese corporate techno aesthetics from the 1970s, though it was not based on a specific source. The original version had noticeable technical flaws, including inconsistent stem widths and misaligned baselines and cap lines.

Superheterodyne is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by the Zenith Television logo, particularly its Z with a lightning bolt motif. The typeface itself was an octagonal design with added bolt-like details.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Switching & Effects has been released into the public domain. The design was influenced by an advertisement in a 1960s television industry magazine that featured rough, straight-line lettering. He attempted to reproduce that look, drawing a cartoon-style typeface from thin, straight strokes.

The public-domain Sybil Green typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The idea came from the opening credits of the 1968 Peter Sellers film The Party. He rented it on VHS and saw hand-lettered credits with filled counters in a cartoony psychedelic style.

Ray Larabie and Martin Archer designed Teen, now available as a public-domain typeface. The project was unusual for Larabie because it was a collaboration. Martin Archer provided a complete alphabet, though it included little punctuation or symbols.

This public-domain typeface, Terylene Top, was created by Ray Larabie. It was constructed using the lowercase forms from his earlier typeface Shifty Chica, rotated and placed within diamond shapes. He added decorative star-like elements to suggest a 1950s-inspired style.

That Secret Feeling, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The typeface was composed only of the shadows of a cartoon bubble style, without the solid letterforms themselves. The design was inspired by a poster for UFO, a short-lived psychedelic dance club in London during the 1960s.

Created by Ray Larabie, Thiamine is a public-domain typeface. The design was influenced by the Dunhill logo, which featured a low x-height and tall ascenders. He based the letterforms on Futura but did not closely replicate the source.

Tinsnips is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by the lettering style on the poster for the musical Rent, which resembled movable stencil cards used for painting road markings. To differentiate it from that source, he drew the letters with a wider proportion, giving the typeface its own character.

The design of Tobin Tax is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design began with the shape of the lowercase b, which he repeated as a modular element across the typeface. The result combined aspects of his techno-style construction with forms that suggested Middle Eastern decorative influences.

Tommy Gun is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was derived from his Fragile Bombers typeface, modified with heavier distortion to align with the grunge typography trend of the late 1990s. At the time, there were relatively few free typefaces in this style, which gave Tommy Gun some visibility.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Top Bond has been released into the public domain. It began as a basic techno design that he distorted using wave or displacement effects, resulting in an irregular, experimental style. In retrospect, he considers it one of his less successful efforts, and he has not seen it used widely.

The public-domain Tork typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design experimented with contrasting proportions by combining wide uppercase letters with narrower lowercase forms. Some characters included small curved terminals, and the uppercase O was drawn with a slight slant that he echoed in other capitals.

Ray Larabie designed Trapper John, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was a wide, square techno-style typeface influenced by the lettering used on electronic products, consumer goods, and computers in the 1970s. The name came from a character on the television show M*A*S*H, although the connection between the name and the design was not especially strong.

This public-domain typeface, Triac 71, was created by Ray Larabie. It was influenced by the squarish unicase lettering often seen on jazz album covers from the 1960s, though it was not based on any specific source. His goal was to capture the feeling of that style rather than replicate a particular design.

Troll Bait, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The spark actually came from someone named Pierciful. Back in the late 1990s, he was developing a fantasy game called Graal Quest and suggested he create a medieval-style typeface to match that world.

Created by Ray Larabie, TRS-Million is a public-domain typeface. It was based on the coarse pixel digits of a digital clock, adapted into a modular typeface with the appearance of a segmented LED display. To add variation, he created an additional “sparkle layer” in which random pixels were switched on or off.

Typodermic is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was derived from his earlier typeface Blue Highway, modified by adding heavy slab serifs. The result was a blocky design with pronounced letterforms intended to create a strong visual impression.

The design of Uchiyama is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design came from a matchbook he picked up in Tokyo that featured rough hand lettering. He scaled up the letters, redrew them with Sharpie markers, scanned them, and used auto-tracing to digitize the results.

Union City Blue is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The name came from a song by the band Blondie, though the typeface itself was not connected to the group. It was one of several wide techno-style typefaces he produced in the late 1990s, reflecting the digital aesthetic trends of that period.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Unispace has been released into the public domain. The design was based on his earlier typeface Zrnic, which itself drew from the old PlayStation logo. With Unispace, he wanted to apply that techno style to a monospaced framework, giving it a square structure softened with rounded edges.

The public-domain Univox typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The name came from a vintage guitar distortion pedal. The typeface began as an experiment in elongating techno-style letterforms, resulting in a dramatically stretched design.

Ray Larabie designed Unsteady Oversteer, now available as a public-domain typeface. The design was influenced by the TRS-80 Color Computer, which displayed lowercase letters as inverted capitals due to limited ROM space. He adapted that concept into a minimalist, techno-style typeface, giving the lowercase forms an inverse treatment.

