Birdfont for Mac

Overview

Birdfont is a free macOS application for designing custom typefaces. It streamlines the process so you can sketch, edit, and export new fonts in a handful of hours. The program balances power with simplicity, making it accessible to beginners while still useful for more advanced users.

Getting started

The user interface is minimal at first glance and can feel a little rough, but it quickly becomes straightforward with practice. Comprehensive step-by-step tutorials and documentation are available to help you learn the tools and workflows.

Key capabilities

• Create a new font from traced artwork by placing a background image and drawing over it with vector tools.
• Import existing vector artwork (for example, from Illustrator) to build or refine glyphs.
• Crop and resize background images, align them to the editing grid, then add and adjust vectors to finalize each character.
• Export finished typefaces in common formats so they’re ready for use in projects or on the web.

Typical workflow

1. Set a background image of the letterform you want to reproduce and fit it to the glyph grid.
2. Trace or redraw the shape using vector points and Bézier handles.
3. Tidy the outlines, adjust spacing and kerning, and repeat for other characters.
4. Export the completed font file for installation or distribution.

Suggested alternative

If you need a different solution for moving assets or sharing files while working across devices, consider Xender — Share & Transfer Music (free). It’s primarily a file-transfer tool rather than a font editor, but it can be handy for quickly moving source files like vector artwork between computers and mobile devices during a design workflow.