# Help identifying this font?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 6, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495 "2008-11-06T19:01:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/1 "2008-11-06T19:01:34Z")
I’d like to duplicate this “Vulcan” text onto a Cafe-press item. (The “Vulcan” is a line of motorcycles from Kawasaki).
Does anybody have a good idea of what this font is and, perhaps, where I might download a version of it?
[Vulcan](http://www.bikebandit.com/assets/product_images/08KawasakiVulcanKeychainLG.gif)
---
### Author:  [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/2 "2008-11-06T20:32:57Z")
A great many trademarks are custom rendered by a graphic artist and are unique. In some cases full fonts are developed if the company so desires and sometimes independent type companies create fonts that mimic well known trademark typestyles.
You may not be able to find an exact match.
---
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/3 "2008-11-06T21:02:00Z")
About the closest I could find with a quick search was [this](http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/fontmesa/draft-beer/) but the V is way off.
Looking through “more like this” Machiarge isn’t a million miles away either.
A lot of fonts with the right kind of letter shapes have “curly” lower-case ls though, like [this](http://www.dafont.com/wrexham.font?nb_ppp=50&text=Vulcan).
---
### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2008, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/4 "2008-11-07T10:34:31Z")
I’m too lazy to do the work for you right now, but you can either play [20 questions](http://www.identifont.com/) to find out, or copy and paste the letters from the logo so they are all in a straight line and [ask this website](http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/).
---
### Author:  [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/5 "2008-11-07T14:56:58Z")
> [@CafePress Image Guidelines (bolding added)](#):
>
> - NO NAMES/LOGOS OF COMPANIES OR ORGANIZATIONS E.g., NeoPets, Lakers, Dr. Pepper, Tommy Hilfiger etc.
>
> - NO TRADEMARKED TAGLINES E.g., Just Do It, The Ultimate Driving Machine, Got Milk? etc.
>
> \*\*\* NO MANIPULATED CONTENT E.g., using a company’s logo as a basis of your design\*\*
>
> - NO PHOTOS OR IMAGES OF KNOWN COPYRIGHTS E.g., Mickey Mouse, Dragonball Z, Godzilla, Barbie etc.
You may also want to review the [CafePress Content Usage Policy](http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/help/cup.aspx).
I would be inclined to think that what you’re proposing would be prohibited as an infringement of trademark.
---
### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/6 "2008-11-07T20:03:27Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#):
>
> I would be inclined to think that what you’re proposing would be prohibited as an infringement of trademark.
Well..
1. If he just uses the same font for a different word without the other elements of the logo, it’s no problem.
2. Even if he uses a similar logo, the only reason I can think of for him to do so is as a parody, which is not a trademark infringement. It would be against Cafe-Press rules, but that is not the same thing.
---
### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/7 "2008-11-07T20:20:13Z")
It’s a bit like the font vimeo uses for its text logo
> **[Black Rose Font | dafont.com](https://www.dafont.com/black-rose.font?text=vulcan)**
>
> Black Rose Font | dafont.com
---
### Author:  [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/8 "2008-11-08T00:41:55Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#):
>
> I’m too lazy to do the work for you right now, but you can either play [20 questions](http://www.identifont.com/) to find out, or copy and paste the letters from the logo so they are all in a straight line and [ask this website](http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/).
I did the 20 questions as well as I could but nothing in the results was even very close.
I associate this font (strictly intuitionally) with some 50’s streamlined car, but I don’t remember which one I might be thinking of. I wonder if 50’s streamlining is the image that Kawasaki is trying to evoke. Looking at photos online, it does have that sort of feel to it.
Roddy
---
### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2008, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/9 "2008-11-08T10:28:31Z")
Looking through my personal font collection I wasn’t able to find a close match. But these fonts evoked a similar ‘feel’:
Airstream
Ballpark Weiner
Deftone
TeamSpirit
---
### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/10 "2008-11-08T10:44:49Z")
I tried straightening the logo (although it was still a little warped) out and uploading it to the myfonts site but it didn’t find a good match. If you could find a straight version of the logo that might help.
---
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2008, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/11 "2008-11-08T11:02:56Z")
I saw a few that sort of looked a little bit like it here: [Car Fonts](http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/car/).
---
### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2008, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/12 "2008-11-08T11:13:54Z")
More similar feel fonts: Boxer Script JF, Magneto, Mahalia, Rocket, Cocktail Shaker,
Also: [http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/jawfonts/boxer-script-jf/morelikethis.html](http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/jawfonts/boxer-script-jf/morelikethis.html)
[1950s](http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/1950s/)
[Car fonts](http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/car/)
[Retro fonts](http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/retro/)
[Script fonts](http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/script/)
ETA: OK I managed to find a straight version of the logo and plugged it in, but the closest I could find is:
Kari Wide Italic
Magneto
Pismo Clambake
So unless you want to recreate it, you’ll probably have to pick something with a similar feel. You might be ok with picking one that has the most similar lower case letters and then just doing the upper case yourself.
---
### Author:  [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/13 "2008-11-08T15:43:54Z")
> **[Search | Brands of the World™](https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/70802828/28626.html)**
>
> Brands of the World is the world\\'s largest library of brand logos in vector format available to download for free. BotW is also a great place for designers to showcase their work.
This is almost exactly as it is on the keychain, except for the N. This is vector artwork (as opposed to raster or bitmap), meaning it can be scaled to any size without losing resolution.
Be sure to read all of the disclaimers about fair use and trademark infringement, etc. to avoid breaking any laws.
The .eps will go straight into Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign, and can be imported into CorelDraw as a Postscript file.
---
### Author:  [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/14 "2008-11-10T18:29:45Z")
You guys are great.
You’re right, the “V” is the problem child. The linked lower case seems to come out of almost any font. The “Beer” one near the top of the thread is a good match to my eyes.
I just wanted to wrap the word “Vulcan” around a coffee mug so I can show-off at work. That may violate the rules, though. (Kawasaki’s marketing department seems to be a bunch of slackers. I can get an HD logo on everything from a hat to a mug to a condom it seems but these guys have almost nothing).
Hmm.
Just printing the script “V” alone would be infringement, would it?
---
### Author:  [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-this-font/471495/15 "2008-11-10T20:03:24Z")
Looks like [Magneto](http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/fontbureau/magneto/) to me.