Fab Lolly is a full-colour vector font with OpenType SVG built in. Its chocolate coating, highlights, shadows and colourful sprinkles are built into the letters, but the words remain editable in compatible design software. Because the artwork is vector rather than bitmap, it can be enlarged without the edges turning into a row of tiny squares.
The original Fab ice lolly inspired the font. You can see it in the image below, assuming you have looked at the image below, which is why it is there. It has always been my favourite frozen treat: strawberry, vanilla, chocolate across the top and enough sprinkles to turn your tongue a funny colour. A funny colour being, at the time, one of the accepted measures of quality.
I’m not sure how popular they are now—Magnums seem to have taken over—but back in the day, Fabs were definitely the go-to lolly for a lot of people.
It already looked like a small piece of pop art on a stick, so turning it into a typeface made perfect sense. To me, anyway. Most people look at an ice lolly and think about eating it, rather than developing a full character set.
But first, What is an OpenType SVG colour vector font?
An OpenType SVG colour font is a font that stores graphical artwork inside its glyphs. A normal OpenType font usually gives your software a monochrome outline, which you then fill with a colour. OpenType SVG can place several colours, gradients, transparency, highlights and shadows inside the character itself.
Those graphics can be made from vectors or embedded bitmap images. Fab Lolly uses vector artwork, so it doesn't have a fixed pixel resolution. The curves stay sharp when the type is enlarged for a poster, packaging design or oversized headline.
The phrase can become confusing because SVG appears in the name of the format. SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics, but OpenType SVG fonts can also contain bitmap imagery. If scale matters, check how the individual font was built rather than assuming every SVG font is automatically vector.
Fab Lolly is.
If you're new to the format, my guide to OpenType SVG versus regular OpenType fonts explains colour, compatibility, editing and the difference between vector and bitmap versions.
How is a vector colour font different from a regular font?
| Feature | Regular OpenType font | Fab Lolly OpenType SVG |
|---|---|---|
| Letter construction | Single-colour outlines | Layered vector artwork |
| Colour | Applied in the design software | Built into each glyph |
| Texture and detail | Added afterwards | Chocolate, shading and sprinkles included |
| Scaling | Sharp at any practical size | Sharp at any practical size |
| Editing the wording | Editable | Editable in compatible software |
| Changing the colours | Normally straightforward | Built-in colours may not respond to the standard colour picker |
| Software support | Very broad | Requires OpenType SVG support |
Why I made Fab Lolly as vectors
Bitmap colour fonts can reproduce real paint, ink, fabric and photographic texture brilliantly. I use that approach when the material itself matters. The trade-off is resolution: embedded images contain a fixed number of pixels, so every bitmap font has a practical maximum size—this font doesn't have that problem.
Fab Lolly needed clean shapes, bright colour and graphic detail rather than photographic texture. Vector artwork made more sense. It keeps the edges crisp and lets the font move comfortably from a birthday card to a large poster without any problems.
A brief history of the Fab
J. Lyons & Co launched the original Fab in 1967. Early wrappers and advertising tied it to Thunderbirds, particularly Lady Penelope and Parker, linking the name to the show's familiar reply, “F-A-B”. The TV link eventually disappeared, but the lolly didn't. It passed through Lyons Maid, Nestlé and Froneri over the years, and is still a familiar sight in British freezers every summer.
I wondered whether you could take the ethos of a Fab lolly—assuming an ice lolly can have an ethos—and turn it into a typeface. The chocolate, the sprinkles, the white ice cream and the red icy bit all had to go somewhere. The chunky uppercase letters provided enough room for the lot, while the chocolate and sprinkles did most of the talking. Nobody bought a Fab for its restraint.
The result feels nostalgic, but it isn't trying to copy old packaging or reproduce the lettering from a wrapper.
It takes the character of the lolly and turns it into a working display font. That was much more interesting than drawing another vaguely retro alphabet.
Why Fab Lolly has drip and non-drip versions
Fab Lolly includes two uppercase styles. One has a playful drip; the other keeps the bottom of the letters clean.
