It’s one of the most spine-tingling movies and posters of all time. A gigantic great white shark rising from the deep with teeth bared, moving toward an unsuspecting swimmer, with the word “Jaws” in bold red text presiding over the scene. It’s no wonder that folks want to know: “What font does Jaws use?”
Today, we will identify the font used to advertise one of the most terrifying movies of all time. Then we’ll share some great alternatives to the Jaws movie font that you can download from Envato Elements.
What Font Is the Jaws Logo?
Do you just love the font used in the movie Jaws? Have you been wondering what it is?
Though Roger Kastel is credited with having created the Jaws poster, it isn’t clear who was responsible for creating the actual Jaws poster font. What is clear is that the inspiration for both the imagery and font came from the cover of the first edition of the book Jaws published by Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, in 1974.
However, when we compare the cover and the poster, it’s obvious that although Roger Kastel took his inspiration from the cover, he brought his own interpretation to the original design, and that contribution proved to be a winning one.
The Jaws font delivers a strong visual statement by simplifying the original font used on the book cover, while maintaining the blocky and bold sans serif style. The kerning between the letters was clearly increased so that although the letters remain close, they are not touching. This creates a claustrophobic feeling, which reinforces the idea of danger and the impossibility of escape.
The “J” is reduced in length to share a baseline with the other letters, but the subtle hook effect is retained. This creates an “I got ya” feeling that raises the question of who is being gotten, the predator or the prey? The addition of red, of course, promises that the movie will be bloody.
The Jaws movie font is proprietary and not available for public use, but since the movie’s release, a few designers have created fonts based on the Jaws movie font. The most well known is Amity Jack by AJ Paglia.
Jaws Font Alternatives
1. Miland Heavy Sans Serif (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
If you love the Jaws movie font, you won’t be able to resist Miland Heavy, a clean and modern sans serif font that’s perfect for headings, logos, branding, magazines, product packaging, and more.
2. Finder Heavy Sans Serif (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Finder Heavy Sans Serif is another modern and clean sans-serif typeface that’s similar to the Jaws font. The all caps font is a terrific display font for your headings, logos, branding, and magazines.
3. Candice Heavy Sans (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
You can’t go wrong with Candice Heavy Sans when you’re looking for fonts similar to the Jaws movie font. Candice includes uppercase characters, numbers, punctuation, and multilingual support.
4. Milne Bold Sans Serif (OTF)
How about Milne Bold? This wonderful modern font offers three weights with corresponding italics. It is legible at any size and works well for branding, logos, headers, and more.
5. Headline Ultra Bold Sans Serif (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Headline Ultra Bold Sans Serif is another great option when you’re in the market for fonts similar to the Jaws font. Headline is the perfect display font and includes uppercase characters, numbers, punctuation, and multilingual support.
6. Davish (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
If you want a great Jaws font alternative with lots of flexibility, try Davish. It comes in 12 different weights and is suitable for a wide range of projects. Download it and explore all the possibilities.
7. Nomads (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Clean, modern, and attention-getting is a good description for Nomads. This wonderful sans serif is a great choice for branding, posters, titles, headlines, covers, etc.
8. Colombo Sans (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Colombo Sans has a lot in common with the Jaws font. They’re both modern sans serif typefaces that are clean, bold, and powerful. Use Colombo for logos, branding, and web design projects.
9. Boldstrom (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
This stunning font is the display font you’ve been looking for. Boldstrom is available in five versions, which means you have a bit of flexibility in creating the exact look you’re after.
10. Franie Geometric Font (TTF, OTF, WOFF)
Check out Franie Geometric Font, another fabulous sans serif that offers nine different weights with corresponding italics. Use Franie for your branding projects, packaging designs, book covers, etc.