Branding: What about the Font?

Let’s start by saying that font matters just as much like your brand name does. If not more. The right font can save a mediocre brand name or logo. The wrong font can break a great brand name. As simple as that for an introduction.

Photo by Lubo Minar

Typography is a very important aspect of Visual Design and sometimes clients assigning design projects to Graphic, Web designers or Illustrators don’t even realise how important font is for their brand. Readers can make assumptions about your product/service just by your brand’s typeface, in seconds. It’s like wearing the right clothes, the first impression.

I’m a font-obsessed professional. I can look for the right font for hours or it can take me a second if I know exactly what the brand I work on is about. There are times I let it settle in overnight, there are times I compromise because of very specific brand guidelines. My favourite projects though are those that come with minimum brand standards. I’m not a graphic designer but I do have an eye for font and visual design, part of it is maybe instinct, creativity, or good observation skills. Can you build a brand using Arial and Times New Roman? You could. It’ll depend on the brand’s product/service and whether there’s room to differentiate with the rest of the visual details. Would this font work with your overall brand’s identity? And then would your chosen visual identity differentiate your brand from the competition? Plenty of style fonts come and go out of style. That’s why I don’t advise using trendy fonts because we fall again into the same discussion about how can your brand stand out from the rest? Especially if you’re starting out and you’re trying to come across as fresh and new.

How do you want people to feel when they look at your brand (name)? Should they feel happy, serious, upset, feel an urgency? Do you want them to feel safe? And it depends on what you want to communicate and how you want to be perceived. It all comes down to the same things, it’s all about how the message is served.

And what about content? The wrong font will make people look away, your content would be difficult to read. You can’t make everyone happy but branding is all about finding the people who will invest in you because they like your style, all of it, content and typography, and the visual aspect of what you’re selling.

So, do you need to have a personalised font? Do you need to pay for the right font? If you’re just a blogger or you don’t want to make the investment you can use any font from the available typeface families and still make a good impression. If you’re a new business looking to invest in your brand’s Visual Design and you wish to make your brand stand out from the competition, then your Graphic Designer will most probably advise you to buy the right font for your brand.

Now, look at your brand name and check your content font. What does your font say about your brand?

Sofia Simeonidou is a Content Creator and Writer, Brand Designer, and huge Fitness Advocate.

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