DIFFERENT TYPEFACES - If the Face Fits

Create your own sample book of typefaces on your computer that you can refer to. Organise them into:

• Serif for continuous text; readable at small sizes and those suitable for headings.

• Sans-serif for continuous text; readable at small sizes and for headings.

• Script fonts that look handwritten with a pen or brush.

• Decorative fonts only suitable for headings or ‘fun’ uses.

• Fixed width, techno and pixel fonts for use on the web or to give a computer appearance.

Identify which typefaces have bold, italic, black or light fonts.

Now identify which fonts you might use in each of the following commissions:

A short story in a woman’s magazine entitled “I thought I loved him; now I’m not so sure”. The story is 1300 words long so you will need to identify a text font and a headline font.

• An advertisement in a parish magazine asking for more helpers on the flower rota. The finished size is A6 landscape and the text reads: “Can you add that important artistic flourish to our church? We desperately need more volunteers to join the flower rota. If you can help or would like more information please contact Jennie jennie@vicarage.co.uk.”

•A poster to advertise an after-school club for boys aged 13 – 14. The poster will be A3 size and the copy reads: “Bored? Feeling got at? Nowhere to go? Then why not come and join us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school in the Old Gym. We’ve got football, ping pong, table soccer, computers, Karate, cooking and lots more. All free just come along.”

• Your friends’ engagement party. They want a flyer A5 size to send to their friends as if advertising a club night. The copy reads: “Mandy and Josh are finally going to do it...well almost!!!!! Come and join them on Friday 24 March from 8pm at the Golden Calf to celebrate their long awaited engagement... and yes lots of presents would be gratefully received particularly if we can drink them!!!!!

Then have a go at mocking up each of these. Try different fonts to see how each changes the feel of the text and make notes in your learning log about which works best and why.

Analysis

The brief is to create a sample book of typefaces that I can refer to and the book must be divided into the following:

• Serif that can be readable at all sizes including headings and continuous text.

• Sans serif that can be readable at all sizes including headings and continuous text.

• Script fonts that look like they have been created with a brush or pen "handwritten"

• Decorative fonts that are suitable for fun uses and headings

• Fixed width fonts that look like computer, pixel or web

Identify fonts that could be used in the following commissions:

• A short story in a women's magazine using 1300 words, selecting a font for the body text and the headline.

• An A6 advertisement for a parish magazine asking for help with the flower rota

• An A3 poster for an after school club for boys aged between 13-14

• An A5 flyer for friends' engagement party that looks like a club night.

For each of the commissions I will need to experiment with different fonts to see which ones are the most effective and how they change the look and feel of each design. Produce mock-ups of the chosen pieces.

Typography sample book

There are so many different typefaces. I wanted to look online to see how other people have put together type specimen posters to give me some ideas of how I could make interesting compositions for my sample book. I found when looking at the different typefaces that there are mostly posters using the popular typefaces such as Didot, Futura or Gill Sans for example and hardly any of the decorative and script typefaces.

Please click on the image to see my moodboard.

For this part of the exercise I chose to look at three fonts per section and produce a sample book with all of the different typefaces divided into the following sections:

Serif - I chose Didot, Caslon and Baskerville

Sans serif - I chose Roboto, Azo sans and Futura

Script - I chose Avalon, White Angelica and Pen Story

Decorative - I chose Black and White, Sketch block and Zubilo

Fixed width - I chose Video, Orbitron and OCR A Extended

The typefaces that have bold, italic, black and light fonts are,

• Didot

• Caslon

• Baskerville

• Roboto

• Azo sans

• Futura

• Avalon

• Video

• Orbitron

I chose the majority of my typefaces to have a variety of fonts so I could be more versatile with them when designing the mock-ups for the next part of the exercise.

The typefaces that did not have extra fonts were the decorative and some of the fixed width typefaces such as:

• White Angelica

• Pen Story

• Black and White

• Sketch Block

• Zubilo

• OCR A Extended

In my sample book below I wanted to present the typefaces and the fonts in an exciting visual way. I showcased the fonts in different sizes, in bold, italics or black if the font had those different fonts, the alphabet in upper and lower case, numbers and symbols.

Please click on the image to see the sample book of typefaces.

A short story in a women's magazine

I wanted to brainstorm to get a few ideas of where I wanted my design to go, below I was thinking about the layout of the double page spread for the women's magazine and what typefaces I would use for the heading and the body text.

