Many companies put a great deal of time and effort musing over the minutiae of their brands, ensuring that everything is, as they would like! This obsession will cover everything from their colour palette to the style of images – but few put that same effort into their typeface selection!
Font selection is a powerful tool that can portray messages beyond that of the words it writes. The typeface is a subliminal persuader that will not only grab the attention of its audience, but also set the tone of the medium. In fact, it is perceived to be so important that large ‘organisations’ often spend tens of thousands of pounds in developing their own unique font.
When you come to making that all-important choice, one of first choices will be your decision between serif and sans serif typefaces.
Serifs are details that are seen on the ends of some of the strokes that form part of the letter, number or symbol. Sans serif on the other hand are letters, numbers or symbols without these details.
Generally, it is considered that serif fonts are difficult to read when used in long passages, and therefore most designers consider sans-serif fonts the ideal choice for body text. Serif fonts in contrast are often used in headings, logos and short passages of text to portray warmth and elegance, which contrasts to the more cold and engineered sans-serif fonts.
So as you can see, the right choice of font cannot only improve the visual appearance of your company’s brand, but can help instill your company’s core messages. A good typeface should create an emotional response, a sense of recognition and instill trust.