Typography Matters: Choosing The Best Fonts For Branding Personality
Typography is more than just picking the right fonts for your content. It is one of the most impactful tools to convey your brand message and personality to the target audience. How you use fonts in branding lets you convey value, vision, and personality of the brand to the people.
It is why knowing the best font for branding is not a simple matter of aesthetics but a strategic decision that can make or break your entire brand identity.
In this article, we will show you how you can choose the best fonts for branding to create your own unique visual identity.
Understanding Typography: Its Vital Role in Branding
In the world of branding, every single detail matters. Every aspect, from the color schemes to logos, helps to shape a brand personality and image. Among these aspects, typography stands out as one of the most crucial elements that breathe life into your brand identity.
A well-crafted logo can make a big difference on your brand visibility, trust, loyalty, and recognition. A good typography design can set you apart from the competition. But what is typography exactly? And what does it matter so much in branding personality?
What Is Typography?
Typography generally refers to the way something is written, also basically known as the font of text. It does not only help the word to be more eye-catching but also legible. Typography involves the length, width, letter, and line spacing.
Each typography is suited for different kinds of text. It may look great for this type of text but can be a bad fit for another. The font can vary depending on the purpose and emotion you want to convey through the text.
Understand Branding Personality
Before going any deeper, you need to get the basic knowledge of branding personality.
Definition Of Branding Personality
In short, brand personality is how your brand expresses itself through its message, beliefs, vision, and visual identity. Brand personality is a set of traits or characteristics that a brand conveys to the masses. Just like different people have different personalities, so does the brand. It helps build a better connection with the target audience.
In addition, brand personality is the core factor helping how people perceive the business, its mission, and its service.
Choosing The Best Fonts For Branding Is Key
Having the right font can help you transfer your message clearly and effectively. On the other hand, using the wrong font can make the text hard to read and potentially give people the wrong impression of your brand.
As this font will likely stick with you for a long time, it is crucial to take your time. Since people need a long time to adapt to your brand image, changing the font regularly will make it longer for them to accept you.
Brand Personality Example
In case you are still struggling with how to pick the perfect font for you among the sea of options, here are some examples:
Alienware
Alienware is a brand that provides exclusively gaming computers. They use Avenir Next LT. You can look at their guideline here.
The North Face
This brand manufactures high-quality outdoor gears to keep you warm and dry. The North Face uses the ITC Franklin Gothic font.
Walmart
One of the most well-known malls in America uses Myriad Pro as its font.
Medium
Medium is a social publishing platform that aims to revolutionize blogging and self-publishing. Check out the design here.
Get to Know the Fonts
There are four basic types of fonts for you to choose from. Each has its characteristics to convey your brand personality.
Serif Logo fonts
Serif typefaces are a timeless classic, both conventional and stylish. A serif logo font is suited for brands that value timeless design and history. Rolex, Prada, and Mercedes-Benz use these as their main fonts.
Sans Serif Logo Fonts
Sans serif aims to be minimalistic and straightforward which is usually the go-to option for online brands such as Meta, Google, and Netflix.
Script or Cursive Logo Fonts
The script, also known as cursive script font gives off an elegant, feminine, and formal vibe. Cursive fonts can either be formal or casual. Ray-Ban or Virgin use casual script as it looks like realistic handwriting. At the same time, Lavish Catier and Cadillac utilize the artistic and elaborate look of formal script font.
Display Logo Fonts
Display or decorative typefaces are available in a wide range of varieties and are all unique. They are created entirely from scratch for a single brand! Take Disney typography, for instance, it is created by rendering Walt Disney’s signature.
Factors To Consider When Choosing Best Fonts In Branding
Picking a font can be tricky. While there are no easy rules, you can look out for these things when choosing the font.
Who Is Your Audience?
Keep in mind that your audience matters as they will be the ones who perceive your brand personality. Therefore, you should think about:
- What do they like?
- How old are they?
- What language do they speak?
Knowing the answers to these questions will give you a better understanding of what route you should take for your typography. Whether it is elegant, edgy, bold and powerful, or quirky, you need to put your audience as the top priority.
Brand and Industry
The industry is also a great factor you need to take into consideration. Different industries have their own characteristics and audiences, requiring fonts to resonate with the target demographic and reflect their values.
