Harness the Power of Typography

It may look like a bunch of words to you, but to a designer, it’s the art and science of arranging type, choosing fonts, selecting point sizes and creating a unique look that reflects a company’s brand. Typography is the backbone of promotional material and advertising. Designers use it to set a theme or mood for an advertisement.

With thousands of fonts to choose from and new ones popping up every day, it can be a daunting task to find the perfect typeface to effectively convey a message. Even subtle differences between sans serif and serif can completely change the look and feel of the work. That’s why it’s important to work with experienced designers who, with a library of fonts embedded in their brains and available at their fingertips, have the tools to manipulate type into attention-getting masterpieces.

It’s also essential to consider the medium where your ad will be placed. Typefaces used in newspapers may not be the best option for billboards. Helvetica and other sans serif fonts commonly are used on TV because they are easy to read when time is limited. On the other end of the scale, package designs often use unique and creative typefaces in order to attract attention, stand out and convey an attitude.

Target audience is also a factor in designing typography. Certain typefaces will appeal to primarily women, primarily men or both. Age group also can influence font choices. Younger demographics can devour small type and nontraditional designs while older readers prefer a more structured and straightforward approach. And finally, while a beautifully designed typeface may be a feast for your eyes, if it isn’t readable or appealing to the target audience, it’s worthless.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 9:09 am and is filed under Gecko Green Issue 04/10. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Harness the Power of Typography

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