It’s a big decision — Times New Roman or Arial? Which one will look better? Does it really make a difference?
The answer is yes.
Typography is known as the “unconscious persuader,” and it’s everywhere — influencing the movies we see, the coffee we drink and the products we buy.
“If you do like something, it’s because of the type, even if you don’t realise it,” said Andrea Emery, a professor of graphic design at Algonquin College.
“It’s why people choose Starbucks and not Tim Hortons. Starbucks has that beautiful soft-serif font, and Tim Hortons has that common-looking script.”
Emery said typography was the most important part of graphic design.
“Without the words,” she said, “the message is not going across. Typography has a voice, and the look of the letters will influence you.”
Working graphic designers have the challenge of balancing images and words.
Ryan Duncan of local firm Iconic Design said typography was a huge part of the business.
“It sets a tone just as much as imagery does, if not more,” Duncan said. “It has to match the style of the project and the client. Of course, clarity is the number-one issue when you’re picking a font.”
“It’s like a voice-over in commercials,” said David Craib, creative director of Parable Communications, an Ottawa-based graphic design company.
“If it doesn’t function, the message is garbled,” Craib said. “Regular, familiar serif fonts are the best way to convey information.”
Vanessa Dempsey, a freelance graphic designer and printer, emphasized the importance of font choice.
“Every font, every letter, has its own unique message,” she said. “The shape and space of letters all matter. You have to look at them not just for their function alone, but for their design. If you look at a letter and dissect it, it’s a lot more than just a letter.”
Emery explained that when choosing a font for a project, it’s essential to marry the look of the words to what is being sold.
“You wouldn’t use a heavy font from Nazi Germany to sell baby powder,” Emery said with a chuckle.
“It never fails to amaze me how utterly stupid people can be when choosing fonts,” said Vinney White of Ottawa Graphic Design.
“You’re never supposed to use more than four fonts on a page, and you should try to keep it down to two. But people think it’s clever to use 20,” White said.
Duncan described the difficulty of keeping things simple. “A lot of clients like too many fonts,” he said. “Actually, less is more. Bigger is not better.”
Duncan went on to say that fonts go in and out of style, just like everything else.
“Big, thin, simple fonts are in vogue right now,” he said. “And of course there are a few go-to fonts, like Helvetica.”
Emery said the selection of a font is a scientific and aesthetic process.
“The bane of my existence is being told to just use Arial,” she said with a laugh. “I call it the cheap knockoff of Helvetica.”
“But you see, it really does matter. People forget that it’s the unconscious persuader. Type affects everything. We do judge a book by its cover, and we do judge a sign by its type,” she said.