How we print letters and words has made considerable progress. From the mechanical typesetting measure utilizing metal and wooden squares of letters, we’ve progressed to console inputs. Composing programming like Google docs and Microsoft Word permits us to utilize various letters and character plans, otherwise known as typeface.
However, these headways breed another quandary. From the huge number of choices, which typeface do we utilize? Typeface plans multiplied as an ever-increasing number of organizations take advantage of one-of-a-kind marking pictures. For example, Coca-Cola and Disney typefaces have left an imprint. Today, there may be half 1,000,000 fonts across the web, as text style families and type architects consistently develop.
That sheer size may be overpowering, yes. In any case, not until you realize the useful strides to get yourself away from this labyrinth. This article means to demystify the way toward picking the right typeface. So lock-in and track.
To begin with, how about we characterize a few terms:
What is typography?
Typography is the craft of organizing letters to make them seem understood and lovely. This game plan incorporates choosing the typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line dispersing, letter, and word dividing. So, typography manages everything about the plan and presence of letters and words.
What is the distinction between typeface and textual style?
- We regularly exchange typefaces and text styles such a lot that the distinction becomes hazy. Be that as it may, recognize what’s a typeface and what’s a text style.
- A typeface is a bunch of letters in order and accentuations that have a typical plan. The most widely recognized typeface bunches are serif, sans serif, chunk, and content. Helvetica, Calibri, and Arial fall under the typeface bunch. However, they are completely called typefaces. They have similar plans all through the letters in order including characters.
- Textual styles, then again, are more explicit sorts of typefaces. They can be strong, italic, 12 focuses, capitalized, and so forth For instance, Bold 12 point Helvetica is a textual style, same with Italic 10 point Arial, Light Calibri, and so forth The typeface is the greater class where the font falls under.
- In any case, this differentiation isn’t however significant as it might have been many years prior. That is when distributing goes through a typesetting machine and the letters are scratched in metals or woods. Distributers or typesetters are expected to decide the typeface and the textual style together to think of a steady plan all through the distribution.
How typography impacts your brand
- It Affects Brand Perception
Successful branding is partly about presenting an attractive and consistent visual appearance. From the website to typography, brands must present a beautiful experience to the customers. People not only buy because of the products but also because of the experince. A good way to give these customers a great experience is through clear, legible, and beautiful typefaces.
Typography is everywhere in the brand. From the logo to the website content, typography occupies a good deal of space. So whether you like it or not, customers will have either a positive or negative perception of your brand through the choice of typefaces. Will they consider your brand as serious or quirky, energizing or professional, minimalistic or complicated? You may not notice but typography can help shape these perceptions.
- It influences decision making
Some typeface designs are overused or overdesigned. The likes of Comic Sans, Papyrus, and British Script can appear on personal blogs but never on a professional website, or else viewers or potential buyers might not take them seriously. Hence, most successful business brands use clear and legible typography such as Arial and Roboto either for the logo or the website body.
People are more likely to trust and buy from brands that have a good font choice. Especially with brands that are consistent with their tone and message. Typeface is another form of visual language. As long as it helps forge connections with customers, it’s critical to the sales process.
- It holds the readers’ attention
Several things can affect readers’ attention when they view a website: content, persuasiveness, pictures, authority, length, etc. Typography also plays in the background. The design, space, and size of the characters can nudge the readers to either finish reading or jump to the next website. Studies say that the bigger the fonts, the faster the reading experience. Also, larger font sizes elicit a stronger emotional response, according to a Tel Aviv University study.
So basically the kind of typeface evokes emotions. And emotions are what drives sales, right? Hence, you might as well spend some time researching the best typeface for your business, something that resonates with the target audience.
How to pick the right typeface and fonts:
- Know Your Brand Personality
Typefaces are not one-size-fits-all. That’s the reason typefaces grew in number over time. Companies want to brand themselves as unique, hence the use of custom-made typefaces.
So to choose the right one in an ocean of typefaces, first, you must understand your brand personality. It’s simply choosing words that best describes the brand: professional, artsy, unique, high-end, cheap, minimal, sustainable.
On a small piece of paper, write down any words you may want to associate with the brand. Think of lively, artistic, ethical, eco-friendly, pretty, etc.
Think of the customers — what kind of service do you give, what kind of experience? Jot down as many right words as possible.
