One of the biggest challenges in designing a brand, for me, is without a doubt - choosing the perfect Font. We get on well in terms of shapes, colors, intonations, volumes, images to back up our brand, but we often underestimate the role of fonts in our presentation of ourselves.

And when we get to it - the step often seems impossible to finish. There is an absolute infinity when it comes to choices we are offered, and even then we trouble even selecting the right type of font to begin with. Why are some fonts better than others, some more expensive, and what do they really say about us to the large audience - that is what we will try to reveal by observing these four types of fonts.

Serif

Serif stands for a bit conservative and traditional font type. It is frequently appeared in newspapers and books, while designers seem to avoid this type of fonts because it is not the most readable one. This, however, was an obstacle that high quality screens easily overcame, bringing Serif back in the game. Serif font is easily recognizable by its divots on the end of the letters. These can be different from font to font, and although serif is more readable on the screen, it is not nearly as used as the sans font types, or their hybrid sans serif.

This font is best used for the body of the text, good to pair with a sans serif font, and not recommended in large amounts - except if you want your text to have that old-fashioned look.

Sans Serif

Sans serif is a much simpler font type than serif, and this doesn't make it dull - it rather gives it the elegance and sense of fashion, and there is a lot to experiment with these fonts. There is a reason why this font type has been dominating the visuals online, and this is mostly because of its simplicity and the fact that it is super easy to read. With different fonts from this type you can make any statement you'd like - there are tall, thick, stretched versions of the fonts among which you can find the absolute perfect one for your brand. Even when we are talking about a font of this type that is often used, you can most certainly still match it with your identity.

It is great for the text body, but also for your brand name. Take precautions when choosing very thin or tall fonts, because of its readability. Best part about this type is that you can match them with any other font type you choose. My personal favorite from this family is Roboto.

Script

Now, this font type gives you the chills as if you have just received a hand written letter. And just like a real letter, besides the emotion flow, they are very difficult to read. This is why these fonts are the least common in the design world. The impression this font is giving to the reader, and the emotional connection it is establishing, may often come across as a feminine writing style. But, nonetheless, this font is also messy and it is not recommended to be used in a text block.

It makes good few words, titles, brand names (arts and crafts frequently rely on these fonts), it gives your website the special ingredient. It is well combined with sans serif, just like the others.

Slab

Emerging from a serif typeface, slab has become an independent font type, referring to any other type with powerful thick stroke weights on the letters. This font type came in well when it comes to big headlines and this typeface is your expert on getting attention and focus of the consumer. In small amounts, this font is perfect for advertisement, but also for the news headlines - it shouts out the message and it sticks with the readers.

This aggressive approach is your choice if you are dedicated to marketing of your product/brand, and seeking to attract more consumers and attract them fast. These funky fonts can be used nicely in design when combined with photos - they are bold and there is a lot of space to be filled in the body of the letters. They are well combined with sans serif or serif for the text body.

There are four main types of typefaces, and they work best together if combined well. It is important to think about combining two different font types - one for the headline and one for the body. This achieves a great effect of highlighting the important headlines, but it is not confusing for the eye as they are not similar, not from the same family of fonts. My personal advice would be to figure out which body type you would like to have in your text, and then go from there - find another typeface that will match your base font. Now, these recommendations, rather than rules, are here to guide us into the right direction, where we can experiment and discover ultimate perfect combos ourselves. Enjoy!

What are your favorite font combinations? Tell us in the comment section bellow.

Author:

Nina Petrov | @fusion_writer | www.ninapetrov.com