How to Choose a Font for Your Brand
Visualization is an essential component for any brand, but one of a brand’s most essential visual elements is the logo.
A logo is not just a sign by which a particular brand will be recognized. It is intended to cause certain emotions to which the brand will appeal. The primary role of the font in branding is to create a logo that provokes the right associations and feelings, and motivates the customer to trust the brand. Professional UX/UI design agencies like Clay.Global consider this element one of the most critical aspects of your corporate identity.
The Main Types of Fonts
To choose the font for your logo, you will need to be aware of the most common types of fonts available.
Serif
This type of font includes those that have vertical strokes at the ends of the lines. The fonts in this group are considered by UX/UI designers as classic, characterized by both reliability and respectability. They bring the reader a sense of pleasant comfort and everlasting loyalty to tradition. These fonts include the most commonly used font Times New Roman, Georgia, and Baskerville.
Sans serif
This is a font group with no serifs. The letters are more rounded, making it look modern, innovative, and neat. It is specifically designed to convey aspiration and professionalism. Examples are Calibri, Helvetica, Book Antiqua, Arial, and many others.
Handwritten fonts
Fonts of this group are called handwritten since each letter looks as if it were written by hand. They are considered elegant, refined, and convey a gentle sense of attitude and care. They look very creative.
Modern
This group includes business-style fonts that are designed to convey a progressive approach and determination. Logos from this group look elegant and speak of a high intellectual level—for example, Century Gothic.
Display
These fonts include those that bring a friendly attitude, positivity and convey absolute uniqueness. Examples are Broadway, Copperplate Gothic Bold, and others.
How to Choose a Font for a Logo
Once you have realized what emotions you want to provoke in your clients, here are a couple more tips that will help you make a decision.
The Simpler, the Better
You should take into account that in the future, you will have to continually contact various printing companies in order to print some handouts. The font should be as readable as possible on the website, application, or any type of printed documentation, so make it simple. An inscription that is too intricate or small in size will not be readable.
Study Competitors’ Logos
This must be done in order to be different from your competitors and so you don’t use similar symbols in your own logo.
Less is Better
Sometimes logos use several fonts at a time. It’s better not to do this. The combination of different groups does not always look aesthetically pleasing. The best thing is to use just one font when creating your logo.
Classics are Better Than Trends
The most trending fonts today can very quickly become outdated and go out of fashion in the blink of an eye, so you will have to rebrand, which will bring additional costs. It is best to stick to classic fonts that will remain relevant for years to come.
Fonts and Associations
Fonts have individual associations. So the round fonts symbolize infinity; the oval ones, innovation; the triangular ones – energy; the squared one, order and reliability. Decorative fonts will make the brand unique, angular ones will indicate the openness of the company in relation to the consumer, and handwritten ones emphasize transparency and friendliness. In addition to the above, special attention should be paid to the colour of the fonts, as it also affects the attitude of the consumer toward the brand and company.
Examples of Cool Logos
Let us have a look at a couple of famous logos and see what emotions they evoke in regular viewers:
- Vogue and Calvin Klein. These two brands are associated with luxury and high fashion. However, if you look at their logos, you will see that they keep it simple. The Bodoni font is a serif font that looks classical, elegant, and neat. This is a much more powerful technique to convey glamour than adding a couple of typefaces or a lot of decorative details just because you can afford it.
- Facebook has one of the most recognizable fonts internationally. The “f” logo even has a page dedicated to the correct usage of it in social media. As you can see, this is a sans serif font that looks rather informal. It is rounded and looks fun and friendly. However, it remains pretty classical and straightforward, so it will not demand a rebranding in the nearest future.
Conclusion
The font that you choose for your brand should represent the area in which the brand operates. Thanks to the font, the logo of your brand will be remembered and recognized; therefore, it must convey the essence of the business.