Moodboard

I wanted some more inspiration of magazine layouts for women's magazines in particular, so I could find the right mood for the story.

Click on the picture below to see more.

Design 1

The layout of this story was quite difficult. I used placeholder text in Adobe InDesign, I knew that 1300 words would take up a lot of space on the page but not as much as I thought. I needed to reduce the placeholder text to 9pt to fit the story in.

"As a general guide, text type should normally appear somewhere between around 8pt and 14pt for continuous reading, depending on the typeface used". (Harkins, 2011)

I used three columns for the placeholder text and after much rearranging of photos to help tell the story, I used one photo as a background image with white text overlayed on top of the photograph. I kept the layout simple as the exercise is to identify a heading typeface and body text typeface.

Fig.1 Woman lying on bed thinking (2021)

The heading is in Black and White typeface and body text is in Caslon. I wanted to try the headline in the decorative typeface Black and White to see how this would look with the story. It doesn't really work because the heading introduces a serious topic. This typeface might have worked if the story was more relaxed and not so serious. I used Caslon for the body text as it's a more sophisticated typeface that might make the story look more credible.

"The use of a serif typeface gives a formal feel, while a sans-serif face has a more relaxed, contemporary look". (Caldwell and Zappaterra, 2014)

Design 2

For this experiment I used Video as the heading typeface and the body text was Roboto. I knew that the video typeface was not the right typeface for this story but intrigued to see how this would look. I was trying out Video because of the age of the target audience in a digital age - a younger woman finding who she thought was the right person online, but then things didn't work out for her. The Video typeface is a "fun" typeface, but it doesn't accurately convey the story. The Roboto body text is a simple typeface to read and I thought this would go well with the video typeface for a cleaner look.

Design 3

For this experiment I used Caslon for the entire story. I wanted to use one typeface and experiment with the different fonts. For the heading I used a bold font, but because the headline was so long I broke up the headline and made the second half in italics. The body text is also in Caslon. I think the serif typeface works well for this magazine story because the serif typeface is more formal and serious.

Mock-up

With my chosen design, Caslon typeface, I created a colour theme from the photograph by sampling the colours and used it for the heading text colour and drop cap. The serif typeface was the best typeface to use because of the feeling of trustworthiness the typeface gives. I found that the typeface was easier to read than the sans serif typeface. What I also found interesting while trying to fit all of the placeholder text into the article was that even though the body text was set to 9pt changing from Roboto to Caslon made the article look "shorter"

An advertisement in a parish magazine

I brainstormed some ideas for a church advertisement in a parish magazine. Nearly all churches print/photocopy their own newsletters, but I still needed to make an advert that would stand out on the pew leaflet. I used my sketchbook to try some layout ideas and the typefaces I would use for the advert.

Moodboard

I found some images online that realistically represent the church's pew leaflet. Many are designed by the church secretary and are very basic. I wanted to go with a bright colour like yellow for the advert to stand out and appeal to anyone who would like to be part of the rota.

Click on the image for more information.

From my sketchbook I decided that the typeface should be a serif typeface for the body of the text as I feel this advert is aimed at the more mature age group. I want the advert to look formal but also inviting. For the headings I decided to try a combination a sans serif, decorative and script typefaces for my three designs.

Design 1

For this experiment I chose a script typeface in Avalon, for the text body I used Baskerville for it's sophisticated look and readability. I used different fonts in Baskerville, bold, regular and italic to break up the text and make the sections easier to read.

"Stick to a single font family and create hierarchy with the variants roman, italic and bold and so on". (Harkins, 2011)

I tried a pale yellow background but the green text did not read very well on the advert.

Fig. 2 Floral Crosses clipart (2023)

Design 2

For this version of the advert I used Black and White typeface for the heading and Futura for the text. I found that the Black and White too hard to read as the headline is quite long and the typeface is very decorative. For the text I used Futura fonts in regular and italic which is easy to read and understated.

Design 3

This version I think I prefer because when doing the mock-up of the advert in a magazine layout it was much easier to read the headline. It caught the eye with its bold Futura typeface which is simple and Didot text which is elegant and formal. With Didot I also used the italic font for emphasis.

Mock - up

A poster to advertise an after - school club for boys.

