How to choose fonts for your brand

When I first started off with graphic design, typography was my biggest weakness. I didn’t know how to choose fonts. I made the whole idea very complicated. My teacher even said that I thought about it too much. When I knew what he meant, I felt really dumb.

I’m not going to say typography is easy, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here is the not so complicated way to think about type.

Choose Fonts: Types of fonts

If you’re a straight up beginner, then here is a lesson on the types of type. They also have different classifications/style within each, but we won’t go through the history or how each one evolved throughout time.  I’m going to talk about the main 4 and try to simplify everything as much as possible.

Serif

These are the fonts that have feet on them. This is probably the type that you are most familiar with. I say that because every time we had a report due in school, one of the requirements was to use Times New Roman. The fonts in this category are best used for printed material: school papers, books, magazines, etc. Examples include:

1. Times New Roman

2. Baskerville

Serif Font

Sans-serif

These fonts don’t have feet. You’re also familiar with these fonts because sometimes you had the option of printing your report in Arial for school papers. These fonts are used best for the web. Examples include:

1. Arial

2. Helvetica

Sans Serif

Script

The fonts that look like cursive or handwriting. You’ll see them a lot on wedding invitations. It’s not very mainstream because it’s not legible like serif and sans serif, but it’s pretty. Examples include:

1. Brush Script MT Italic

2. Apple Chancery

Display

This one is a little confusing. Some sources say to use it sparingly because it’s decoration, but then it’s also described as regular text that is more enhanced to create a mood. I honestly love to use Raleway A LOT and it’s a display font.  Examples:

1. Raleway

2. Abril Fatface Regular

The Web vs Print

As I mentioned earlier, serif is best for print and sans-serif is best for the web. Why is this the rule, because of readability. People can read sans-serif better on their computer and serif in a book.

Nothing is set in stone though. When I printed my reports I always liked to choose Arial. Maybe internally I was always biased towards sans-serif since I was young. I’m more attracted to modern, clean styles. Also, I think you could write less and get more pages out of a report using Arial. The point is to experiment but to keep your target audience in mind.

Pairing fonts

When it comes to pairing fonts, one of the biggest things to remember is, don’t pair the same type of fonts together. Plain and simple, it’s ugly. When pairing fonts it’s best to pair the opposites together. Just think opposites attract. Contrast is more appealing or at least more eye-catching. Examples:

  • You can pair serif with sans-serif. (The same is true with the other type classifications).
  • Skinny and fat fonts together.
  • Tall and short fonts together.
  • Curvy and straight fonts together.
  • Wide and condensed fonts together.

If you still can’t match fonts together then pick one font family with a lot of family members. For example Helvetica. Below is a screenshot of all the Helvetica options.

Helvetica Family

You can mix and match the family together to create a well-balanced design because no matter which family member you choose, they all go well together.

How to Choose your brand fonts -Click to tweet

Choosing your font

When it comes to choosing a font for your brand all you have to think about is matching the mood of the font to your brand. If your brand is modern, maybe you’ll look through some sans-serif fonts. If your brand is super feminine then you might try looking through script fonts. The main thing to consider is your audience and brand style.

I mentioned earlier that my favorite typeface is Raleway. I also love Abril Fatface and Playfair display. Which are your favorites?

Here are some resources for further reading:

 

-Paigon | Natasha Lane Design Co.

 

P.S. Sign up below for the FREE  Brand Your Own Biz email course.

Brand Your Own Biz

How to choose fonts for your brand How to choose fonts for your brand How to choose fonts for your brand

Similar Posts

Building your brand as a content creator

Building your brand as a content creator (the secret to building a profitable business)

Ready to build a profitable business? In this video, I’ll go over how to build your brand as a content creator, the importance of personal branding, and how to get started researching your brand style. Building your brand as a content creator sucks. Well, doing it as a business sucks too. I can tell you that as both a content creator and a business. But it’s worth it.

When I didn’t have a detailed plan, it was really hard to think about what type of content my audience wanted, how I could position myself in my niche, and what I wanted to do in the long run. I wasted a lot of time and energy creating useless things and not being confident in what I did.

Now, after having a detailed plan and writing out all the things I wanted to do in the next 5-10 years, finding out who I was passionate about helping, and knowing how I wanted to help my people, creating content and marketing my services became a lot easier.

So, what’s the secret to building a profitable business as a content creator? Keep reading to find out.

Read More “Building your brand as a content creator (the secret to building a profitable business)”
photos you can use to brand your business
· ·

Photos you can use to brand your business

A lot of people don’t know that photographs are part of branding. When you’re adding photos to your website and social media accounts, it’s important to make sure they match your brand style, so your audience will become more familiar with your brand. If not, then it would be hard to recognize your brand from any other account, and you want your account to be recognizable and attract your audience. Here are 3 types of photos you can use to brand your business. Read More “Photos you can use to brand your business”

How to use a YouTube Channel Art Template to brand your channel
· ·

How to use a YouTube Channel Art Template to brand your channel

Do you have a problem designing your YouTube channel banner? Well, there’s a YouTube channel art template for that. Everything comes already made, but you update it to fit your brand. Keep watching to learn how to use a YouTube channel art template to brand your channel.

How to use a YouTube Channel Art Template to brand your channel

If you’re not so great at designing or want to save time creating your YouTube channel banner, then this YouTube channel art template can help. I’m gonna show you how to customize this template so that it’ll fit your brand.

Read More “How to use a YouTube Channel Art Template to brand your channel”
Branding tips for content creators

Branding tips for content creators (Lessons from 5 years of designing brands and websites)

In today’s video, I’m going to give branding tips for content creators. I’ll be talking about lessons I learned from my 5 years of designing brands and websites. I’ll mostly be focused on the branding aspect. Being a content creator, who is also a business, has been an adventure. My content and business have evolved from 5 years ago. In this video, learn what I learned about branding and the hardships of being an entrepreneur.

When I work with clients, I don’t just gain monetary benefits. I also gain experience. With each client I’ve worked with, I’ve learned something new. Each client I served has helped me gain a new perspective on my work and how I’m running my business.

At the end of each project, I send out a survey to my clients. It helps me know what they liked and didn’t like about my service. With that survey, I’ve made little changes or validated the things I wasn’t sure were working or not.

I’m most thankful to my first client. She needed help with branding and web design. She was the biggest reason I focused on making everything simple and convenient. For example, a lot of people can’t code a website, so I can’t make it too difficult when I’m creating a website for a client. I started learning how to use builders and I focus on WordPress since it’s easy to create and design a website.

I also learned the importance of having a solid foundation. My first client had a rough idea of who her dream audience was, but having an outside perspective helped her narrow down her audience more. 

Surprisingly, she was not the other one who didn’t solidify their business foundation. I’ve had clients who didn’t think about their brand foundation until they worked with me. Luckily, I give out homework 2 weeks before the project starts, so they have time to create their brand foundation before the official project start date. 

Read More “Branding tips for content creators (Lessons from 5 years of designing brands and websites)”
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments