After settling on a name, one of the first steps founding members take when building or designing a brand is to create a logo. But only sometimes does someone spare a thought about what their typography will be. Why even consider typography when the logo, name, and aesthetic motifs appear more crucial? In fact, for most, it's irrelevant.
However, selecting the proper typography may significantly affect a design's efficacy and dramatically affect a brand's personality by bringing subtle changes to its tone of voice depending on the font chosen.
For instance, geometric sans-serif fonts with uniform proportions feel simple, spick-and-span, sleek, and contemporary, which is why so many technology businesses adore them. On the other hand, high-end fashion companies frequently choose timeless elegance and fonts with sharp contrast, smooth curves, hairline strokes, and bracketed serifs.
So, not only does it help distinguish your brand, but it also categorises your brand in a way.
Typography vs Typeface vs Font
People often get confused between typography, typeface and font, assuming all three mean the same. Well, they do not!
Typeface refers to how written text appears. It is the particular way letters and symbols are designed to create an aesthetic.
On the other hand, typography is the style in which alphabets are arranged to be legible and aesthetically pleasing. Arial, Helvetica, and Times New Roman are common examples.
Despite being almost synonymous with typography, font refers to weight, breadth, and style. Bold, slender, regular, and black are a few examples.
The Influence of Typography on Brand Image
Typography encompasses the complete brand visual identity and contains the spectrum of text. Therefore, it directly affects how a brand is perceived. Indecorous, jumbled content that is difficult to see will hinder the user experience and look messy. That certainly speaks negatively of the company while also demonstrating no structured focus, clear goal, or overarching theme. That is unfortunate, especially for investors looking for something substantial, trustworthy, and promising.
The brand's typography and image should be considered whenever text is employed. There isn't a single platform where typography is not important. It is comprehensive and encompasses everything from social media posts to online content, prints and adverts.
Font
A brand's fonts are an essential component. If done well, the choice of text style may link customers to the very essence of a brand and significantly influence the "feel" of a firm. The choice is crucial because there are many alternatives.
To understand the importance of font in any brand's logos, look at examples of global companies like Sony, Google, Visa, Volkswagen, and Coca-Cola; they all utilise just typefaces in their logos rather than images.
Size
The term "size" refers to precisely what it sounds like, except in the context of digital language and information, it is expressed as a point- or pixel-based rating. One illustration would be an italicised 30-point font. It is challenging to read when the text is too small, and when it is too huge, it may be intrusive. Although specific features, such as titles or headers, can be highlighted using larger text sizes.
Weight
Weight is a term for the extra features, which might include strong type, italics, underlining, or even strikethrough. When utilising different typefaces, weight must occasionally be taken into account. Changing to bold print will improve the experience because, otherwise, it could appear too narrow, especially on a white backdrop.
Style
The term "style" describes the visual theme or font used in the text, such as Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Verdana, or another special font. It is the most important quality for determining brand relevance or image.
By selecting a more cartoonish or robotic print, you may give your brand a whimsical air. When you choose a more elegant option, you convey professionalism. Because no one else will be utilising them, employing custom styles and fonts is a terrific approach to set your company apart.
Colour
The word "colour" specifically refers to the tint of the text or characters. Here, red, blue, or green writing might be an example. The colour that the text is highlighted in is another less frequent component. It can directly affect the user experience since, when used incorrectly, it can make text difficult to read or excessively abrupt.
Accents
A drop-shadow, stroke, outline, glow, or even a bevelled looks are visual motions or embellishments considered accents. This characteristic is hit or miss and heavily relies on the environment.
Text can sometimes be difficult to read due to other characteristics like a bevelled appearance. To give the font a bit more depth, a black drop shadow on a white backdrop might look amazing. However, a black backdrop makes it clear that the shadow won't be seen.
White Space
Taking space into account is important when dealing with text in office and document programmes. Sometimes double spacing makes a line look nicer. It's increasingly important to leave white space around text in digital and web material. Text that is crammed too closely together will appear crowded and unattractive. Even when you're not consciously thinking about it, proper use of white space in typography is essential.
Presentation
This characteristic deals with how the text is shown or presented. It can have comparable qualities and orientations, like those oriented to the left, centre, or right.
Conclusion: Typography Matters
When creating a brand image, typography is frequently disregarded or forgotten about as a whole. As a result, users encounter a jarringly shoehorned experience since the text is utilised so frequently in several channels and advertising.
While it's impossible to maintain consistent typography across all platforms—some have restrictions on the typefaces you may use—you should try to stick as closely to the basic look as you can.
Consider the above characteristics and how they will impact the final style while designing a brand's initial style. Beyond the fundamentals like colour, weight, and size, many more qualities make a good font or typeface.
At Mellow Designs, we offer a complete range of branding services that will resonate with your target demographic and help your company stand out in the online marketplace. You can get in touch with Mellow Designs if you're searching for a branding agency or want to enhance the user experience on your website. Visit our existing blog content collection and subscribe for more educational blogs like this one.