This public-domain typeface, Ur Ur Ma, was created by Ray Larabie. It was a variation on one of his techno designs, incorporating a back slant and a nib effect on the strokes. The result was a relatively minor typeface in his catalog, and he does not regard it as one of his stronger works.

Urkelian, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was an attempt to merge Art Deco styling with the modular construction methods he had used in his techno typefaces. The typeface was first named “Urkelian Television Dynasty,” though he later shortened the title to Urkelian.

Created by Ray Larabie, V-Dub is a public-domain typeface. The design was influenced by Microgramma, particularly its super-elliptical forms, which he adapted into a starker, more unconventional style. He wanted the typeface to preserve the character of Microgramma while introducing a more unusual, rigid quality.

Vademecum is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a bold, blocky octagonal design, to which he added black and white triangles to suggest the appearance of a linocut, a style often seen in 1990s clip art. The result was a display typeface with sharp, angular forms and a textured effect resembling broken or shattered surfaces.

The design of Vahika is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was his first typeface created using FontLab, which he began exploring after winning a copy of the software in a contest. Unlike Fontographer, FontLab allowed him to work with TrueType quadratic curves rather than PostScript cubic Bézier curves.

Vanchrome is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was built as an all-caps chromatic system inspired by Compacta, combined with the airbrushed chrome lettering he remembered from vans and posters in the 1970s and 1980s. His goal was to recreate that layered, metallic effect in a digital type family while keeping the geometry precise.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Vanilla Whale has been released into the public domain. It was an all-caps slab serif with narrow proportions and small caps built into the lowercase positions. Some of the barred forms, like the A and H, gave it an idiosyncratic look.

The public-domain Vectroid typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. It began as a derivative of his earlier typeface Forgotten Futurist. He modified the original by introducing gaps into the strokes, thickening some lines, thinning others, and applying a rounded bold effect.

Ray Larabie designed Velvenda, now available as a public-domain typeface. The design was inspired by the bold lettering found on 1960s jazz album covers, where heavy, experimental forms reflected the energy of the music. He built Velvenda as a unicase typeface with dense, narrow proportions and letterforms that suggested serifs without following traditional serif construction.

This public-domain typeface, Vexler Slip, was created by Ray Larabie. The design was inspired by the lettering on the packaging of the Japanese frozen treat Panapp, which had a French-influenced, decorative style. He expanded that influence into a unicase display typeface with curved, ornamental forms.

Vibrocentric, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The design was influenced by the Dodge logo of the 1960s, which he adapted into a serif typeface with flared terminals. The name Vibrocentric came from a word he found in automotive trade literature, which suited the mid-century style he was aiming for.

Created by Ray Larabie, Waker is a public-domain typeface. The original name was “Wake and Bake,” a joking reference that was quickly dropped after a distributor raised concerns while trying to sell an OEM software bundle. The characters had cartoon-like lines above them, which he drew directly in Fontographer with a tablet; the effect was meant to suggest rising vapors.

Walshes is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was loosely inspired by the Minnesota Timberwolves logo, though he did not fully understand the context of the team or its sport at the time. The typeface was created quickly as a favor, and in retrospect, the execution was weak compared to his stronger work.

The design of Webster World is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. It was an experimental, modular typeface with square forms and an exaggerated bottom stroke. The initial release included only outline and drop-shadow versions, since the design was not developed as a standalone solid style.

Wee Bairn is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by the Playskool logo, which he expanded into a full alphabet with rounded, childlike forms. The typeface was intended to capture the friendly, toy-like qualities of that lettering.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Welfare Brat has been released into the public domain. The idea came from hexagonal gaps in bulldozer tracks, which suggested a modular structure. He constructed the typeface so that each letter fit within a hexagonal form, giving it an industrial appearance.

The public-domain Wet Pet typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design began with scans of Franklin Gothic, which he traced and modified by adding effects to suggest a wet, reflective surface. The result was a distorted display typeface with a liquid quality.

Ray Larabie designed White Lake, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was a modular typeface built from repeated wavy elements, producing letterforms with a flowing, irregular rhythm. The name came from a lake near his childhood home.

This public-domain typeface, Whiterock, was created by Ray Larabie. The name came from White Rock, British Columbia, where he had been living. It was a hand-drawn cartoon typeface with curls on the terminals, intended to capture a light, playful mood.

Wild Sewerage, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was derived from his Rothwell typeface, modified with halftone effects to create a fuzzy, textured variation. The name came from the title of a song by the band Squeeze, which he happened to be listening to at the time.

Created by Ray Larabie, Windpower is a public-domain typeface. At the time, he was living near Niagara Falls and experimenting with renewable energy ideas, which influenced the name. The design itself was a sans serif derived from his earlier typeface Affluent.

