“Why care about fonts and typography at all?” A controversial brand argument. The brand is the unique persona that identifies a product, person, service or place. A design provides us the visual representation of a brand. The assortment of typefaces and their arrangement can be as significant as the use of images, color or abstract graphics in crafting a brand, and this is by and large easy to explain.
While working with almost any sort of design/marketing agency, it has become more and more imperative to understand how fonts work & how valuable they are for an entire design. Your designer should help lead you in the right directions, yet you can better converse your needs by gaining a deeper insight into the typography.
The Difference between a Font and a Typeface
One of the most common misapprehensions in the design area is the misuse and subbing of these two terms. Very important it is to be aware of the fact that a typeface is actually just a single individual piece of a font. Whereas the fonts refer to an entire group of similar typefaces. For example, Gotham is a Font, while Gotham Light, Gotham Light Italic, Gotham Light Book Gotham Book Italic, Gotham Bold and Gotham Bold Italic are some of the typefaces that constitute “Gotham” – the font.
Each typeface has its own unique group of characteristics but still borrows a resemblance from the main font. Understanding many various typeface choices is a crucial step in the development of the designers.
Important Font Terms
Since there is a massive amount of fonts available these days, no individual designer will ever be acquainted with every font out there. However, being aware of the important terms in this domain provides a basis for understanding all fonts in the main.
Serif refers to a slight protrusion at the stroke’s end, typically found at the bottom of letters. Some people refer to these projections as the “little feet.” They help the attention flow through sentences more easily. Whereas the Sans Serif, conversely, is differing to the Serif font and lacks those “little feet.”
“Script” is a well-known popular font type known for providing a professional and light appeal. Certificates, diplomas, and other formal design/documents make use of this font type.
Why it Matters
For some designers, it is hard to consider that slight alterations in different font types can truly have a major impact on a marketing campaign or design. Does font choice really affect consumer behavior?
Certainly! There are many cases that can advocate this time and time again. Electrolux -the global leader in providing home and professional appliances- has gone for its new brand identity this year.
The main change notice in this rebranding is the replacement of the serif word-mark by a typeface that seems slightly similar to the Hurme Geometric Sans No.3 Semi-bold. The Curved “E” looks a bit odd, but one cannot oversee its affiliation with the counter spaces of Electrolux logo.
Even the slightest of details can create the difference between failure and success in the design world. Specialized designers play an exceedingly important role in helping companies earn market share and avoid marketing mistakes.
One can take guidance from the free font websites where you can have thousands of high-quality fonts that can be easily previews, downloaded and used in a matter of minute, but make sure to keep away from those SCAM websites.