For example, luxury brands tend to use more elegant and sophisticated fonts, while technology brands prefer something sleek to convey their innovative design. Understanding the industry of your brand will help you align the industry standards and your fonts.
Message Tone
Typography is a kind of nonverbal communication technique that brands use to communicate with their audience. First off, you need to understand your brand personality and start by brainstorming keywords describing your identity.
For example, if your business is modern and innovative go for sans-serif as your primary font. If your brand is educational or formal you might need to choose a transitional serif font. If you are quirky or energetic, then a script font is definitely for you.
READ MORE: Top 5 Factors To Consider When Designing A Logo
Best Practices for Choosing The Best Fonts For Branding
Consistency Is Key
What is the point of picking the perfect font for your business if you can’t keep it consistent across all platforms, right?
Emotional Connection: Choosing the best fonts for branding can evoke emotions. Consistent use of the right font will help brands connect with the audience on an emotional level. Whether you are building your brand image to be elegant and refined, or friendly and welcoming, it is vital to remember to keep it consistent. Consistency can reinforce the appeal to the audience.
Professionalism: Inconsistent font usage can create a poor impression on your brand as you will appear unreliable and disorganized. On the other hand, brands that aim to use the same typography consistently across all platforms will be perceived as more professional.
Brand Recognition: Consistent usage of typefaces helps in brand awareness. When customers see a specific typeface, they should instantly associate it with your brand. This instant recognition is critical in a crowded market where differences may be negligible.
Consider The Accessibility
This factor is more likely to affect your online presence than your physical side. Some fonts are easier to read than others. If you plan to improve your digital face, you need to have a font that would not slow down the reading speed of the web visitor. Taking this into account can help your business reach a wider online audience.
Not all fonts are designed equally. Color, Size, and contrast are the main aspects to determine if the font is accessible. Inaccessible typefaces usually have one or more of these characteristics:
- Slow down readers
- Overlapping characters or letters
- Make the content hard to read
- Make it difficult to distinguish between forms of various letters
- Usually are display fonts like custom, cursive, or hand-writing style
According to studies, up to 20% of the US population has dyslexia, a condition that affects your reading ability. Ensuring your website fonts are accessible enables you to effectively engage with this vital population group, while protecting your institution’s reputation as one that prioritizes diversity and inclusion.
Black text on a white background is often the default option for web content, but many brands like to spice things up and deviate from it for stylistic reasons. Thankfully, WCAG guidelines give the clear contrast levels needed to be accessible:
- Headings: The contrast ratio for large-scale text is a minimum of 3:1.
- Main Text: The contrast ratio should be 4.5:1 for text other than headings.
- Logotype: No contrast for the text in the logo.
Skip through all these hassle with a click of a button: 5 Best Reasons To Work With A Sustainable Packaging Design Agency
Balancing Between Creativity And Readability
Embrace Creativity
You can go nuts on the creative side when you are choosing the best fonts for branding, but remember that they need to be easy to read. Aesthetics determine how appealing your design can be in the eyes of viewers. Here are some of its benefits:
- It is essential for building and reinforcing brand identity. Fonts, color palettes, and typographic styles become one with the brand making it instantly recognizable.
- An Aesthetically pleasing font is the attention grabber for the brand. Whether it is creative display fonts, elegant serifs, or modern sans-serifs, aesthetics can set the mood and create emotion in the brand’s overall image. In other words, it breathes life into your brand identity.
Improve Readability
On the contrary, readability is the anchor to your creativity to prevent it from going too far. And become impractical or in this case unreadable. Legibility or readability refers to how easily the text can be read and comprehended. It offers several benefits:
- It ensures that even individuals with visual disabilities can process and understand the content. Result in a wider audience reach.
- The legible text helps viewers navigate through the content faster and more effectively.
- Legibility also reflects brands’ attention to detail and dedication to the audience. This will improve brand awareness and reputation.
Quick Tips For Improving Legibility:
- Use fonts with generous spacing: Tight spacing can make the eye fill in the visual gaps between the different shapes thus drastically reducing reading speed. Generous spacing allows the eyes to process quicker and the brain to process faster.
- Use fonts with conventional letterforms: Novelty always comes at the expense of quick understanding. Creative letterforms with unique designs and shapes can cause viewers to take more time to process the message.