You can use both in the same piece. Set the main phrase in the dripping style, then use the cleaner version for a second line. That creates contrast while keeping everything within the same visual language.
Does Fab Lolly stay editable?
Yes. In software that supports OpenType SVG colour fonts, you can edit the words, size, tracking and alignment as you would with ordinary type. The difference is that the full-colour vector artwork appears inside the characters.
The built-in colours do not necessarily respond to the normal text-colour control. That is not the font misbehaving. The glyph contains several coloured elements rather than one empty outline waiting for a fill.
If you need to alter the artwork heavily, keep an editable text copy and work on a duplicate.
Where does a colour vector font work best?
Fab Lolly is a display font. It is built for short words and bold headlines, not the small print underneath a barcode.
It works particularly well for:
- Birthday cards and party invitations
- Summer posters, flyers and promotions
- Playful editorial and advertising headlines
- Children's products
- Social graphics
The vector construction makes it particularly useful when the same artwork needs to appear at several sizes. A product name might start on a small label, then turn up on a window graphic or exhibition panel. You don't need separate high-resolution letter images for each version.
How to use Fab Lolly without making a mess
Keep the message short
Colour fonts carry more visual information than ordinary type. Give Fab Lolly a product name, punchy phrase or short headline and let it get on with the job. A paragraph covered in sprinkles would become hard work surprisingly quickly.
Pair it with something quieter
Use a straightforward sans serif or serif for prices, dates, descriptions and supporting copy. Fab Lolly supplies the personality; the second typeface supplies the organisation. Two decorative fonts competing for attention is less a pairing and more an argument.
Give the drips enough room
Check the space below the letters when using the dripping style. Tight line spacing can make the drips crash into the next line or disappear behind another element.
Test it in the final application
OpenType SVG support varies between applications. Test the actual font in the software you intend to use before committing to a complete campaign. Clever font technology is brilliant. Finding out your chosen app ignores it five minutes before export is less brilliant.
What the Fab Lolly font includes
Fab Lolly contains uppercase letters in two styles—drip and non-drip—plus numbers and basic punctuation. It supports basic Latin A–Z. This is a focused display font rather than a large multilingual family, so check the included character set if your project needs accented letters or additional languages.
You can see both styles, the character set and current licensing options on the Fab Lolly OpenType SVG colour font page.
The short answer
Fab Lolly is a full-colour vector font packaged as an OpenType SVG font. Its chocolate, shading and sprinkles are built into scalable vector glyphs, while the words remain editable in compatible software. It gives designers a ready-made display treatment without turning every headline into a separate illustration job.
Subtle it isn't. That would rather defeat the point.
Frequently asked questions
What is a colour vector font?
A colour vector font stores multi-coloured vector artwork inside its characters. Unlike a normal monochrome font, each glyph can contain several colours and graphical details. Because the artwork is vector-based, it can scale without becoming pixelated.
Is Fab Lolly a vector or bitmap colour font?
Fab Lolly is a vector colour font. Its layered colours, chocolate coating, highlights and sprinkles are made from scalable vector artwork rather than embedded bitmap images.
Is a colour vector font still editable?
Yes, in compatible software. You can change the wording, size, tracking and alignment like ordinary text. The colours and graphical details remain built into the glyphs.
Can I enlarge Fab Lolly without losing quality?
Yes. Fab Lolly uses vector artwork, so it does not have a fixed pixel resolution. It can be enlarged for posters, packaging and other display work while keeping its edges sharp.
Can I change the colours in Fab Lolly?
The colours are embedded in the glyph artwork, so the standard text-colour picker may not change them. Keep an editable copy of the text before converting or altering the artwork in another way.
What software supports OpenType SVG colour fonts?
Support depends on the application and version. Current professional Adobe design applications support OpenType SVG, but you should test the font in the exact software and workflow you plan to use.
Written by Simon Stratford, type designer and graphic designer. These are my opinions, reached after too little sleep and too much coffee. You can also follow my antics on @itsmesimonok, or leave a comment below. Despite all the opinions, I’m actually quite nice.