How to Choose a Font

Before you make the choice between Times New Roman or Helvetica, you may want to consider your goals for the project. You also want to think about some design principles for typography. Choosing the right font for a magazine or a website is not an easy task, but there are helpful guidelines to think about along the way.

Assess Your Goals

The type of project at hand is a great starting point for narrowing down your options. If it is a print job, you want to use fonts that are legible in print. If you’re choosing a font for a website, you will have to consider web safe fonts, which are legible on all types of computers.

Once you know the project type, you want to think about the specific goals of the project. Choose a font that will cater to your audience and the nature of the project at the same time. If you’re designing a website for a teenage audience, you may want to avoid fonts that are too conservative or serious. After you set your goals, you have to consider legibility.

Is it Legible?

Generally speaking, decorative fonts are less legible than simple and clean fonts. Fonts that have shapes in the design, decorations, and too many undeveloped nuances are often illegible. It is best to stick to classic fonts so that your audience can read the content. You also want to choose fonts that have enough spacing around the individual letterforms. When fonts become too narrow, it becomes difficult to read.

Is the Font Right for the Design?

Certain fonts have been designed for websites while others have been designed specifically for ad headlines or social networks, such as the cursed letters. Knowing the background of a specific typeface can help your decision. For example, if you have a font that was designed for advertisement and display, you may not want to use it for a book or the body copy of a magazine article.

The Look and Mood

The reality is that some fonts just look and feel better than others. This is an important factor to consider because any design needs to be aesthetically pleasing to the audience. However, aesthetics and moods are subjective elements that may be difficult to successfully achieve. Always consider the intent of the project or client. Write keywords about a font to identify the overall character of it. Once you get a font with the right look and mood, your project will have the right attitude.

Font choice is a very personal matter. Everyone has his own favorites and non-favorites. Most designers and font designers will agree that it is best to stick to the classics as well as classic combinations. Most important of all, consider your audience, client and the goals of the project before you choose a font.

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