- Use fonts with tall x-height: x-height is how tall the lowercase letter “x” is in the font. Having a big x-height letter enables the typography to have more space. Fonts with a tall x-height include ITC Avant Garde, Helvetica, Futura, and Bodini.
Testing and Refining
As the saying goes “Measure twice cut once”, it is always important to perfect the font before showing it off to the public.
- First and foremost, you should brainstorm all the possible options for your list of best fonts in branding. As many as possible so you would have a better vision of how your brand would look in different typography styles.
- Then remove any that you believe are inappropriate or insufficient to reflect your overall brand image. Imagine this process as filtering the mass to get the best result.
- Leave just three options that you deem qualify as the best fonts for branding, and have everyone involved in the selection process.
- After you end up with the final option, you should test it out with a modest release with a small target audience. Seek their perspective on your brand typography is necessary. Their input is invaluable as they represent the market you will be introducing your brand to.
If everything is done right, the final product will be a one-of-a-kind typography style that captures the essence of your brand. It also conveys the intended message and leaves lasting impressions on your audience.
Wondering how a logo is made? Click the link below to find out more!
Successful Font Choices In Branding
Calvin Klein
One of the world ‘s leading global fashion lifestyle brands has used the Bodoni typeface to create the iconic logo. What do you get from mixing a thick bold with thin style typography? The answer is a font that resonates through times as bold, seductive, and often minimal, aesthetic.
Apple and American Eagle
Garamond has an elegant look. Every serif on every letter is intricately crafted to express its individual character, with special attention given to those on the uppercase “T”. Because serifs are so expressive, they are often used in a fun setting, as seen in early Apple branding logos. The improved letterforms also allow for a more complex use of this typeface, as seen in the American Eagle logo.
Consider this font for a professional and timeless logo with a touch of individuality.
Rufina
Rufina designs stencils using classic typography standards. The brand deviates from the norm in her arrangement of character breaks. Rather than resembling a stencil, it appears to be an artistic puzzle, with contrast and apparent texture. This approach enables Rufina to experiment with many styles that other stencil fonts cannot.
Consider using this font if you own an art gallery, run an art-related firm, or need to combine an artistic sense with a practical design.
FedEx
Futura is a classic sans-serif that can compete with typefaces of any era. FedEx is an excellent example of a company that has developed strong brand identities utilizing modern—but friendly—letterforms.
Consider using this font for your logo if you want to establish a globally known company with a unique and approachable personality.
Spotify and Twitter Music
Spotify and Twitter Music are 2 of the most popular platforms for entertainment among the people. They chose Proxima Nova as their typeface which has a balance of modern proportions and classic geometry.
Consider using this font if your brand is going for a hip/cool internet presence or is highly associated with social media.
In Conclusion
Typography plays a crucial role in creating brand identity and personality as it greatly influences how people will perceive your brand from that point on. Choosing the best fonts for branding requires a deep understanding of your message tone, target audience, and industry. With careful consideration and good attention to detail, you will be able to create a distinct brand identity. And convey the true values, vision, and message of your brand to the world.
A good typography style is not simply an aesthetic choice but it is a strategic decision crucial for setting yourself apart from the competitors. Not only that, it is also a bridge that connects you with your audience and creates lasting impressions.
Getting Help From Professionals
Still struggling to pick the best fonts for branding? Let us help you! MindSparkz’s team of experts with years of experience in designing can give you the solution you are looking for. We can give you the outstanding brand personality you need to stand out above all competitors and in the heart of your audience.
Contact us today via Email: [email protected]
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What Is Typography And Why Does It Matter In Branding?
Typography is the style and look of text and is essential to successfully communicating the personality and message of a business. It is essential to branding because it creates a visual identity, improves readability, and shapes perceptions.
How Many Types Of Font Are There?
There are four main types of font: Serif Logo fonts, Sans Serif Logo Fonts, Script or Cursive Logo Fonts, and Display Logo Fonts
What Are The Best Fonts For Branding My Business?
Depending on various factors such as your target audience, message tone, industry, the vibe you want to give off the font should vary accordingly. The font can greatly influence your brand identity, values. Therefore you should take your time before you start creating a typeface that speaks to your audience and reflects your brand’s image.
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