Long Horn Ranch: Western Display Font
Long Horn Ranch: A Western Display Font Inspired by Texas
Long Horn Ranch started after a trip to Austin, Texas with some of my childhood best friends.
The trip itself was pretty simple. Lots of breakfast tacos, cold beer, BBQ, live music and wandering around Austin. But as a designer, one of the things I couldn't stop noticing was just how much amazing typography and design was everywhere.
The place was dripping with cool type.
Old highway signs, hand-painted storefronts, vintage beer graphics, weathered band tees, rodeo lettering, restaurant signs, old ranch graphics and then, right alongside all of it, really good new branding, packaging and beer labels.
There's this great mix in Austin where old Texas design and newer graphic design seem to live together without either one feeling forced. Something can feel dusty and 50 years old while the place next door is doing something completely fresh.
I've also always been obsessed with the graphic artists and designers coming out of Texas. There's a whole crew of people down there making work that's bold, imperfect, funny and full of personality. That trip made me want to take some of that energy home with me and make something of my own.
The Idea Behind Long Horn Ranch
When I got home, I started thinking about a fictional place called Long Horn Ranch.
I pictured an old ranch somewhere off a Texas highway. A beat-up sign out front. Cold beer in the fridge. Old tees hanging behind the bar. Matchbooks, patches, hats, stickers and a couple of sun-faded signs that have probably been there forever.
That imaginary place became the starting point for the font.
I wanted Long Horn Ranch to feel like the typeface that place would use on everything.
An Old School Western Slab Serif
Long Horn Ranch is a big, bold Western-inspired slab serif with chunky serifs and a little old-school Texas charm.
I pulled inspiration from cowboy culture, vintage saloon signs, rodeo posters, roadside lettering, ranch graphics and all the great typography I saw while wandering around Austin.
I didn't want it to feel overly polished or perfect. Part of what I love about old Western lettering is that you can see a little bit of the person who made it. Long Horn Ranch keeps some of that handmade imperfection while still being really easy to use in an actual design project.
It's bold, a little dusty and has plenty of personality.
Made for Branding, Packaging & Merch
I designed Long Horn Ranch to be the kind of font I would actually want to reach for when building a brand.
It works especially well for Western branding, restaurant identities, beer and drink labels, coffee packaging, apparel, vintage T-shirts, hats, posters, signage, outdoor brands and merch.
Go heavy on texture and illustration and it can feel like something pulled off an old Texas beer label or a tee that's been sitting in a thrift store for 30 years.
Pair it with cleaner typography and photography and it can become something much more modern while still carrying that Western character.
Who Long Horn Ranch Is For
Long Horn Ranch is for designers and brands that want their work to have some grit and personality.
It's especially made for people who love that world of vintage Western design but don't want something that feels like a cheesy cowboy font. The goal was to capture the character of old Texas typography in a typeface that can actually work for modern branding.
It's for the brewery, BBQ joint, coffee shop, ranch brand, clothing company, neighborhood bar, outdoor brand or designer who wants something that feels handmade, nostalgic and a little rough around the edges.
Most of all, Long Horn Ranch is my little tribute to an amazing trip with some of my oldest friends, the designers I've admired coming out of Texas, and a city that reminded me just how much personality good typography can have.