What Are Dingbat Fonts? History and Their Use in Design

In the world of typography, there is one type of font that is often overlooked yet plays an important role in enhancing visual design: dingbats. Although they don’t contain letters or numbers, dingbat fonts offer a wide range of symbols, ornaments, and miniature illustrations that are extremely useful. This article will explore the history, function, and use of dingbat fonts in modern design.

What Are Dingbat Fonts?

Dingbat fonts are typefaces that do not include traditional alphabetic or numeric characters, but instead consist of symbols, icons, decorative shapes, and pictograms. When you type certain keys using a dingbat font, you’ll see symbols like stars, arrows, flowers, lines, or other small illustrations instead of letters.

Common examples of dingbat symbols include:

• ❖ ✪ ❀ ➤ ☎ ✿ ✉ ☞

A Brief History of Dingbat Fonts

The origin of dingbats dates back to traditional printmaking. During the era of letterpress printing, printers used small metal ornaments or printer’s ornaments as decorative elements on the edges of pages, paragraph dividers, or in formal documents like invitations and certificates.

The term “dingbat” gained popularity in the printing world during the 19th and early 20th centuries, referring to non-text decorative elements. As digital typography evolved, these symbols were adapted into digital typefaces.

One of the most iconic dingbat fonts is Zapf Dingbats, designed by renowned typographer Hermann Zapf in 1978. This font was later included as a standard font in Adobe systems, making it one of the first widely used digital dingbat fonts.

Functions and Uses of Dingbat Fonts

Dingbat fonts are versatile and useful in many design contexts, such as:

1. Navigation Symbols
   • Arrows, menu icons, email icons, etc., commonly used in both digital and print interfaces.
2. Decorative Elements
   • Used as paragraph dividers, borders, or decorative accents in invitations, certificates, and artworks.
3. Social and Communication Icons
   • Many modern dingbats include social media icons, communication tools, or common symbols like location pins and clocks.
4. Doodles and Illustration Fonts
   • Designers now create expressive dingbat fonts containing hand-drawn elements, seasonal themes (e.g. Halloween, Christmas), or vintage motifs.
5. Quick Design Without Images
   • Since dingbats function as fonts, they can be typed directly in design software without importing PNGs or vector files — speeding up the workflow.

Famous Dingbat Fonts

• Zapf Dingbats – A classic symbol font by Hermann Zapf.
• Wingdings – Developed by Microsoft, known for its quirky and distinctive symbols.
• Font Awesome – Widely used in web design (now mostly SVG-based rather than a true font).
• Modern Dingbats – Like “Dingbats by Typodermic” or various themed sets from indie type foundries.

How to Use Dingbat Fonts

• Install the dingbat font just like a regular TTF or OTF font.
• Use design software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign.
• Type regular keys (A-Z, 0-9) and see them turn into symbols.
• Many dingbat fonts include a character map or guide to show which key produces which symbol.

Sample dingbats by HF Costler font

Dingbat fonts are a hidden gem in typography that can visually enrich your designs without the need for manual illustrations. From classic print ornaments to modern UI symbols, dingbats have remained relevant and flexible across different design eras. If you’re a graphic designer or typographer, learning to use dingbat fonts can open up creative possibilities that are both efficient and visually appealing.

Related Post