FONT VS TYPEFACE HOW TO

Where does your typeface choice fall between these two extremes? Compare it to the same text set in Sabon, a classic and highly-legible serif typeface. You need to design a specific, overall legibility based on the function of the text.Ĭonsider this example where the left block of text is set in Tobin Tax, a decorative serif typeface. Conversely, typefaces designed for novels or newspapers have very high legibility. For instance, decorative typefaces have low legibility because they are primarily meant to be seen at a glance, rather than read at length. It is easy to tell one letterform from another in a legible typeface. Legibility refers to the design of the typeface, as in the width of the strokes, whether or not it has serifs, the presence of novel type design elements etc. It may seem at first glance that legibility and readability are the same thing, but they are not. Let’s start with the two most objective attributes - legibility and readability. However, we know that legibility is more easily quantifiable than a mood. There are no fixed positions on the spectrum from subjective to objective. After reading and digesting your client’s text, it is easier to start with the objective aspects of typeface selection because they - by default - make subjective decisions for us. Perhaps the hardest part of breaking down the font selection process is understanding which parts are more subjective and which parts are more objective. This problem can be compounded as a design evolves. As you may already know from experience, it’s easy to go about this the wrong way and get overwhelmed. Each of these characteristics requires some degree of independent consideration. Whatever the case, your choice of typeface needs to strike a good combination of both legibility and readability, while remaining appropriate for the audience and the message. You might provide this impression, or it might be dictated to you by your client, or it may be determined by your audience. This is your goal, and it will guide the process. The first thing you have to do in order to choose a typeface is form a strong impression in your mind about how you want your audience to react to the text. Five Principles for Choosing and Using Typefaces.

FONT VS TYPEFACE HOW TO

How To Choose The Right Face For A Beautiful Body.

If you work systematically through the options below, you’ll have a winning font choice in no time. While there are no easy-to-follow rules on how best to choose a typeface, there are many tried-and-true principles you can quickly learn and apply to make an appropriate typeface choice.

But don’t be baffled - and don’t despair. The beauty and complexity of type, combined with an inexhaustible supply of options to evaluate, can make your head spin. Let’s get started.Ĭhoosing a font can be tricky. If you work systematically through the options below, you’ll have a winning typeface choice in no time.

Font vs typeface