Arrrrr you prepared for Talk Like a Pirate Day with pirate fonts?

Are you ready for Talk Like a Pirate Day? It’s September 19th (same date every year), so it’s coming up fast. I recently stumbled across some really nice pirate fonts online. This one is called Windlass, for example:

Windlass font

Hat-tip to KPAO! which is a fun blog.

Every time I start looking at fonts, I always surface 3-4 hours later realizing that I would have a serious font problem once I started. For example, did you know that you can make a font online for free? Watch the screencast to learn more.

Or you can make a font out of your handwriting for free. You print out a page of letters, write each letter in the predefined box, scan the page, and upload it. According to this page you can use a coupon code of “YourFont2008” to make sure that it’s free. I’ve printed out the pages but haven’t written/scanned my handwriting yet.

Fun stuff, but it’s amazing how you can start with one website with free fonts and quickly burn an entire afternoon. šŸ™‚

38 Responses to Arrrrr you prepared for Talk Like a Pirate Day with pirate fonts? (Leave a comment)

  1. Arrrrrr. That is bad arse mate. Typing as I write is almost like a Wind Talker.

  2. Thanks for the link to the handwriting font, that looks really cool. As a former newspaper guy I’m also a recovering font addict – have you seen the Helvetica documentary yet?

  3. Oh, phew, I thought I was the only person with a Font file taking up more space on my hard drive than my Music file.

  4. Now all you need is the infamous “Puffy Shirt” to complete your Pirate transformation!

  5. mercutiom, the thing is that I never use them. But they’re like potato chips; you can never download just one free font.

  6. Haha, I knew I wasn’t alone. Free fonts are like the crack cocaine for geeks/designers.

    I usually get my fonts from http://www.dafont.com. Nice selection, and I love being able to preview whatever text I may be using the font for before I download. I think that feature probably saved me downloading hundreds of fonts I would have never used.

    Keep up the good work Matt.

  7. Wait–there’s a Helvetica documentary? Geez, I am such a geek. What are the odds I’ll ever convince my wife to watch that with me?

  8. I just tried the free handwriting font. The font looks so much like my normal writing, it kind of creeps me out. I did not have to enter a code. I actually didn’t see anywhere to pay.

  9. This is my favorite bit of pirate stuff… (if Matt’s blog doesn’t allow images, hopefully it will reject the comment so I don’t have an empty space below)…

  10. Yep, it’s pretty interesting if you’re into design, typography, or 20th century history. Here’s a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZSUjP1AcE

  11. have you seen the Helvetica documentary yet?

    I saw that the other night and I was simply gob smacked in a nice way.

  12. hey matt, i think you’d rather prepare for being a googlesaurus:
    http://www.baseonesearch.co.uk/blog/2008/08/seo-wars.html

    just found that movie in my facebook ticker with you in a supportive role.

    regarding the fonts: a lot of them have been licensed by Linotype (http://www.linotype.com/) in Germany, especially the Helvetica. They are located in my area and they are actually have like 15 people designing fonts all day – I was not aware that this is actually big business.

  13. I quite like http://www.1001freefonts.com I ahve a large number of fonts from there on my HDD!

    I like the look of creating my own handwriting into a font… nice one Matt!

  14. Arrr matey. I’ve been waiting for pirate day.

  15. So… what’s the best means to ensure that your blog actually renders in Pirate Fonts fo Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day?

    Recommendations on a plugin?

  16. Matt

    Hello. I’m in the sign business (making signage) and also have a serious addiction to fonts. My problem was always, ‘that’s almost the font I need… but not quite.. the x doesnt look quite right’. I’d also spend hours trying to find just the right font. This very easy to use program http://www.high-logic.com/fontcreator.html allows me eidt the font! — to import a vector file (ai, eps, etc…) or mix and mash characters. The most useful program I’ve found in years… addiction satisfied… for now.

    Thanks
    Toby

  17. Just a side note on my last comment. Someone just mentioned that I probably shouldn’t admit to editing existing fonts… as this might go against ‘terms of use’ on the old font. But, when you got a customer who needs some vinyl lettering or sign or letterstyle that has to ‘just so’, there really is no substitute to editing customizing a letterstyle. If you read the ‘terms of use’ of both the off-line and online programs they are careful to explain how you are ONLY suppose to use the program (ie – start from scratch) šŸ™ ….

  18. You have inspired me to build a custom search that returns all results in pirate speak. I will also use sIFR to include your pirate fonts šŸ˜‰

  19. I think Google is the actual shit log that doesn’t stink to some people. I say “some people” because it will always stink for someone.

    Funny that searching for “Buy cheap online viagra” yields this blog and dave nalyors, yet there is no relevance in them at all. It’s just about a strong blog that talks about a particular subject.