I sketched some ideas in my sketchbook for layout and typeface ideas. I wanted this poster to look appealing and not childish with illustrations. It needed to look up-to-date, edgy and more grown-up.

Moodboard

I found that with this commission I could have more fun with the typefaces for the headline. Below I created a moodboard to see how I could fit these typefaces into my design.

Click image below for more.

A lot of the posters I found online were a bit bland. I decided to go with one photo that, instead of showing every single activity, I would show just one activity to avoid the poster looking cluttered as there is already quite a lot of text. I decided to go with a futuristic theme and computers.

Harkins (2011) suggests that one should choose a font with a specific purpose in mind. Who should it be aimed at? What should it communicate? It's also important not to take things too far. Don't make your point too obvious or cliché by overstating it. When visual material is used to promote a 'fun day' for children, it is vital to choose the right font. The formal, elegant ITC Galliard font may not convey the right message.

Design 1

For this design I used the heading typeface Sketch Block, it only comes in one font but I chose this one because it looked hand-drawn and fun. For the text I used the typeface Zubilo, this typeface is also quite fun, but it might be hard to read on a poster.

Fig.3 Boy with black headphones playing computer games (2021)

Design 2

For this design I chose the typeface Orbitron for the heading because it goes very well with the computer image and the overall theme of the poster. For the text I used Roboto because I can use light text on a darker background that is impactful and good for teenagers (Caldwell,2019)

Design 3

For this design I used the typeface Pen Story for the heading and Roboto for the text. I feel that Pen Story does not work with this heading as it doesn't go with the theme. This typeface only has one font so I'm not able to use a bold font to make it stand out more.

Mock-up

When producing the mock-up for this design I chose design 2 as the heading went well with the theme and the Roboto text is easy to read, especially with light writing and a dark background.

Your friends' engagement party

This is a very different brief because most engagement parties would have a more formal, pastel coloured, traditional invitation. This is unusual and for inspiration, I looked at night club flyers. I found that neon, pinks and purples were popular as a theme. In regards to the typefaces for heading and text for the flyer, I think this might be more challenging.

Moodboard

Click on the image for more.

Design 1

For this design the typeface I used for the heading was Zubilo and the text was in Roboto. Although the flyer is not supposed to look like an engagement flyer it still doesn't really fit the theme I need, it looks too young for the look I need.

Fig.4 Light Trails Background (2023)

Design 2

For this design I used the Black and White typeface because it has a more "engagement" look even though the theme is night club. It has a decorative handwritten look that goes well with the theme. For the text I used the Futura typeface and used the heavy, demi and italic fonts for contrast.

Design 3

For this design I used the typeface Avalon for the heading and Futura for the text. Avalon typeface does come in a bold font but it still wasn't bold enough to emphasize the heading, it seems a little out of place with the theme.

Mock-up

Finding the right heading typefaces to go with this theme was quite challenging, I wanted it to look elegant but at the same time have the night club vibe. I decided that the best typeface for this design would be the Black and White typeface for the heading, contrasted with a sans serif text Futura where I could use the different fonts and contrast this typeface with different colours and with uppercase letters to try and balance out the design and make it easier to read.

Reflection

Producing my own typeface sample book was fun. I could see how the different typefaces looked when in uppercase, lowercase and in different font sizes. I now have more knowledge on how to pair the typefaces for designs in the second part of the exercise where I could experiment with different typefaces and the different fonts. I found it important to choose typefaces that have a variety of fonts, as having a bold, italic and regular fonts makes it easier to design. With one of the typefaces, sketch block, used for the boys after-school club poster, the question mark was not part of the font, so this was a good lesson to learn to choose typefaces that have all the symbols as well.

I'm learning more and more about the different categories of typefaces: serif, sans serif, script, etc and how these work together to give the right message to a design and to design with the audience in mind and not how the typeface looks. Typeface psychology is important as different typefaces convey different feelings and the correct typeface needs to be selected for the audience that you are designing for.

I also learnt that that having a typeface that has a variety of fonts is very important and that classic typefaces such as Baskerville and Futura for example, that have a wide variety of fonts makes a huge difference when creating designs that require headings, sub-headings, body text or captions. Having a variety of different fonts enables the design to have a bold sub-heading or an italic as a contrast and create a visual hierarchy to make blocks of text easier to read.

References

Bibliography If the face fits.pdf

Download PDF • 98KB