Selecting the Right Font for Your Brand
The font you choose to represent your company will act as a visual communication to consumers, so make sure to choose wisely! Just like your logo, tagline, and brand colors, your font is an important aspect of your marketing campaign. But with so many font options available, how do you even begin to narrow it down?
Before we dive into what factors are important in choosing the right font, there is one thing you should know. Fonts can generally be broken up into two main categories: serif or sans serif. Serif fonts include extra lines, or “feet” as some people call them, that are attached to the letters, giving them more of a traditional look. Times New Roman is a common example of a serif font. Sans serif fonts lack these extra lines or any type of hanging elements on the letters. This creates a more modern look, like the font Helvetica for example. There are other options aside from these two, such as script fonts, but serif and sans serif are a good foundation for most companies.
Stick to Your Brand
Once you have locked down several other key aspects of your company’s branding, make sure to use them as a basis for picking the right font. Did you decide on branding that is corporate or professional? Fun and lighthearted? Elegant and timeless? Whatever it may be, make sure the font elicits the correct emotional response from your audience. Does it align with their tastes and goals? You want the font to help create a trust between the brand and consumer. You want them to feel some sort of personal connection.
If you look at the font selected for Tiffany & Co., you are immediately given a sense of their sophistication. Then there’s LEGO, who uses a more lighthearted font along with vibrant colors to attract its younger audience. Your font should also be able to grab the attention of your target audience while conveying the proper message.
Is it Legible?
A major mistake companies make when selecting a font is that it doesn’t read well, whether in general or on certain collateral. If consumers are struggling to understand what your logo or product information says, they may become frustrated with your brand or find it unprofessional. This problem is often seen in script or overly detailed fonts, although basic ones in the sans-serif style can run into issues when trying to distinguish 1’s, capital i’s, and lowercase L’s. You might want to place them all next to each other and see if there is an issue.
Sometimes it works out that certain fonts are only appropriate for headings or large areas. What may be legible and eye-catching as a header, could be too complex or poorly spaced when used in the actual body text of your work. In that case, make sure to find a text that works alongside your main font choice, but works nicely in large paragraphs. There is nothing wrong with using different fonts for specific purposes, just make sure you are consistent and refrain from sloppy looking work across the board.
Do Your Research
When selecting a font, you have to keep in mind how the overall public, especially your targeted audience, is going to react to the one you choose. Aside from worrying about how the font relates to your branding, there are some styles that just seem to be a no-no all around in marketing (both in traditional and digital tactics) due to historical misuse, overuse, or poor visual quality. That includes fonts such as Comic Sans, Arial, Papyrus, and handwritten fonts in general. Researching poorly received fonts is worth your time, as there is a chance consumers won’t take your brand seriously if you use one of them.
Feel free to test your company’s font on a focus group to see their reactions before making a final decision. This can help to avoid a universal distaste after publically launching your brand with the new font on websites, clothing, print materials, and more.
Are you looking to find the perfect font that completes your company brand? Kraus Marketing specializes in creating unique brand concepts for a variety of clients. We conduct a series of in-depth interviews to fully understand your company. Afterwards, our team of creative designers and copywriters work to create a brand that represents the direction you want your company to go in. Contact our team today for more information.