Fonts are the main tools to convey your message from the sender (you) to the receiver (your clients). Part of what graphic design is supposed to accomplish is to make this message look attractive so your customers will actually engage with your brand and read your message. That means choosing different type styles and sizes based on what you hope to accomplish with your piece and who is intended to be your audience. It’s easier to choose these fonts when you understand what a font is and why it’s important, which is what I’ll be sharing here.
First up, what is a font?
Font: Fonts are the name for the entire set of letters
Typeface: a typeface refers to the style of the letters themselves
To put this in terms that might make more sense. Fonts come in families just like we do. So, think of the typeface or font family as their last name and think of the font as their first name. For example, John Doe and Jane Doe come from the same family or typeface – Doe, but their individual font is John or Jane. So, Arial Regular comes from the Arial family and its individual name is Regular.
People use the terms interchangeably even though that’s technically wrong! Sometimes designers like myself do it too!
Why are fonts important?
The type or text in a design is important. It helps determine a few things including the tone, brand, level of professionalism, and feel or vibe of the design. These are all things we as humans pick up on subconsciously. While you may not look at a design and say out loud “gee that’s very professional I think I’ll call them” your mind is doing that without you noticing. That’s why it so important to know your audience and what type of feelings you want them to have!
You see fonts are kind of like clothes. They come in groups and we determine meaning from how they look. Some fonts feel more casual than others such as Arial vs Times New Roman. Others like Brush Script or Segoe Print are meant to mimic handwriting and feel more natural. Fonts like Algerian and Braggadocio are outlandish and fun! They can even remind us of periods of time in the past like Playbill for the wild west era.
Now you have a better understanding of what a font is and why they are important! This information goes a long way into determining what fonts to choose for your audience. Choosing fonts for a design can be incredibly fun once you understand them and how they work and you have a headstart on understanding them and making great font choices!
If you’re ready to see how graphic design can massively uplevel your impact and income, drop me an email & I’ll hook you up with a FREE 1:1 Branding & Design Strategy Session where we’ll chat about your business, your goals, and give you tips on how design can get you where you want to be and see if working together makes sense!