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Fonts Matter: Fall In Love with the Right Type

by Christine Johns | Sep 20, 2019 | Creative, Digital

I remember as a teenager asking my parents to recount the story of how they met and fell in love. The story itself is quite the comedy of errors, but after I collected myself from spasmodic bouts of laughter, I prodded a bit further and put forward the critical question: how did you know you were right for each other? And after going through the exhaustive list of qualities and character traits each admired in the other, it finally came down to three simple words. We just knew.

As designers, we usually love stories like this because we also love metaphor. We love how life connects—and sometimes collides—with our art. And nothing brings a designer more joy than having what I call the “font rapture” – that singular moment when you are working diligently on a client project, trawling through endless pages of typefaces, and suddenly you see the one, and you fall helplessly in love. The love deepens even more if it is free, but that’s another story.

This is it. There are no others. This font has captured your heart, and you know the client will be rapturous over it as well.

You might say after reading these first few paragraphs that I am a bit of a font snob. It is true! Any serious designer unapologetically embodies this level of snobbery. And if you have worked with a designer who agonizes over the choice of font for your project, be thankful they do, because the wrong font choice and/or pairing can ruin a meticulously planned strategy.

Recently, while I was looking through my news feed on Facebook, I came across a design meme that inspired me to write this blog (see below).

fonts matter

This meme hilariously demonstrates how the wrong font can singlehandedly destroy all your hard work in a nanosecond, and this happens because what we experience physically, mentally, and emotionally correlates to how we interpret art, and in this case, typography.

No matter what we do or where we go, fonts play a daily and important role in our lives and how we view the world. And when it comes to creative, advertising, branding, and marketing, font choice can make or break your client or agency.

Here is why the right font matters.

Type reflects our real-world moods, emotions, and expressions. The psychological effect of type has documented readers’ experiences with various typefaces and how they perceived the tone of an article. In the wonderful infographic below by Crazy Egg, we see how each font type can express a different emotional tone.

type choices

Fonts establish hierarchy. How do you know what to read first on a screen or on a printed piece? Thank a designer, who understands how to skillfully and subtly organize elements on a page using a combination of complimentary fonts and graphics to ensure you derive intended meaning and emotional experience from the piece.

Fonts bring order from chaos. Consistency in design using fonts can be enough to bring clarity to a digital or printed piece. It also keeps things simple and easy to read.

Fonts aid in brand recognition and recall. Ever wonder why certain iconic product logos are so easily recognized? It’s due in large part to the font. For example, if you were to use the Coca-Cola script font in a different manner, using completely different words, you would still recognize it as being the “Coke font” or the “Coke logo”. The correct font can strengthen your brand’s recognition and personality, making it unforgettable to your audience.

Are you ready to begin a lifelong love affair with your organization’s design projects? Make sure you choose the best font for your organization. Don’t be afraid to be selective and you will reap the rewards.

If your business, ministry, or organization needs a design facelift, reach out to Infinity Concepts!
CLICK HERE or call us today at 724.733.1200.

Christine Johns
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