No matter what size your business is or what industry you operate in, at some point, you will almost certainly have to use the written word. Whether it’s on your website, in your logo or shop front sign, or on a menu or flyer, words continue to be one of the primary ways in which people find out about your company. It’s not just the choice of words you use that’s important, though; it’s also the font that you write them in. Here’s why it’s so crucial to get it right.
Ensuring Legibility
This first point might seem obvious, but you might be surprised by how many companies get it wrong. If people can’t read what is written, then the writing itself is mostly useless. More than that, fonts that are poorly chosen or words that are badly spaced can result in some embarrassing design fails that may reflect badly on your business. If you’re looking at fonts for a website or other digital product, check how it looks on different devices and screen sizes. For physical prints or packaging, get some letter stencils and test out how easy several fonts are to read at different sizes and on different types of paper. This should help you to avoid falling at the first hurdle!
Serving Purpose
Words can serve many different purposes, and you want to make sure that your font choice matches yours in order to make sure it’s achieved. For instance, are you trying to give instructions, attract attention, or evoke an emotion? If your target audience is elderly, then you will probably want to choose a different font than if your target audience is young children. Similarly, the text for a warning sign should look different from the text on a party invitation. Picking the correct font will make it more likely that your words serve the purpose for which you have intended them.
Conveying Personality
The font that you choose to use says something about your company, whether it’s intentional or not. Every font has its own personality, and that feeling will be extended to your business as a result of using it. So, for example, a traditional font might be useful to convey authority and reliability, whilst a more whimsical font can show playfulness and a quirky personality. By choosing the appropriate style for your business, you can make sure that you attract the sort of customers who are likely to want to buy from you.
Shaping Perceptions
In addition to showing the personality of your brand, the font you choose can also affect the way that people perceive and react to your company. As an example, formal fonts tend to be taken more seriously than fun ones, resulting in people trusting what is written to a greater degree when they are used. Just like color affects our emotions, so does the appearance of writing, so think about how you want people to feel when they read your website, flyer, or packaging, and then choose your font to try and elicit that mood.
