Control those fonts!

Let’s face it. When money’s tight, you may find it necessary to rely on your own graphic design skills to communicate with your customers. Whether you are creating fliers for your business or listing items online to sell, there are a few guidelines to maximize the visual impact of your message.

Nix Those Fancy Fonts
Tempted to use Comic Sans or a cursive font to add flare and draw attention to your piece? Don’t fall victim to this typographical trap! Overuse of fancy fonts can make your piece look like the work of an amateur. Sure these types of fonts are fun but when everyone uses them, they get pretty old, and get old fast. It also can be hard on the eyes of your readers. Besides, you want the viewer to pay attention to the most important part of your piece - the message!

Stick to normal serif and sans-serif fonts for headlines and body copy. If you absolutely must use a fancy font, use it sparingly throughout the piece. Reserve it for special information that should stand out.

Beware of Too Many Chefs...
Control the desire to use a variety of fonts. Using too many different fonts in one piece breaks the visual cohesion. The viewer may be unsure what information is most important as the fonts compete against one another for attention.

Your safe bet is to limit fonts to two or three. Note that using bold or italic in a particular font is not included in this limitation. In fact, using bold or italic can help to create a visual hierarchy of information. Just be sure not to bold every sentence or the emphasis will get lost.

Serif or Sans Serif?
As you probably can guess, readability is very important. If you are posting a blog online, sans serif fonts are easiest on the reader’s eye. But, for text you’re printing out, serif fonts are best to read. Of course, this rule isn’t set in stone. But, it’s important to be mindful of it when you have a lot of text in your piece.

Take the CAPS lock off!
RESIST THE URGE TO MAKE EVERY WORD ALL CAPITALS. It may be effective for headlines, but use proper capitalization for paragraphs of text. An entire paragraph of all caps can be difficult to read, especially for readers who are skimming the text. Also, AvOiD sTrAnGe AnD fUnKy CaPiTaLiZaTiOn To DrAw In ReAdErS. You may appear more like a 15-year-old girl on MySpace than a professional company.

Think of these tips not as definitive rules but mere guidelines to assist you in producing professional, easy-to-read messages geared towards reaching your customers.

Need help with graphic design but wary of the high cost of hiring a professional? ProMoter Inc. specializes in finding cost effective marketing solutions for clients, while delivery quality results. Contact ProMoter Inc. at 502-562-1969 or email us at promoter@promoterinc.com.