Fonts are crucial. In the famous saying that a picture is worth thousand words, fonts are indeed the speaker system enunciating those words. Get it right and absolutely nobody notices it. However, get it wrong and it sticks out like a sore thumb.
That is when your designs fall on the wrong side of the Font culture. You have everything to lose. Your intended message is lost in the waves of dismissal that audiences pass momentarily upon landing on your page.
While it is said that there is no such thing as bad publicity and that all publicity is good. Choosing fonts literally goes against the grain in this regard. Failure to understand the proper usage of fonts could lead to insurmountable disaster for your business.
Your designs will get publicity but for all the wrong reasons. The hard work and toil that you will have put in will go to complete waste. Your designs will be an example of how not to use fonts rather than applauding them for the relevant material they upload.
What Makes Fonts so Important
Different fonts carry different meanings and you want to be certain that for your target audience, the intended message is conveyed. A bolded font and an Italic font would describe two complete different messages to a similar audience reading the same text.
Fonts present to us the identity of the person or brand behind the designs. In a split second, someone decides whether or not they want to engage based on the presentation.
Did you know that fonts affect the reading speed? Imagine that. There are fonts which when used increase considerably the speed by which your audience goes through your article. When you get your audience to the end then you know that they will definitely get a chance to view your call to action and that is the goal.
In this article, we discuss 6 proven tips to follow when selecting fonts.
Sounds good?
Let’s dive right in…
6 Proven Tips to Follow when Selecting Fonts
Having realized the great importance that fonts hold to ultimate success, here are 6 proven tips that will place right ahead of the whole pack;
#1. Readability
This is the most pertinent. Does the targeted audience find comfort engaging with the chosen fonts? Is it a joy to read whatever it is that has been made available? You can possibly get everything else wrong but not this one. This is the primary need. I mean we write so that other people can read and find value in what we have written. If the reading does not occur because of the fonts in use, in essence that defeats the whole purpose of writing wouldn’t you agree?
#2. Your Audience
What kind of audience are you trying to appeal to? Is it a serious kind of audience, or is it a carefree type? This will be your ultimate guide to selecting relevant fonts. There are different types of typefaces within a particular font and knowing your audience will enable you to know where to start. When you know who you are trying to attract, then you can select particular typefaces that will be your go to partners that you can adapt to different projects and are certain to always deliver the intended results.
#3. The Context
Right from the start we said readability is number one, no compromise. What follows immediately thereafter is the audience, who help you select the appropriate typefaces within a font. In this regard, different context will require maximum use of a particular typeface and minimal use of another one. It would be totally uncool to be caught using a font that prescribes playfulness on a context that requires some form of seriousness. The context which sets the tone will in this way help you select an appropriate font that will not mislead you audience.
#4. The medium
Your medium of communication is another crucial factor that will help you in determining which type of fonts to settle on to bring out the wow factor. Is it intended for print media or is it just for the web? While focusing on the print media, it’s safe to say that a simplistic approach on legibility and use of ink are considered while the web requires a more complex approach in determining which fonts will best serve your clients need whilst remaining competitive amongst all other sites.
#5. Length
Inevitably the length comes into play in such a practical way. We talked about typefaces in fonts and how you could have specific typefaces that you have predetermined to be your go to partners. To decide which ones you should use, the length of your designs play an instrumental role. If the length is relatively short and you have images to display along with it, then you have an idea of which typefaces you should use to ensure your design doesn’t look scanty. On the other hand, a long design would need you to select a typeface that prevents it from looking bloated and too much to take in.
#6. Memorability
In essence the fonts that you use are what the audience uses to remember your brand. When the need arises to increase the memorability of some aspects, then yes fonts are the answer. Simply select a font which you believe will truly stick in the mind of your audience and if all else is forgotten, then they will definitely remember that particular thing.
Conclusion
Fonts play a crucial role in our marketing efforts, much more than we were made to believe while we were in school. Aside from the serif and sans serif, there is a lot of value that can be derived from applying the right font. Take a step to embrace your typefaces and let your fonts work for you.
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