    I personally think it’s funny that DaveN was searching for cheap online Viagra. Can he not just pay normal prices and get through his doctor? hahaha. It’s like me complaining because I can’t rank for penis enlargement.

    I think Google needs to target networks and advertisers who specifically go off topic to promote their site using links that have no bearing on their site. Use sites that are somehow remotely angled towards the sites, but banning a whole site maybe your kid is always logging on and going ton the NFL.com. GO NFL ! ! ! !

  20. I am a total font junkie (yes, hours and hours) and I have tried really hard not to go and download hundreds of fonts when I got my new computer. However, since I am an even bigger Disney nut, that Yo Ho song really got to me, so my next stop will be to download that one šŸ˜‰

  21. Aye, all the scallywag SEO’errrrs be worried,.. the booty is ne’er be found in the sweet trade. Goin’ on the account is like walkin’ the plank.

    Goin on the account after a swaggy don’t work with the gentlemen o’ fortune Matt Cutts placin the black spot on them scallywag sites.

    Swashbucklin’ like a buccanneer make you never be a Landlubber,.. you always be a Privateer. All the SEO’errrrs be thinkin’ “Shiver me timbers!” when they encounter the gentlemen o’ fortune Matt Cutts.

    Yo-ho-ho

    Yo-ho-ho

    Yo-ho-ho

    Now I need grog and get loaded to the Gunwales,. Yo-ho-ho!

    (for translation: http://www.yarr.org.uk/talk/ )

  22. Thanks for reminding me early.

    Every year, I am taken by surprise, and miss out on possible pirate preparations. I think this year a full outfit is in order. Maybe even a ship and crew?

    Around 1990 a shell program came out that allowed you to enter a tag before and after each snippet of text in your word processor to allow different fonts. I literally would spend hours just to get the font correct for a love letter when my girlfriend (now wife) was in Norway.

    The love letters in retrospect , using many different fonts and and text sizes at first glance now look like ransom notes.

    By the way, there was never a need to make another font after the release of comic sans.

  23. So I went and got my nieces ears pierced yesterday at our local mall, and you wouldn’t believe how much it costs to do that these days…

    It was a BUCC-AN-EER !!!

    ARRRrRRrRRRrRRR

  24. What’s with all this talk about free font sites? The only spammier topic on the web is lyric sites.

  25. I’m so glad I saw this … it’s the first year in ages I’ve remembered before the day rather than afterwards.

    A while back I stumbled over another pirate reference – in Sweden there’s a political party called the Swedish Pirate Party. Now there’s a country that takes Talk Like a Pirate Day seriously!

  26. Google could always use this for adsence for the day šŸ™‚ UK sucks at special days like this.

  27. Nice fonts matt, I suppose I’ll add them to my zillions of fonts scattered about my HD.

  28. Hey matt, funny post. Speaking of fun, I made a short rap and included you in it. What do you think?

    http://blog.startuptips.org/my-page-rank-is-eleven

  29. You’ve really got to wonder, though, if the actual pirates of yore — you know, people who robbed and killed and maybe raped and stuff (though occasionally for governments and therefore, I suppose, for a higher purpose) — ever imagined they’d come to be both fun for the kiddies and entirely laughable.

    Makes you wonder if they’ll if, in two hundred years, we’ll have “talk like a prison gang member day” or some such.

    Great site, btw.

  30. thanks matt!

  31. What I really want to know is, is there a corresponding Ninja Day?

  32. glad to find this, my hobby is creating and drawing many kind of font in coreldraw..successs

  33. Ros – great question! I suppose that if there was a ninja day, then the Samurai’s and cowboys would want their day too. It would be a big mess, because the ninja’s would be killing everyone, then Chuck Norris would show up, etc etc…

  34. You havent lived life until you gone to;

    http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com/california/index.html

  35. Heheh. This was fun.

    By the way do you have ‘AaarghSoc’ in the US? It’s the most piratious university society in Australia – I’m a member of course.

  36. Ike, there is no perfect way to make your web pages use downloadable fonts.

    For short passages, most people use sIFR to embed a flash rendering object with the font in it.

    Here’s some examples:
    http://home.tiscali.nl/developerscorner/fdc-varia/font-embedding.htm

    The “WEFT” way mentioned does work in IE7. Not in FF3 though.

  37. Another pirate-style font you might like is a font I created called “TradeWind.” The font is an original design inspired by freehand lettering created with ink and quill pen. The letterforms are graceful yet robust, conveying overtones of exploration and adventure.

    Check it out at http://davidocchino.com/portfolio/typography/tradewind.html and let me know what you think.

  38. My name is Elliott…. I am addicted to fonts….

    No I really need to break out of the habit I have a library of thousands of them…

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