5 Simple Steps To Choose The Right Fonts For Your Design
Typography is the art of expressing through types or symbols. The Head of Graphic Design at the Colchester Institute in England, "something everyone does" in this digital age where you can download free fonts with the click of a button. And yet, for almost everyone I know, yes, even designers, choosing the right free fonts can be a frustrating experience.
This article will break down the process of selecting the correct free fonts for your design in 5 easy steps. I wrote this for web designers, but others may benefit from reading it, too. Let us begin.
STEP 1: FIND TYPES OF READING
The first rule, don't think about it too much. You may not want to follow the giant crowd of Helvetica users. And, somehow you ask yourself, why Helvetica? Well, let me tell.
Because it's so damn good! Perfectly fits all imaginable designs, works well in small and large sizes.
But, for those who have a strong dislike for Helvetica, here is a simple process that I follow when selecting a type for body content from my website. First, choose free fonts, paid or free, that you like. Then reduce the size of the free font to around 10 points. If you can still read the text without squinting, congratulate yourself. You have chosen well, my friend.
TEP 2: DETERMINE SIZE AND HIERARCHY
As a general rule, the size of the free font for your content should be 12 points. Some sites even use 14pt for better readability.
The title will generally have a larger free fonts size. But, there is no hard and fast rule in the visual hierarchy. Everything is relative. You can use color to distinguish the most important title. Or, you can choose a totally different free font for your titles to give them more meaning. The choice is yours.
STEP 3: LEADER AND MONITORING
The start is the space between each line of text. Misguiding can make an amazing copy seem boring and hard to swallow. While good leadership can make even a bad copy look readable. As a general rule, the standard CSS line-height for a text block is 1.5 times the free fonts size.
Tracking refers to the space between each character in a text block to affect its density and texture. The reader will perceive the text differently depending on the amount of space. Strict tracking or negative letter-spacing not only reduces the readability and readability of the text. It could also trigger a cultural association of a more subjective typographic voice, the equivalent of a fast-talking car salesman. Conversely, increasing the spacing between letters in the text (to some extent) increases readability, and the cultural association is of a more objective voice.
STEP 4: SPLASH SOME COLORS
I am not talking about the color scheme here. Instead, it's about choosing the color scheme for better readability.
The common combination is black text on the white background and white text on the black background. But you can mix and match any color as long as the content is readable.
STEP 5: GET THE PAIRING
Most of the time, it is not enough to use only 1 font for your content. You may need to use a serif font for your title and a sans-serif font for your content text. Or vice versa. There is no absolute rule when choosing this mix. But, you can base your choice on several best practices.
First, combine a sans serif with a serif. It is a classic combination and almost impossible to be wrong.
Second, contrast the weights of the sources. Avoid confusing type hierarchy by distinguishing elements in the hierarchy from each other.
Third, don't mix moods. Each typeface has its own personality. And, mixing the mood of the typefaces can draw attention to the typography rather than the message, resulting in poor design.
Finally, create a typeface texture variation. Play around with font weight, size, stroke width, line spacing, kerning, and various other factors. An easy way to see the typeface texture is to squint at a design until you can no longer read it but can still see the text in terms of its overall tonal value.
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