Nirvana font
The Nirvana logo is set in Onyx, a condensed, high-contrast typeface that began in 1937 at American Type Founders. It went on the cover of the band’s first album in 1989 simply because it was the font on the typesetting machine. Onyx is a commercial font, so it isn’t free; these free fonts have its narrow, sharp letters.
Onyx, a typeface of 1937 · 9 free fonts with its feel
01 / Free fonts with the same feel
Your picks, 3 of 6 picked
The fonts you pick set your words: up to six, from the list below.
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All 9 free fonts
Pick a font to set your words in it at the top, up to six.
01picked by eye
A heavy condensed Didone
02picked by eye
Condensed and sharp, lighter
03picked by eye
Heavy, with hairline thins
04picked by eye
Narrow, after Bodoni
05picked by eye
A Didone, a little wider
Also close, by our data
Each of these is among the twelve fonts our similarity data finds closest to at least two of the fonts above, measured letter by letter.
83match with Oranienbaum
9% narrower · x-height 8% shorter · more stroke contrast
84match with Vidaloka
19% wider · more stroke contrast · 21% lighter
80match with Oranienbaum
22% wider · x-height 13% taller · less stroke contrast
92match with Oranienbaum
x-height 11% shorter · 4% narrower · less stroke contrast
FontKind isn’t affiliated with Nirvana or its owners. The name is a trademark of its owner, used here only to say which lettering this page is about. The fonts shown are free fonts with a similar feel, not the original lettering.
02 / The lettering, and your questions
01
What font does Nirvana use?
The logo was set in Onyx in 1989 for the cover of the band’s first album: the designer asked for whatever font had last been used on the typesetting machine. Source: Wallpaper*
Onyx began in 1937 at American Type Founders, after a font the Bauer foundry issued in 1870; its condensed, high-waisted letters mix thick and thin strokes. The digital version comes from Monotype, and Office apps offer it. Source: Microsoft: Onyx
02
Is the Nirvana font free?
Not Onyx itself: it is a commercial typeface, licensed by Monotype, though Microsoft Office offers it inside its apps. The fonts on this page are free, free for commercial use too, under open licences.
03
How do I use these fonts in Canva?
Search Canva’s font menu for the font’s name: Canva publishes no list of its fonts, so the menu is the only way to know. If it isn’t there, Canva Pro and Teams can upload a font file: get it from the font’s page here.
On the free plan, make a PNG of your words in the font generator and upload it as an image.
04
And in Cricut Design Space?
Install the font on your computer from its page here: Design Space lists the fonts on your computer as system fonts. Or type your words in the font generator and download the SVG: its letters come welded, to cut in one piece. More in Cricut fonts.
05
Can I use them on things I sell?
The fonts, yes: every font on this page is under an open licence that allows commercial use, on shirts, signs, cards and logos. But Nirvana and its logo are someone else’s trademarks: a design that copies the logo or uses the name can still need the owner’s permission. This is a plain answer, not legal advice.
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