Calligraphy ScriptVersion 2.000 • © 2014

Birds of Paradise Typeface

Birds of Paradise is a calligraphy script font designed by Guilhem Greco and published by his foundry, Herofonts (copyright 2014). Its big, looping capitals and connected lowercase make it a popular choice for wedding stationery, monograms and tattoo lettering. The free version is for personal use only.

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Birds of Paradise

What Makes It Recognisable

It looks like it was written with a pointed dip pen. The letters lean forward and flow into each other, so a word reads like one movement of the hand rather than a row of separate shapes.

The capitals do most of the work. Their swashes loop well above the normal letter height, which is why one capital can carry a whole monogram, and why the font looks best with one or two words rather than a full sentence.

The lowercase is tighter and more regular. Thin hairline upstrokes meet heavy downstrokes, just like ink from a nib you press harder on the way down. That contrast is lovely at large sizes but disappears below about 18px, so keep it big.

Key Features

Big looping capitalsThe uppercase letters carry most of the personality. Their swashes swing well above the cap height, so a single capital often works as a monogram on its own.
Connected, slanted lowercaseLowercase letters lean forward and join on the baseline, so a word reads like one continuous pen stroke rather than separate letters.
Thick-and-thin strokesHairline upstrokes sit next to heavy downstrokes, the way a pointed nib behaves when you press harder on the way down. Those hairlines are also why the font falls apart at small sizes.
Long ascenders and descendersLetters like b, d, f, g and y reach far above and below the line. Give multi-line text extra line-height (around 1.4 or more) or the loops will collide.

Font File Details

From the .ttf
Font NameBirds of Paradise
PostScript NameBirdsofParadise-PersonaluseOnly
StyleRegular
DesignerGuilhem Greco
FoundryHerofonts
Copyright© 2014 Guilhem Greco
Version2.000
File FormatTrueType (.ttf)
Glyphs in File260
Mapped Characters256 (Latin)
NumbersHerofonts logo in free version
Units per Em1000
KerningYes (kern + GPOS tables)
LicenseFree for Personal Use Only
Commercial Licenseherofonts.com/license
Best Uses

Where to Use It (and Where Not To)

Good fits, bad fits, and what the free license covers.

Wedding invitations & save-the-dates

Couple names, "Save the Date" headers and place cards. This is where the font gets used most.

Note: Free if the invitations are for your own wedding. A stationery shop selling them needs a commercial license.

Monograms & name designs

Initials, name signs, gift tags and framed prints for your home.

Note: The capitals are decorative enough to stand alone. Selling the result counts as commercial use.

Tattoo lettering

Names, dates and short words, set large enough for the hairlines to survive.

Note: Keep it at least 5–6 cm wide; very thin strokes can blur as a tattoo ages.

Paragraphs & body text

Not built for sentences you have to actually read.

Note: Below about 18px the loops and hairlines turn into noise. Use it for a few words at a time.

Logos, packaging, books & videos (on the free version)

Brand marks, product labels, book covers, YouTube thumbnails and ads.

Note: The personal-use license specifically rules these out. Buy a commercial license from Herofonts first.
Alternatives

Similar Fonts You Can Use Commercially

These are free on Google Fonts under the SIL Open Font License, so they're an option when you can't buy a Birds of Paradise license.

Designer credits for the alternatives come from their Google Fonts pages. See the full comparison in our alternatives guide.

Download

Get Birds of Paradise for Your Design

The free personal-use version (a 153 KB .ttf file) is linked from our download page, along with install steps.