How to Change Font in Adobe Illustrator

You can change the font from the Character panel in Adobe Illustrator, which you can find on the Properties panel, Appearance panel, overhead menu, or the Control panel.

If you need to replace a font because the document shows a missing font, that’s a different story but I’ll show you both methods in this tutorial.

Before getting started, let me show you where to find Adobe Illustrator fonts.

Where are Adobe Illustrator Fonts

As I mentioned before, you can find the Illustrator font list from the Characters panel. Simply go to the overhead menu Window > Type > Character.

Or when you have text selected, you can see the Characters panel under the Properties panel or Control panel.

2 Ways to Change Font in Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator has a good selection of default fonts, but everyone has their own favorite fonts for use in different designs. Whether you need to change a font on your original artwork or replace fonts on an existing file. You will have solutions for both. 

Note: Screenshots below are taken from the Mac version of Adobe Illustrator, Windows versions may look slightly different. 

Method 1: Replace Missing Fonts in Adobe Illustrator

Maybe you are working on a project with your teammate and you don’t have the same fonts installed on your computers, so when you open Adobe Illustrator, you will see the fonts missing and have to replace them. 

When you open the ai file, the missing font area will be highlighted in pink. And you will see a popup box showing you which fonts are missing. 

Step 1: Click Find Fonts. 

You can either replace the missing fonts with existing fonts on your computer or download the missing fonts. In this case, you can download Aromatron Regular and DrukWide Bold. 

Step 2: Choose the font you want to substitute, and click Change > Done. I replaced the DrukWide Bold with Futura Medium. See, the text I replaced is no longer highlighted. 

If you want to have all text in the same font, you can click Change All > Done. Now both the title and body are Futura Medium.

Method 2: Change The Font/Character Style in Adobe Illustrator

When you use the Type tool, the font you see is the default font Myriad Pro. It looks fine but it’s not for every design. So, how do you change it? 

You can change the font from Type > Font from the overhead menu. 

Tip: If you can find the fonts you want, you can explore unlimited fonts from Adobe Fonts.

Or from the Character panel, which I strongly suggest, because you can see how the font looks when you hover over it. 

Step 1: Open the Character panel Window > Type > Character. This is the Character panel.

Step 2: Use the Type Tool to create text. As you can see the default font is Myriad Pro. 

Step 3: Click to see font options. As you hover your mouse on the fonts, it will show how it looks on the text selected. 

For example, I hover on Arial Black, see the Lorem ipsum changes its look. You can keep scrolling to explore which font looks better for your design. 

Step 4: Click on the font you want to change to. 

That’s it! You can also change the font size and spacing on the Character panel.

Other questions? 

You might also be interested to know the answers to the following questions related to changing fonts.

How do I use Adobe fonts in Illustrator? 

You can find Adobe fonts in-app or on the web browser. Then all you need to do is activate it. When you use Illustrator again, it automatically shows up in the Character panel. 

Where do I put fonts in Illustrator? 

When you download a font online, it will first go to your download folder. Once you unzip and install it, it will show in the Font Book (Mac users). 

How to change font size in Illustrator?

Same as changing fonts, you can change the size in the Character panel. Or simply click and drag the text you create with the Type tool. 

How to edit fonts in Illustrator?

Use Method 2 above to change the font. If you want to change the text/font color, with the font selected, change the color from the Appearance panel. If you want to edit the font shape, create a text outline first, and use vector editing tools like the Direct Selection Tool to edit the font.

Final Words 

There is always a perfect font for a design, you just need to keep exploring. The more you work with fonts, the less headache you will have when it comes to font selections. Believe me, I’ve been through that. 

Maybe now you’re still indecisive and keep changing the fonts in your design. But one day, you will have your own standard fonts for different use.

Be patient!