30 Best Retro Text Effects & Styles for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Are you on the lookout for the best retro text effects and styles to use in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator?

In this post, we list a wide variety of retro and vintage text effects that cover the entirety of the 20th century.

Most have a DPI of 300 and use Photoshop’s Smart Objects feature.

Let’s take a look at our picks of the best vintage text effects for your next project.

The Best Retro Text Effects & Styles

01. Retro Text Effects V.02

This is a collection of text effects for Photoshop that resemble typography styles from the 60s and earlier. They come as PSD files and in 2,000 x 1,500px dimensions.

Why it’s our top pick

This set features a collection of 12 vintage text effects that span different decades from the first half of the 20th century, giving you many options to pick from. It’d make a great addition to any graphic designer’s personal library.

02. Retro Text Effects

Retro Text Effects is another collection of text effects that resemble vintage text styles from the early to mid 20th century. They come in PSD and ASL file formats and 2,560 x 2,000px dimensions.

03. 70s Retro Text Effects

As expected, this collection features retro text effects inspired by the 1970s. These files come in dimensions of 2,000 x 1,500px and in PSD format.

04. 80s Text Effects Vol. 2

80s Text Effects Vol. 2 is a collection of 10 text effects inspired by styles that were popular in the 1980s. They come as 10 PSD files with dimensions of 2,000 x 1,500px.

05. 90s Text Effects

This collection of text effects features styles inspired by the 1990s. They come as PSD files in a dimension of 4,000 x 3,000px.

06. Citrus Retro Text Effect

Citrus is a single retro text effect available as a script font style inspired by text styles of the 60s and 70s. It comes as a PSD file in a 3,508 x 2,480px dimension.

07. Holochrome Text Effects

Holochrome is a collection of text effects in various styles inspired by holochrome styles of the 80s. There are six PSD files in 3,000 x 2,000px dimensions.

08. 3D Cartoon Text Effects

3D Cartoon Text Effects is a retro text effect collection inspired by text styles used in vintage cartoons. The styles come in PSD file format in 2,000 x 1,500px dimensions.

09. Vintage Text Effects Vol. 2

Vintage Text Effects Vol. 2 is another retro text effect collection inspired by styles prominent within the first half of the 20th century. There are 10 styles in PSD file format and 2,000 x 1,500px dimensions.

10. Comics Text Effects

Comics Text Effects, as the name implies, is a collection of text effects inspired by comic book typography. This includes comic books popular in the 40s, 50s and 60s. You get 10 styles in PSD and ASL file formats.

11. Multicolor Retro Text Effects Set

This is a retro text effect collection for Adobe Illustrator. As such, it comes in AIT, AI and EPS file formats. The effects themselves feature vibrant, modern takes on vintage text styles.

12. Retro Text Effects Vol. 3

This collection features more effects inspired by vintage typography styles from the first half of the 20th century. It comes with 10 PSD files in 2,000 x 1,500px dimensions.

13. Hologram Text Effects

This collection applies neon text effects to numerous retro text styles. It includes eight styles available in PSD and ASL file formats and in 2,560 x 2,000px dimensions.

14. Vintage Text Effects Vol. 6

Vintage Text Effects Vol. 6 is a collection of retro text styles inspired by fonts popular in the 40s and 50s. It has 10 styles available in PSD file format and a dimension of 2,000 x 1,500px.

15. Retro Text Effects Vol. 2

This is another collection of retro text effects inspired by styles of the early to mid 20th century. It features 10 PSD files in dimensions of 2,000 x 1,500px.

16. Retro Text Effects V01

Retro Text Effects V01 features 3D text styles that mimic text styles found within signage prominent in the 40s and 50s. The collection is available as 10 PSD files in seven colors and in dimensions of 2,020 x 1,500px as well as one ASL file.

17. Vintage Retro Text Effects

This collection of retro text effects combines vintage text styles with 3D effects and black-and-white color schemes reminiscent of older TV shows and films. There are 11 PSD files in dimensions of 2,000 x 1,500px.

18. Retro Text Effects Vol. 1

This collection of retro text effects features a mix of script and slab text styles inspired by similar styles seen within the 50s and 60s. It has 10 PSD files in total with each file having a dimension of 2,000 x 1,500px.

19. Retro School

Retro School is a single text style that combines a sans-serif font with a script font to form a text effect inspired by high school text styles popular in the 1950s. The style features a graph paper design. It comes as a single AI or EPS file.

20. Stranger Things Text Effect

While Stranger Things is a modern TV show, it still takes place in the 80s and features styles prominent within that time period. This includes text styles. This text effect is inspired by the show’s title logo that displays near the start of every episode. The effect comes as a single PSD file in a dimension of 2,535 x 1,950px.

21. Retro Vintage Text Styles

This is a diverse collection of vintage text styles inspired by popular typography styles prominent throughout the 20th century. The collection features 10 styles but comes with 11 AI files and 10 JPEG files.

22. Retro Melt Text Effect

Retro Melt Text Effect is a single text effect inspired by wavy, “psychedelic” text styles that were popular in the 70s. It comes with one PSD file and one JPG file and in a dimension of 4,500 x 3,000px.

23. Retro Text Effects V2

Retro Text Effects V2 is a simple retro text effect collection featuring 10 effects inspired by styles of the early 20th century, including old film text styles. It comes with 10 PSD files and seven colors or a single ASL file. Dimensions are 2,020 x 1,500px each.

24. Outline Text Effects

Outline Text Effects isn’t a dedicated retro text effect collection, but its styles are similar to those that were popular in the 70s and 80s. The collection has eight separate file collections in PSD, ASL and JPG formats. Its dimensions are 2,560 x 2,000px.

25. Shiny Gold Realistic 3D Text Effects

This 3D, golden text effect features modern styles, but it resembles text styles often used on the covers of fantasy novels published in the 1970s. It comes with a single PSD file.

26. Pop Art Text Effects

Pop Art Text Effects is a vibrant text effect collection featuring styles inspired by pastel color schemes and text styles of the 80s and early 90s. It comes with eight PSD files.

27. Colorful Gradient Graffiti Text Effect

This is not a dedicated retro text effect, but it’s similar to graffiti text styles that rose in popularity with the emerging hip hop scene of the 80s and 90s. It comes with a single PSD file in a resolution of 3,000 x 2,000px.

28. Movie Title 3D Text Effect

This “movie title” text effect uses a very familiar text style popularized by a famous 80s movie: Back to the Future. It comes as a single PSD file in a resolution of 4,000 x 2,667px.

29. 80’s Retro Text Effects Vol. 1

This collection of 80s text effects is a little more vibrant and extensive than the other 80s collection in our list. It has 10 styles available in PSD files and in a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080px each.

30. Christmas Text Effects Vol. 1

This collection features holiday-inspired text effects from decades past. It comes with 10 PSD files in resolutions of 2,000 x 1,500px each.

Final Thoughts

The majority of these text effects are very easy to use. All you need to do is replace your text with your chosen effect by using Photoshop’s Smart Objects feature.

This works with logos, vector shapes and regular text.

Deciding on a text effect is a lot more difficult.

If you’re having trouble, stick with templates that come with more than one effect so you have options to work with.