True fans of the young wizard would die to get their hands on the “real” Harry Potter font. Unfortunately, the font is not available but the web provides a number of adequate alternatives which will be presented in this article.
Contents
- The famous Harry Potter font that will leave you stupefied
- What are the font’s origins?
- Where does the lettering appear?
- Where can you get the Harry Potter font?
- More magical fonts
Sure to leave you stupefied: the famous Harry Potter font
There is more than one font in the Harry Potter universe. Since the first novel was published in 1997, different fonts have appeared on the covers of the various editions in English and other languages. But one of them has beat all other fonts: the one with the distinctive lightning bolt “P”.
The reason why mainly this font is associated with Harry Potter is the fact that it has been used on all movie posters since the premiere of the first film. While the cover art of the books including the fonts was different from country to country, the presentation of the films was the same around the globe. Even if you are not a fan of Harry Potter, you will immediately think of the boy with the lightning bolt scar whenever you see the font with the characteristic lightning bolt “P”.
Where does the Harry Potter font come from?
First of all, it is not actually a font but a logo designed specifically for Harry Potter – and not for the movie posters as one could think.
The lettering with the lightning bolt first emerged in the US in 1998 on the cover of the first novel by Joanne K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone which was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the US edition.
The film series was distributed by Warner Bros., an American entertainment company. So this was probably the reason why the magical lettering from the US book edition was used for the marketing. It also appears on newer book editions in other languages.
Trademark rights
Time Warner holds the license to the Harry Potter characters and takes violations of their intellectual property very seriously. So it is not allowed to refer directly to the famous Hogwarts student, his friends and enemies.
Where does the Harry Potter lettering appear?
When the first film in the Harry Potter series was published in 2001, the huge marketing machine was set in motion. Since then the famous magical lettering has been used as a logo throughout the entire Harry Potter universe, including
- book covers
- film posters, DVDs and Blu-ray discs
- titles of books on the film in all languages
- covers of computer and video games
- covers of CD soundtracks
- various merchandise such as doormats, mugs and packagings
- marketing partners such as Lego, Mattel and Hasbro
- Warner Bros studio tours in London and Hollywood.
Where can you get the Harry Potter font?
Since it is an individually designed lettering, there is no official font to purchase. But the web provides some fonts that closely match the original.
Note: We have checked the commercial availability of all fonts but we cannot warrant this. So please check out the license information and notes on the website you are downloading your font from.
Free Harry Potter fonts to download
Harry P
- License: unknown, readme file in the ZIP folder
- Download: ZIP file
- Font format: TTF
- Design by Phoenix Phonts
Magic School One
- License: 1001Fonts Free For Commercial Use License (FFC) (https://www.1001fonts.com/licenses/ffc.html)
- Download: ZIP file
- Font format: TTF
- Design by FontMesa (http://www.fontmesa.com/)
Magic School Two
- License: 1001Fonts Free For Commercial Use License (FFC) (https://www.1001fonts.com/licenses/ffc.html)
- Download: ZIP file
- Font format: TTF
- Design by FontMesa (http://www.fontmesa.com/)
Harry Potter fonts: text generator
To design titles and short text passages, a text generator also does the job. fontmeme provides such a text generator which we used to create the above Harry Potter lettering. The font size and effect can be adjusted. The text generator delivers an image which can be saved as a PNG file and embedded on websites or forums. A preview of the lettering is displayed to allow adjusting the text and effect with little effort.
Moreover, this website includes a free generator for Hagrid’s handwriting as shown in the movies.
More magical fonts related to Harry Potter
Besides the film title, the magical world of the young wizard and Hogwarts includes a number of other fonts used on the various book covers, in the book chapters and films.
Benne
This font is similar to the typeface used on the covers of the newer English and German book editions and of the Kindle version.
- License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org), readme file in the ZIP file
- Download: ZIP file
- Font format: OTF
- Design by John Harrington (https://github.com/ShandonType/Benne)
Lumos
The designer of this font says that she was inspired by the chapter headings of the Harry Potter novels.
- License: 1001Fonts Free For Commercial Use License (FFC) (https://www.1001fonts.com/licenses/ffc.html), readme file in the ZIP folder
- Download: ZIP file
- Font format: TTF
- Design by Sarah McFalls
Dumbledor
This font family by GemFonts comprises various typefaces inspired by fantasy and gothic themes. Some of them look similar to fonts used in Harry Potter.
- License: 1001Fonts Free For Commercial Use License (FFC) (https://www.1001fonts.com/licenses/ffc.html)
- Download: ZIP file
- Font format: TTF
- Design by GemFonts
Credits:
- Title photo: RUKSUTAKARN studio, Vadim Sadovski (via Shutterstock); lettering generated on fontmeme.com
- Text generator: fontmeme.com
- Cover of the US edition “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by Scholastic (Illustrator: Mary GrandPré)
Discover more free fonts and typefaces:
