The 25 best cursive fonts for your visual identity

Deciding on the right font style for your brand is a key step in cultivating your visual identity. When it comes to brand development (whether it’s for your personal brand or a corporate identity), a font gives the viewer a taste of your personality. So it’s important to set the right tone from that first swish or scribbled “S.” 

A cursive font is a fan favorite due to its movement and elegance. Cursive is associated with sophistication and class. It’s timeless and offers a personal touch that other fonts don’t. However, like anything else in branding, the right context makes a tremendous difference. We’ve curated a list of the best cursive font examples along with tips and tricks to help you decide which one is best for your brand.

25 cursive font examples

Now that we’ve covered the importance of fonts and how using a cursive typeface can be an asset to your brand’s visual identity, let’s explore some examples. We’ll unpack what makes each one pop.

1. Broadley

The Broadley font is a prime example of a vintage feel created by a retro cursive font. It’s handwritten but a bit more old-fashioned, which would be a great cursive font for a luncheonette or a car repair shop logo. 

2. Rampage Monoline

Similar to Broadley, Rampage Monoline has a vintage vibe. It’s classic but with a bit of an edge — excellent for a tattoo shop that specializes in traditional American designs.

3. Krysttal Spears

This effortless script evokes familiarity — a classic signature that varies in width depending on the natural curve of a letter. It’s human and approachable. 

4. Youth Line

The Youth Line font is effortless, flowing, and relaxed. There are no embellishments, making it clean, clear, and legible Yet, it still has a flow to it.

5. Diary Angelique

When we talk about an elegant cursive font, the flourish and flair of Diary Angelique springs to mind. Its bouncy, tight curls glide effortlessly across the screen or the page without losing their legibility. Angelique is très chic, and she knows it!

6. Little Bee

Little Bee is a classic “brush-style” script font, reminiscent of a paintbrush instead of a pen. There’s artistry and movement to this popular font design. Its artsy aura is playful, and the little bees zipping off the ends of letters could be a cute addition to a kid’s clothing company logo.

7. Dancing Script

Relaxed and charming, Dancing Script has a classic look and feel without losing legibility. It’s a font that transcends the logo, so it would make a great addition to website copy headers. Nonetheless, remember to keep it short and sweet like this fun font.

8. Tangerine

Designed by Toshi Omagari, Tangerine is a perennial typeface — enduring and able to stand the test of time. It retains readability and adds some flair while echoing to a more traditional, authentic script.

9. Scribble

Aptly named, Scribble is a legible version of handwritten notes jotted down casually. Its homey vibe is warm and inviting. Sure, it’s a tad informal, but if you use this font, that’s probably the mood you’re trying to set in the first place.

10. Lemon Jelly

Similar to Little Bee, Lemon Jelly is bold with thick, strong lines. This trendy cursive font is ideal for an eye-catching logo that is sure to leave a lasting impression on consumers — as long as it’s got the right colors, of course.

11. Streetwear

Still kicking it old school? Streetwear is the cursive font for your brand. This vintage-inspired cursive font places added emphasis on a word, thanks to the flourish at the end of many of its letters. And it’d look pretty groovy on a graphic T-shirt. 

12. Arkipelago

Created by Nasir Udin, Arkipelago is another brush script font with a personal feel. Some letters barely touch, giving it a handwritten feel. It’s casual and inviting — and the font is free, too.

13. Serendipity

This free, best-selling script font is versatile and features over 90 hand-drawn characters, perfect for a splash of freshness to your logotype. It’ll fit right at home as part of your logo or on an Instagram graphic.

14. Shink

Easy to read and super fun, Shink is thick and bold. Complete with accents for emphasis, a wordmark made with Shink does not shy away from beauty.

15. Crunchy

Crunchy has all the spunk that comes from a bold statement handwriting. Sure, there’s a throwback feel, but don’t you dare call this font dated. It’d be a good choice for headings in a personal blog. 

16. Herr Von Muellerhoff

The distinct slant and full embrace of the classic cursive are the main characteristics of the Herr Von Muellerhoff font. This font is one of the true cursive fonts on this list, making it excellent for invitations, venues, or any product or service connected to a formal event.

17. Agatha

This font is well-deserving of its “lovely” description. Agatha is an easy-to-read cursive font, but it has those added accents that make a word pop on the page. There’s an almost musical quality to this font that would look excellent for any business connected to the wedding or special events industry logo.

18. Debby

Another brush typeface, Debby has an exuberance that adds charisma to any digital or print asset. This free font looks right at home on a Pinterest post, in-store flyer, or email marketing header.

19. Hickory Jack

With Hickory Jack, you can go bold or light with your font weight. Whichever you choose for your brand, you’re sure to make a statement with this electric cursive font. 