- Know the Personality of a Typeface
Depending on their design, typefaces give off different meanings. Once you figure out the brand personality, it’s time to understand the typeface personality.
Now typefaces might be so many. Yet there are only five major typeface groups from which other specific typefaces belong: serif, sans-serif, slab, script, and decorative.
- Serif
Serif is the most well-known group of typefaces. Timeless and classic brands like Time Magazine, The New York Times, and Rolex use this typeface either in their logo or website copy.
“Serif” is the name of the line at end of every letter stroke:
This typeface group is the oldest of its kind dating back to Roman antiquity. These days, most company brands use serif styles in the body of a text — say a copy on a website, or a brochure, or an email marketing campaign.
But for a logo, here are some of the brands that incorporate a serif design:
Companies that have a longstanding influence, authority, and market share use a serif typeface.
Serif fonts are classy, literary, high-end, educated, and professional. If those words seem like a good fit for your brand, go for serifs. In that case, serif works either as a logo or a body copy:
Coampies using serif font: Prada, Gucci, iffanny &co, Rolex etc
- Sans-Serif
Sans-serif fonts are more modern as they appeared later in the 19th century. Sans serif designs have a clean, minimalist style.
“Sans” is a French word that means “without.” Therefore, sans serif is the absence of a decorative line at the end of a character’s stroke — without serif.
Sans serifs are generally reliable across all platforms. You can use it anywhere, in a logo or a body copy, in print, or in digital. Different weights can slightly alter the meaning. For example, Bold serif is attentive and hardworking, and the thin serif means glamorous and noble.
Big tech companies like Google and Yahoo ditched their serif logotypes in the past and replaced them with a clean sans serif style. So for a startup with no established authority, it’s best to stick to a sans serif logotype.
ex. pintrest, google, spotify,airbnbetc
Here are the most used serifs: Helvetica, Arial, Open Sans, Roboto, and Source Sans Pro
Most websites use a sans-serif typeface in the content.
- Slab
Slab typefaces are different kinds of serif that appeared in the 1800s. They are often big and bulkier with thick serifs or decorative lines at the end of the character’s stroke. Typewriter font is one example.
Slab serif is famous among posters and flyers as it tends to be bold and eye-catching.
Some long-standing brands use a slab serif logotype
volvo,zony,honda etc
- Script
Script is a special group of typefaces derived from a cursive handwriting style. They can be casual and playful, unique and artistic. Hence, you must use this style with intention and restraint. They’re best as logos not as a body copy as they can be illegible sometimes.
Script styles can be formal or cursive. Formal scripts are more graceful, elegant, and fluid, while cursive scripts are a bit loose with thick strokes as if written with a pen or a brush.
Here are some of the brands’ script-laden logos:
cococola, cartier, chamion, wilson, kellog’s, instagram
- Decorative
Decorative typefaces can be of any style. They’re the most varied kind of typeface group. They’re for brands that prioritize creativity, uniqueness, and playfulness.
A decorative typeface may not be for everybody. They are very specific and unique to a brand. To use a decorative typeface in the logo, it’s best to customize.
Also, decorative fonts are only applicable to logos not for a header and body copy.
Find inspiration from these brands for a stylized logo typeface:
fanta, lego, disney, mcdocnalds
- Know Your Budget Limits
Before we even choose from the hundreds of font selections, we should first look into what our budget allows.
Our first option is to scour the web for free typefaces. The web has blessed us with several open-source fonts. They’re the best options for startups with a limited budget and design resources. The catch is that everybody uses them.
Where to Look:
- Font Squirrel
- Font Library
- Font face Ninja
- Google Fonts
- Open Source
The second option is what’s called “primary” fonts. While there are inexpensive options, licensing can be a bit of a problem. When you use these paid fonts, you must also pay for the license to use them across all platforms. So the expenses can pile up. Apart from owning the fonts, only a limited number of brands use the same style.
Primary fonts can be found here:
- Fonts.com
- FontShop
- Linotype Library of Fonts
- Typekit
The last option is the most expensive: custom-made typefaces. Here, you have the utmost control of the output and the copyrights. Professional designers may stick to your core branding strategies allowing you to create not only a unique style but also a product that is relative to your branding message.
If you’re a startup struggling with the right typeface, might as well use the kind of typeface that every brand uses. Don’t go overboard with artistic fonts unless you have the resources and designers to come up with a complete character design. Contact Us so we can create a professional logo representing your brand image.