Wintermute is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer and reflected the cyberpunk aesthetic that interested him at the time. It was built as a modular techno typeface, constructed from a small set of repeated components to form the alphabet.

The design of World of Water is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The design combined elements of Art Deco with the angular style of late twentieth-century techno lettering. The name came from the song “World of Water” by the band New Musik, which suggested a connection to the new wave aesthetic that influenced the typeface.

Worthless is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was created by taking his earlier typeface Mai Tai and processing it with grunge effects in Photoshop, resulting in a distressed style. The typeface was originally called “Worthless Bum,” though he shortened the name to Worthless in a later release.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Xenowort has been released into the public domain. It was conceived as a double-vision style typeface, based on hand-drawn sketches intended to look unfamiliar or alien. The name came from a coworker who had invented the word “xenowort” to describe a fictional alien plant in a game.

The public-domain Xirod typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design originated from a client request for a typeface similar to an existing style but distinct enough to stand on its own. He developed it as a square techno typeface with a futuristic character.

Ray Larabie designed Xolto, now available as a public-domain typeface. It was an attempt to design a bitmap-style typeface with references to Aztec imagery. The concept was to create a pixel-based design that echoed pre-Columbian motifs, though the execution did not meet his expectations.

This public-domain typeface, Xtraflexidisc, was created by Ray Larabie. It was a quickly drawn serif typeface, created with marker sketches and digitized with minimal refinement. The result was a narrow, hand-drawn design that bore some similarity to his earlier typeface Minya but with a slimmer profile.

Xylitol, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. It was always a free font. The design was inspired by 1970s prismatic lettering, and he created the effect with layered outlines that resemble shaded bezels.

Created by Ray Larabie, Y-Band Tuner is a public-domain typeface. It was an experiment in modular design, built from repeated geometric shapes. His intention was to create a distinctive structure, but the approach resulted in inconsistencies.

Yadou is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. It was derived from his earlier typeface Butterbelly, reworked into a modular techno style with a wider outline structure. The design was part of a period when he was producing fonts quickly, and in retrospect, its quality did not match his better work.

The design of Yawnovision is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. His goal was to create a modular typeface that moved away from the techno trend that dominated the period. The result was distinctive, though its style has been interpreted in ways he had not intended.

Yellow Pills is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. It was influenced by magnetic ink character recognition fonts from the 1960s such as Westminster and Data 70. He reinterpreted the style by drawing the letterforms by hand, giving it a rough, irregular quality rather than the precise shapes associated with those earlier designs.

Designed by Ray Larabie, Yonder Recoil has been released into the public domain. The idea came from a version of the LA Gear logo that featured a horizontal split through its lettering. He adapted that concept into a wide, square techno typeface and applied the split effect to every character.

The public-domain You're Gone typeface was designed by Ray Larabie. The design was influenced by the custom lettering used in the logo of Movie Gallery, a video rental chain he remembered from the 1980s. He aimed for a rounded techno style with an industrial quality, combining detached letterforms and curved shapes to suggest the futuristic aesthetic of that era.

Ray Larabie designed Yytrium Dioxide, now available as a public-domain typeface. The name was intended to reference the chemical element yttrium, though he misspelled it with two y’s instead of two t’s. The design was influenced by graffiti he saw in Toronto, though the result did not capture the qualities of the original work.

This public-domain typeface, Zelega Zenega, was created by Ray Larabie. The name came from the RPG Rogue Galaxy, which he was playing at the time. The design was modular, with exaggerated widths that made the letters look as if they had been built from irregular blocks.

Zero Hour, a design by Ray Larabie, is in the public domain. The name came from a song by Elvis Costello. The design used broad, boxlike letters intended to evoke a technological, futuristic look.

Created by Ray Larabie, Zeroes is a public-domain typeface. It appeared shortly before the turn of the millennium. Its design was inspired by the logo of the Liz Claiborne fashion brand, which combined squares and circles in a way that suggested a balance between geometric precision and softer forms.

Zodillin is among the public-domain typefaces designed by Ray Larabie. Its original name was Zodillinstrisstirust, which he soon shortened to Zodillin. Despite the change, it never attracted much attention.

The design of Zorque is by Ray Larabie and is now in the public domain. The name was a play on Zork, the Infocom text adventure series that defined part of the early 1980s computer game experience. He wanted the letterforms to echo the Infocom logo, so he used thick strokes with rounded ends; it grew out of similar ideas he had been working on with You’re Gone, but adapted toward a more overtly retro-gaming look.

Zupiter is a public-domain typeface by Ray Larabie. The name was a playful distortion of “Jupiter,” meant to suggest classic science fiction. The design was conceived as a display face with semi-serif letterforms; the uppercase was more successful than the lowercase, where characters like the “e” did not meet his intentions.