Fonts are a vital part of building your brand’s visual identity. The type of font you choose will convey different meanings to your audience, and it’s important to select one that aligns with your brand’s message. So, let’s explore the world of fonts and learn the meaning behind the typeface.
Let’s start with explaining the main categories of fonts! There are two basic forms of fonts: serif and sans serif.
Serif fonts have extra strokes at the ends of the letterforms, which makes them easy to read. They also typically convey a more formal and classical mood. Popular options include Times New Roman and Georgia.
Sans serif fonts do not have these decorative strokes on the letters, giving them a clean and simple appearance. They’re often chosen for more casual and minimalistic uses. Popular options include Helvetica and Arial.
Other than these main two types, there are also scripts and decorative/display fonts, which cover many of the other subcategories such as handwriting fonts, comic fonts, and blackletter. Handwriting fonts can be more playful and light-hearted, whereas blackletter fonts give off a gothic vibe.
You should choose a font that works well with the visual identity and message you want to convey to your audience. If you are a fashion brand focused on elegant and modern clothing, it’s very jarring to have a logo that uses a comic font, such as Comic Sans!
The one main rule to keep in mind, however, is to keep things simple and readable! This applies for both your font selection, as well as your colour selection.
Popular fonts for businesses:
Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular fonts that brands are using.
Futura
Futura is considered one of the most beautiful fonts in advertising, and is widely used by a variety of brands. It is a sans serif font that has many variations from Light to Bold to Condensed, and uses many geometric shapes in a pleasing manner.
Brands that use Futura include:
Bodoni
Bodoni is a modern-looking, serif font that combines thick with thin lines to create contrast in the design. It has a very elegant design that evokes luxury, and it is most known for its use in Vogue.
Garamond
One of the oldest fonts, Garamond was first developed in the 16th century, and is known for being the most legible serif font. It helps create a refined and elegant look for your brand identity, but can also look more traditional and conservative.
Didot
Similar to Bodoni, Didot is also a serif font that creates the impression of luxury and status. It’s used often in fashion brands to look expensive and stylish, such as by Giorgio Armani and Zara.
Univers
Univers is a sans serif font with a variety of widths and weights, with a simple and versatile look that makes it suitable to a variety of brands. It’s often used in municipal and transport services, as well as by well-known names such as Unicef and BP.
Selecting a font doesn’t always mean that you’re stuck with it forever! Many brands have updated their logo and fonts to become more modernised and communicate an updated brand identity to customers!
This has happened in recent years with many brands choosing to shift towards a more minimalistic and simplified look, such as in tech with Spotify and Google, as well as in fashion with Yves Saint Laurent and Balmain.
Design trends will change over time, and brands will update their fonts and logos in order to stay relevant in a competitive market. But it’s also important that you don’t change your fonts and logos too often, which can be confusing to audiences and imply that you don’t have a good grasp on your brand identity. It’s also terrible for developing brand recognition!
Now that you have a better idea of what to look for when choosing a font, here are some websites where you can download free fonts!
Google Fonts
Google Fonts has an extensive catalogue of open-source fonts that are web-ready and free to use!
Fonts.com
Fonts.com offers a large variety of both free and paid fonts, but you can easily filter it out by cost, classification, weight, width, and more!
DaFont
DaFont is one of the oldest sources of fonts that you can explore through their classification system. Just make sure the font you choose is 100% Free if you’re using it for your business, and not Free for personal use only!
Comments