When it comes to design, typography is vital. We see it everywhere. Well, read it everywhere. Board game boxes, posters, brochures, movies, books, TV. The written word is more than letters; it’s a design possibility. The right font can make a product look enticing or a company seem exciting. The wrong one can leave consumers in confusion. Such as curly cursive or very fine print instructions.
I have a slight obsession with typography right now as I learned so much about the do’s and don’t’s of type. And I’m still learning more as I dive into the world of editorial design. So, it’s time to jump into the wild world of fonts and the written word.
What is Typography (and Typeface)?
Typography is the study of type. Pretty easy. Since Gutenberg invented his printing press, type blocks had to be created. Gone were the days of handwriting everything; you could print in whatever font you wanted. Designers created all kinds of letter forms, each with different purposes. Headline fonts were meant to excite while smaller fonts were meant to be read. Each of these blocks had one size and style, and this is a typeface (the specific size and style of a particular font). Everyone’s heard of fonts, which are collections of typefaces. When you download a font, you’re getting a whole set of styled typefaces.
While it’d be fun to jump into the structure and design of typefaces, that’s for a later post. What’s more important, and frankly difficult, is picking the right one for your business, personal brand, or design project. Especially in the 1980’s when computers became more popular and software better priced, anyone and everyone was designing type. Thousands of typefaces exist, so the word “typography” has become synonymous with picking the right font for the right design. Here’s how to sift through all the beautiful chaos.
I. Define Your Theme/Mission
Every font has a particular voice or personality. Sounds weird, but it’s true. Cursive “sounds” different from block letters. So how to choose? Figure out what you’re saying and how you want to say it. I suggest writing a creative brief as it organizes your thoughts and makes the underlying theme more visible. Having everything you want to say written down also helps so you can gauge whether it’s sarcastic or warm. All of these components give your design, whether for a company brand or personal poster, a voice. The font you choose should match that voice and amplify it just a smidge.
II. Font Selection
There’s lots of resources when it comes to downloading fonts. For businesses, you probably need to pay for a license in order to use it. For personal use or non-commercial (not selling items using the type), you should be fine. Lots of places to download free fonts, like Font Squirrel. However, it’s good to know the different categories of fonts as this determines the look, feel, and structure of the type.
Serif
e.g. Times New Roman: Serif fonts have small dashes called serifs that adorn the ends of every stroke. These were some of the first typeface and are very easy to read.
Sans Serif
e.g. Calibri: “Sans” means “no,” so this literally means “no serif.” Same general form as serif fonts, but not as easy to read at small scale because there’s no serif.
Slab Serif
These are serif fonts with thicker serifs. Think Times New Roman but the small additions are more prominent. I don’t really use these, but if you look for them, you can find some interesting fonts.
Script
e.g. cursive: With the digital age growing, designers wanted to keep the feel of written type. Script fonts mimic cursive or have a more slanted letter form. Some lean toward sans serif fonts while others are very curly.
Blackletter
e.g. calligraphy: I love blackletter. These fonts resemble medieval and Renaissance type with heavy strokes and strong contrasts in stroke. While not always legible, more modern variations like Fleisch are out there.
Handwritten
e.g. Chalkboard: Similar to script, these fonts mimic actually handwriting. They just do a better job of it than the crazy cursive in script.
Monospace
I’m not positive what these are, but my guess is the letter forms are constructed to fit one px width. Meaning “one size fits all.”
Decorative
These are fun fonts too. Decorative can be the symbol alphabets you sometimes find or a more stylistic variation of the previous. Such as a slab serif that looks like gravel. Or a monospace made of geometric forms.
Two typefaces (particular size and style of a font) are enough for simple pieces like a brochure, book, or logo. Even three is okay, but don’t exceed three. Too many typefaces lead to an unorganized, unprofessional, and unclear design. If I could figure out how, everything on this site would be Century Gothic and Gloucester to match my brand. There’s such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Final Thoughts: Simple Speaks Volumes
Again, too much of a good thing is bad. Even though typography is absolutely phenomenal. I play with it all the time and can’t help collecting new fonts on a daily basis. But in the end, the simplest fonts say the most. Mainly because they’re more legible, but also because there’s more than typography working here. There’s graphics, color, page sizing. All parts create a whole design, and the whole design has to sing together. No one is a solo artist, so don’t discredit the simpler fonts.