20. Dawning of a New Day

Originally based on the handwriting of the font designer’s friend, Dawning of a New Day is optimistic, familiar, and warm. This font feels personal, which is perfect if that’s your brand. 

21. Darling in Paris

The name “Paris” alone already inspires luxury. This font certainly follows through on that promise of decadence. Darling in Paris is fashionable without feeling inaccessible. Consider using this font for your boutique logo or your clothing line.

22. Dirty Cursive

Designed by Xerographer Fonts, Dirty Cursive is very different from the other fonts on this list. While it wouldn’t precisely be called trendy and popular, its gritty, messy look has a time and place if you’re aiming for a specific aesthetic. 

23. Lovely Australia

Lovely Australia combines elements of a handwritten font and standard cursive for a unique, artsy, and legible blend that’s as lovely as its name evokes. This font features enough personal flair while feeling unique and still elegant.

24. The Nautigal

Created by Robert Leuschke, The Nautigal is neat, clean, and crisp. This font remains true to the fluid motion of cursive and the visual appeal that draws most people to this handwriting, while offering a fresh take on a standard script.

25. Licorice

Like the candy, Licorice is loopy, sometimes swirly, and always fun. It’s a great cursive font for a tagline or heading on a web page, thanks to its legibility.

Why use a cursive font?

To get more in-depth on the importance of cursive fonts in design, these typefaces provide a personal touch to a brand since they convey a handwritten message — the scrawl of a penned note to a loved one or the kind of note Mom may have left in your lunchbox. Because of the human nature of cursive, it’s a fantastic font for the hospitality industry, health and wellness brands, or homemade products. And, as previously mentioned, cursive fonts can communicate a sense of elegance and timelessness as well as the art of penmanship.

To see a cursive font in action, take a look at two well-known brands: Ray-Ban and Sharpie. These brands opted for a cursive font in their wordmark designs for different reasons. Ray-Bans are retro and timeless like cursive — they’re sleek and sophisticated. Sharpie’s logotype is evocative of that aforementioned handwritten note, which is ideal for a brand that sells writing implements. Both are effective, and both are statement pieces that do not extend beyond the confines of their logos. That last part is important: Writing full paragraphs in a script font can impact legibility and make it hard for customers to read what you’re writing.

4 tips for choosing a cursive font

With those fabulous examples of cursive fonts for various occasions under our belt, it’s a good time to discuss noteworthy tips for choosing the right one for your brand, and how you can best use fonts to enhance your logo.

- Legibility. When it comes down to deciding on a cursive font, legibility is the first thing you should consider. After all, a font that keeps your customers guessing can inhibit all your marketing and communications. A font can be interesting to look at, but if it looks more like art than writing, people might have a hard time remembering your brand.

- Aesthetic. Like we mentioned in the beginning, context is everything, so the aesthetic of your font must match the rest of your brand’s visual identity. For instance, if you’re a mortician with an appropriately serious and informative website, a bright, bouncy font like Licorice doesn’t create the brand unity and cohesion needed to build trust with your audience. A font is part of your brand’s visual identity: It should add something to the existing story, not take away from it. 

- No kerning. Kerning is the spacing between respective letters or characters; therefore, it’s the antithesis of cursive. When using a cursive font, there’s a unity and fluidity that makes any abrupt spacing between letters look awkward. Kerning takes away from the natural movement of an effective cursive font. Even subtle spaces between characters within a word could have a detrimental effect as a result.

- When and how it’s being used. The “when” and “how” is just as important as the “what” when it comes to using cursive fonts. Apply these fonts thoughtfully and strategically, where they will have the most impact as part of your larger brand story. Consider a script font for a wordmark or a headline — not necessarily everything written on behalf of your brand. Too much script may not be a good thing.

What’s your signature move?

A cursive font can be a welcome addition to your brand’s visual identity, and this font style is evocative of a range of emotions to suit various personalities. With some of the best free cursive fonts just a download away, this style is no longer bound to holiday greeting cards — as lovely as they are. A cursive font can be trendy, retro, playful, rich, and, most importantly, free. And, thankfully, with Namecheap’s Free Font Generator, you’ll have a place to turn to for top cursive fonts. Here, you’ll be able to create fancy, eye-catching text that works across a slew of platforms like social media, personal websites, and more. There’s no fee or login required — just type, style, copy, and paste! For even more options, check out Namecheap’s partner font generator over at Qwerty. 

Enhance your visual identity with the perfect font for your business or personal venture. Hopefully, these tips, tricks, and examples have you daydreaming of endless loops and beautiful typography. Happy branding!