{"id":9206,"date":"2017-05-15T15:18:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T14:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marvel7077.wpengine.com\/?p=9206"},"modified":"2021-01-13T11:36:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T11:36:14","slug":"typography-can-make-break-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marvelapp.com\/blog\/typography-can-make-break-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Typography Can Make or Break Your Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

Identify your\u00a0purpose<\/h1>\n

Before you do anything else, first identify the purpose of your design. What information do you want to convey? What is the medium for your design?<\/p>\n

Good design aligns its typography with its purpose. <\/strong>This is because typography is key to setting mood, tone, and style in your designs.<\/p>\n

For example, if you are designing a greeting card that\u2019s illustration heavy, choose a font that fits the style of your illustration. Harmonize your type with the rest of your design.<\/p>\n

\"Choose<\/a>

Choose a font that suits the style of your illustration<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re designing an image-driven landing page, choose a simple font that doesn\u2019t detract from your images. Use type as a way to emphasize information to communicate meaning.<\/p>\n

\"If<\/a>

If images are the focus of your design, choose simple fonts so that the images stand out<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Identify your\u00a0audience<\/h1>\n

After determining the purpose of your design, identify your audience. This step is crucial because age and interest will influence your font options.<\/p>\n

After clarifying the purpose of your design, identify your audience. This step is crucial because information about your users such as age, interests, and cultural upbringing could influence the decisions you make for your type.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, some fonts are more appropriate for children. When learning to read, children need highly legible fonts with generous letter shapes. A good example of this is Sassoon Primary<\/a>. Sassoon Primary was developed by Rosemary Sassoon<\/a> and based on her research into what kind of letters children found easy to read.<\/p>\n

\"Sassoon<\/a>

Sassoon Primary was developed Rosemary Sassoon<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Other fonts are more appropriate for seniors. Senior-friendly fonts use readable sizes, high contrasting colors, and avoid scripts and decorative styles.<\/p>\n

When choosing type, take into account your audience and their needs. Simply put, empathize with your users<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Look for inspiration<\/h1>\n

Look at the work of other designers. Try to understand how they made their decisions for type.<\/p>\n

Font Inspiration<\/h2>\n

For font inspiration, The 100 Best Free Fonts<\/a> by CreativeBloq is a great article to put you in the right mindset for choosing type. In the article, CreativeBloq explains the motivations behind each font.<\/p>\n

Another useful resource is 100 Greatest Free Fonts Collection for 2015<\/a> by Awwwards.<\/p>\n

Invision also compiled a giant repo of typography resources<\/a>. You\u2019ll find lots of sources for inspiration there.<\/p>\n

\"Typ.io<\/a>

Typ.io curates font inspiration from around the web<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

For inspiration from actual websites, check out Typ.io<\/a>. The site curates font inspiration from around the web. In addition, the site provides CSS font definitions at the bottom of each inspiration sample.<\/p>\n

Asides from looking at dedicated font inspiration websites, visit your favorite sites and check out what fonts they use. A good tool for this is WhatTheFont<\/a>. WhatTheFont is a Chrome extension that lets you inspect web fonts by hovering over them.<\/p>\n

Pairing Inspiration<\/h2>\n

Beyond just fonts, also look at font pairing inspiration. Font pairing is just as important as the fonts themselves. Good font pairing helps establish visual hierarchy and improve the readability of your designs.<\/p>\n

\"Font<\/a>

Font pairing is just as important as the fonts themselves<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

For inspiration, start with Typewolf<\/a>. Typewolf curates font pairing inspiration from different sites. Beyond that, they also have font recommendations and in-depth typography guides. It\u2019s a treasure trove for typographers.<\/p>\n

FontPair<\/a> also curates font pairing inspiration, specifically for Google Fonts<\/a>. You can sort by type style combinations such as sans-serif and serif, or serif and serif.<\/p>\n

\"1MAfGLpDsPhPjQKPjgwbsbA\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lastly, there are tons of font pairing collections created by designers online. For example Typography: Google Fonts Combinations<\/a> and Typography: Google Fonts Combinations Volume 2<\/a>. Just search \u201cfont pairing\u201d on sites like Behance<\/a> and Dribbble<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Choose your\u00a0fonts<\/h1>\n

Armed with research and inspiration, you are ready to choose your type. When it comes to choosing type, keep the following principles in mind: readability, legibility, and purpose<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Before<\/a>

Before choosing a font, research into its intended purpose<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Choose fonts that are conventional and easy to read. Avoid highly decorative fonts in favor of simple and practical fonts. Also, be mindful of the purpose of a font. For example, some fonts are more suited to be headers rather than body text.<\/p>\n

For this reason, before choosing a font, research its intended purpose.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Pair<\/a>

Pair fonts that contrast one another<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In terms of font pairing, keep it simple with a maximum of three different fonts. In addition, pair fonts that contrast one another. Doing so will help guide the eyes of readers, first to headers and then to body texts. You can also create visual contrast using different font sizes, colors, and weights.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For web fonts, you can use Google Fonts<\/a>, Typekit<\/a>, and Font Squirrel<\/a>. Google Fonts is free, Typekit and Font Squirrel have free and paid fonts.<\/p>\n

Determine font\u00a0sizes<\/h1>\n

The next step after settling on a font combination is determining sizing. A great tool for this is Modular Scale<\/a> by Tim Brown<\/a>, the head of typography at Adobe. Modular Scale is a system for identifying historically pleasing ratios to create scales to determine type sizes.<\/p>\n

\"Modular<\/a>

Modular Scale is a system for identifying historically pleasing ratios to create scales to determine type sizes<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

For example, you might use a scale based on the golden ratio. Here would be your first five computed font size options:<\/p>\n