Why Fonts Are important
Fonts, or more professionally known as typography, play a huge role in our daily lives whether we realize it or not. It’s everywhere from physical signs to websites to the lettering in our phones and more. When you look at the typography, do you realize you are making a connection between the typography and the business and/or message itself? There’s a reason why there is a whole science behind typography and why designers spend so much time picking out the perfect one for any and all projects.
But what exactly is typography? To put it simply, it’s the arrangement of letters in certain styles and structures to convey messages and emotions. Typography builds brand recognition in the most difficult, yet easiest way possible. Just think of all those big brands out there, like Coca-Cola, Doritos, or Ford. You see those fonts, and right off the bat, you know whose brand that is without even seeing the full product.
Typography has to be powerful enough to hold and influence choices and hold someone’s attention. It has to be easy to read and understand, but also make you want to find out more about the product and/or business.
Although fonts are generally used to describe text, it is actually just a part of typography. Under the typography umbrella, so to speak, there is typeface and font. A typeface is an entire family of fonts in different ‘styles/texture’ and then there are fonts, which is part of the typeface family. For example, a typeface would be ‘Arial’ and then a font would be ‘Arial Bold’, ‘Arial Narrow’, ‘Arial Rounded’, etc.
To break it down even further, there are three types of basic fonts; serif, sans-serif, and decorative. Serif tends to be easier to read, with each letter having a ‘kickstand’ on the ends of the letters. Decorative speaks for itself and is typical used for one word or in fun headlines and sans-serif is your typical font. When designing, designers keep their overall design down to three fonts, otherwise, it gets too messy and inconsistent.
When thinking about typography, there are other design elements that you have to think about. These elements are contrast, consistency, white space, alignment, and color. Each plays a different role in how they convey a message. A professional designer will know how to use these elements properly. To get an idea of what you like, think about the ads, logos, websites, or magazine spreads that attract you and try and discover what you like most about them. What makes you feel and what makes you want to know more.
When it comes to picking out typography for your website, you have to think of what you want your website to do. What action do you want your site’s visitors to take? What do you want them to feel? What is the feeling of your site, it has to reflect your business. Not only that, but it has to be functional and make sense. You don’t want to confuse your visitors. And of course, just because you like something, doesn’t mean your visitors will or that it will work. So, testing is key! Website designers are usually graphic designers themselves or have graphic designers on staff, but either way, they can easily perfect the perfect website typography for you.