Font selection, also referred to as typography, is an essential aspect of design that involves the careful selection and pairing of typefaces to achieve a specific visual message. For successful visual communication, designers need to prioritize legibility, readability and clarity when selecting fonts.
Typography encompasses everything from font selection to layout design. It is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make written language legible, readable and appealing. Typography can be used in various forms such as print, digital media, branding, packaging and advertising.
A typeface refers to the design of characters or letters that share common attributes such as stroke width, contrast and serifs. Typeface can be further broken down into categories such as serif, sans-serif, script and display.
Font style refers to the variations of a typeface such as bold, italic, light, semi-bold etc. Each font style has its own unique characteristics that can be used to create visual hierarchy or emphasis within a design.
Font selections play a vital role in creating visual hierarchy and emphasis within a design. They can enhance or detract from the overall aesthetic of a design if not chosen carefully. A good typography selection will complement other design elements such as colour scheme, layout and imagery.
Visual Hierarchy is the arrangement of elements in a visual communication piece in order of importance or priority. Typography plays an important role in creating visual hierarchy by using font size, weight and style to guide the viewer through the various levels of importance.
Selecting fonts for your project should follow these steps:
Below are five recommended books and ebooks on typography:
