Choosing a font for a project is one of the most basic tasks of a designer’s job. It is also one of the most important ones, as the right font will impact both the look and the usability of the project, and can quickly make or break the successful delivery of your message. Fonts cannot be chosen just by your personal preference, but need to fulfill certain criteria depending on the function of the design. Being able to choose appropriate fonts for your designs will be one of the main signs that you are ready to work in a professional setting.
Background
DES113_wk1_DQ.jpg
Choosing the right font
It’s been said that a font is the clothes letters wear – so when using text a designer always has to ask themselves “What to wear?” If choosing the right font is like choosing the right clothes to wear, you have to be aware of the occasion. Some clothing is completely appropriate in one situation, yet totally inappropriate in another. For example; a nice swimsuit would be completely appropriate at a beach party, but you would never wear a swimsuit to a job interview no matter how cute it was. Sometimes it is less obvious what clothing should be worn. For example, what should you wear to a high school reunion, a birthday party, or a casual business lunch? The same holds true with fonts. Some fonts, like Rosewood or Edwardian Script, have a definite personality and are appropriate for certain types of design. Others, like Helvetica and Baskerville are pretty safe and can be used for many different occasions (like black pants and a simple shirt, or jeans and a white shirt).
It will take some research to select an appropriate font for a specific occasion. Take advantage of font libraries, like Typekit, to test what your text will look like in a few different options to make sure you find the right font for the job.
"When choosing a typeface, graphic designers consider the history of typefaces, their current connotations, as well as their formal qualities. The goal is to find an appropriate match between a style of letters and the specific social situation and body of content that define the project at hand. There is no playbook that assigns a fixed meaning or function to every typeface; each designer must confront the library of possibilities in light of a project’s unique circumstances" (Lupton, 2010).