How it works
This 80s text generator sets a title in 7 fonts and 6 looks, opening on pink neon on night blue. The style is a recipe more than a typeface, and most ingredients are younger than the decade.
Read the full guide
The fonts are not from the 80s
All seven reached Google Fonts between 2010 and 2012. Press Start 2P comes closest: it is based on the lettering of 1980s arcade games. VT323 copies the glyphs of a text terminal. Monoton, the striped capitals, follows a metal type of 1931. Mr Dafoe, the brush script, revives New York lettering of the 1930s and 40s. Orbitron, Russo One and Faster One are new designs.
The finish does the work
Neon glow draws a lit tube, and Strength of the look in More options sets how far the light spreads. Chrome is a steel gradient with a dark horizon through the middle. Sunset fade runs yellow to coral to purple. VHS glitch slips a cyan and a red copy sideways. New look deals 16 designs.
Tips
- For chrome capitals under a pink script, stack two Transparent files: Russo One in Chrome, Mr Dafoe in Outline.
- Press Start 2P sets 2.5 times as wide as Mr Dafoe, so keep pixel titles to a word or two.
- Monoton and Faster One draw small capitals for lowercase. Orbitron lacks ø and ł, and VT323 lacks ł and š.
Questions and answers
Is this a synthwave text generator too?
Yes. Synthwave is an electronic music microgenre from the mid to late 2000s, and its visual style leans on VHS tracking artefacts, magenta neon and gridlines. The page opens on that neon: Neon glow in Neon pink on Night blue. It draws no grid floor.
Why does my neon look washed out?
Neon needs the dark. The look is a pale letter with a coloured halo, which only shows against something darker. On Transparent the letters almost vanish on a white slide, and the line under the drawing warns you. Light pages suit Sunset fade or Chrome.
Can I use it on a poster or a shirt?
Yes. Under the SIL Open Font License of all seven fonts, a graphic belongs to its maker, shirts for sale included. For posters press Download SVG. Print draws dark designs as an outline until you untick Print as an outline (saves ink) in More options.