Some designers argue that choosing the right fonts and using them appropriately is one of the most important aspects of effective graphic design.
While there is no right or wrong way to choose your fonts, or mix and match them, the following guidelines can help you to create a graphic design project that is visually appealing and attractive, and also allows for maximum readability.
Use Fewer Fonts:
As a general rule, you should limit the number of fonts used in your design to no more than 3 or 4. Too many fonts is both unattractive and confusing to the viewer. You want your design to be cohesive and legible, and mixing in too many fonts can be overwhelming.
Experiment with different amounts of fonts, keeping in mind that the fewer fonts you are using, the better. Sometimes, sticking with a single font family and taking advantage of the different weights, such as bold, light, condensed, and italic, can be your best solution!
Use Contrasting Styles:
Don’t mix two fonts that are too similar in a single graphic design project. For example, using 2 different serif fonts or two different script fonts in the same project can be confusing and distracting. If you’re mixing multiple typefaces in a single document, make sure the fonts compliment each other but are different enough to create contrast.
Pairing together a serif font with a sans serif font, or a script font with a sans serif font, or even a bold font with a thin font, is a good practice to follow when trying to achieve the right amount of contrast in your fonts.
Consider the Proportions of the Fonts you Choose:
You’ll normally want your headline fonts to be unique and distinctive, while you’ll want your body copy to be more legible and common, without unusual characters or shapes, but as important as the font choice is the proportion of the letters.
Body copy should be set in a typeface that is easy to read with correctly spaced letters. Avoid fonts with monospacing between letters, as this draws attention to the individual characters and distracts the reader from the copy as a whole.
Be more creative with your headline fonts. Consider fancy typefaces or those with an illustrative quality to their design. Sometimes the font alone can convey a message before the text is even read.
Remember, these guidelines are only that – guidelines. There are no set-in-stone rules for choosing and mixing your fonts but starting off with these guidelines can help you to create a cohesive, legible, and meaningful design. Or, even help to jumpstart your design project. As long as your design achieves its intended purpose, you’ve done a good job!
