Jeanne Moderno is an unlikely besteller. Not that it isn’t a great typeface — it certainly is — but it is also very unusual. Its basic, vertically stressed features are based on the 19th-century “Fat Face” style, which is like an exaggerated Bodoni. But there are lots of other influences at work, from Bauhaus stencil faces to 1950s advertising. The letterforms are an unprejudiced mix of elements from upper- and lowercase, upright and italic, Latin and Cyrillic. Have a look at the fantastic set of posters submitted by designer Steve Mehallo to get an idea of how many styles and periods can be evoked using this one retro-futurist type family. And that’s probably why so many of our users like it. A remarkable feat.

When we presented Biscotti alongside our interview with its designer Cyrus Highsmith, we noted that Biscotti is rather unique among Highsmith’s typefaces. The reason is that this festive script was originally designed for a very special client. Brides magazine wanted “a typeface that makes the reader feel pretty.” Highsmith developed an elegant and clean descendant of the flourished engraved scripts that have adorned millions of wedding invitations. Biscotti truly captures the atmosphere of a happy occasion.

It’s been a while since we had one of these heavy-hitting, in-your-face, distressed wood types at the top of our list of Hot New Fonts. Like Jeanne Moderno above — but in a completely different way — Aerotype’s Thunderhouse, too, is a novelty face. Thunderhouse combines three well-worn gothic alphabets (with different weights and widths) in one font. What makes it different from many similar fonts is a bit of clever OpenType programming. Thunderhouse comes with 26 OpenType ligatures that automatically substitute a unique pairing of characters when any lower case character is typed twice in a row — and thus offers instant diversity!

The popular genre of brush scripts is an endless source of delight, and Alpine Script from Charles Borges de Oliveira is one of the prettiest we’ve seen in a while. It’s got dash and confidence, and what’s more — it also features about 30 alternate characters that allow you to customize a headline or b(r)and name, giving it just the amount of flair it needs. Just imagine what you can do with it: Travel brochures. Ice cream packaging. Stationery. Letters to your aunt. Alpine is waiting to be explored.