Tutorial: How to Use Alternates and Ligatures in Fonts

At Burntilldead, we always aim to provide high-quality fonts not only with aesthetic and unique designs, but also by including alternates and ligatures in almost every typeface we release.

If you love exploring creative design using unique fonts, you’ve probably heard of alternates and ligatures. These two features can instantly make your text more stylish and stand out. But how exactly do you use them?

We’ve previously written an article about the difference between alternates and ligatures, and in this tutorial, we’ll walk you through how to access and use them step by step!

Alternates are stylistic variations of certain characters. For example, the letter “a” might have a regular version and another one with decorative swashes.
Ligatures are special character combinations where two letters are merged into one stylish glyph like “fi”, “fl”, or even more decorative ones like “th” or “tt”.

These features are typically found in OpenType Fonts, especially premium ones crafted by professional designers.

To use alternates and ligatures, you’ll need design software that supports OpenType features, such as:

• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe InDesign
• CorelDRAW
• Affinity Designer
• Free apps like FontBase (for preview) or Google Docs (for basic ligature support)

1. Install the font first. Make sure you’re using a font that supports OpenType features.
2. Open Adobe Illustrator and type your text.
3. Select the text → open the Character panel.
4. Click the menu icon in the top-right corner of the panel → choose OpenType.
5. Check Ligatures and Contextual Alternates.
6. To manually choose an alternate:
   • Select the character → right-click → Alternate for Selection (you’ll see a pop-up list).
   • Or open the Glyphs Panel via Type > Glyphs.

1. Type your text in Photoshop.
2. Select the text → open the Character Panel.
3. Click the burger menu icon → enable OpenType > Stylistic Alternates.
4. To access more glyph options, go to Window > Glyphs.

• Want to access alternates quickly? Just highlight the character, then right-click—a list of available alternates will usually appear.
• Some fonts have ligatures or alternates that are automatically enabled. If they don’t show up, try turning them on manually from the OpenType panel.

Alternates and ligatures aren’t just for looks they can help elevate your branding, add more personality to your design, and make your work truly stand out.

Now that you know how to use alternates and ligatures, it’s time to get creative with your favorite fonts! Don’t forget most fonts from Burntilldead Studio come with awesome stylistic alternates and ligatures that you can easily explore and play around with! 

Still have questions? Feel free to drop them in the comments or DM us on Instagram anytime!