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How do I choose a font?
How do I choose a font?
A font is a graphical representation of text that may include a different typeface, point size, weight, color, or design. Generally, the most important thing to consider about a font is whether it is legible and clear. Is it communicating what I want to communicate?
Font choices also communicate formality, when you choose a formal or informal font (see serif and sans-serif fonts below). They also help emphasize areas of text and organize information on the page, by working with font weights, size, or a second font.
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Sans-serif vs serif
Sans-serif vs serif
One way of categorizing fonts is serif and sans-serif. Sans-serif typefaces are composed of plain, simple lines (like Helvetica or Arial). Sans-serif typefaces tend to work better in digital projects, like websites and PDFs. They are often read as more informal.
Serif typefaces have slight projections that finish off strokes (like Times New Roman and Garamond). Serif typefaces are typically thought of as easier to read in print.
The other two major styles of typefaces are script and decorative, which are more ornamental and should generally not be used in academic projects, as they are less formal and more difficult to read.
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Font ideas
Font ideas
Classic sans-serif fonts include Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana, while classic serif fonts are Times New Roman and Garamond. It is fine to use these fonts, but you can make your project stand out by using newer fonts.
Some of our favorite fonts are shown on the right. All of these are Google fonts so you can use them on Google Apps like Google Docs. Download the fonts by going to fonts.google.com and searching, then selecting "Download Family."
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Font size
Font size
Choose a font size for your body text, and another font size for your header text, and stick to it! It can be tempting to change the font size of a block of text to make the text fit the block better, but this will disrupt the visual image of the page.
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Font weight
Font weight
Qualities such as size, weight (or boldness), and spacing (including leading, the space between lines, and kerning, the space between letters) all play a role in how the viewer should navigate the page and what text should attract his or her attention first. Using bold and italics can help emphasize or organize information. Font "weight" refers to how thick, or bold, the text is.
Decide what parts of your design are essential and which are less important, and let your font choice reflect those priorities. More often than not, the more important a text element is, the larger and weightier its font will be.
We like to choose fonts that have an obvious difference between a normal weight and the bold weight. In the list of our favorite fonts above, notice that Proxima Nova has this obvious difference, while the weight of Montserrat is close between regular and bold.
If you are just using one font, use weight to organize information. For example, make your header text a larger size and bold.
Combining fonts
Combining fonts
It is helpful to choose a second font or font style: one for the headline or title and the other for the body (or bulk) of the text on a page. We don't recommend using more than two fonts or font styles in your project.
Here are some ideas for using font weight and color to create header and body sections.
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