When I was in art school, I took typography courses.
Merriam-Webster defines typography as “the style, arrangement, or appearance of
typeset matter.” Typography is an art form that uses letters rather than images
to convey a message. In class we learned how to choose the perfect font to best
partner with our designs to enhance them. Marie Miguel, our guest today, talks
about the psychology behind font choices in today’s digital world.
What Your Choice of Font
Says About Your Personality (and How This Influences How Others Perceive You)
Aside from a few people with fairly specialized
interests, the art of calligraphy is more often admired
than practiced these days. Graphology – the study of handwriting – is still
used forensically to determine things like whether or not a particular person
wrote something or other by hand and what their state of mind might have been, but
the idea that a person's psyche can be analyzed through how they shape their
P's and Q's has pretty much been debunked with anyone who knows anything about psychology.
In modern times, though, what used to be called
penmanship has been replaced by the ability to write in paragraphs, ‘nt abrvt
wrds’ unnecessarily, and generally FORMAT AN EMAIL as if your age is in the
double-figure range. Part of this means the font you choose, which may seem
trivial while you're actually composing a message but can indeed influence the
amount of interest and credence you can expect from editors, customer service reps,
potential employers and even your mom.
Times New Roman
If you would like nothing less than to stand out
from the crowd, use TNR. It's traditional, but also not the easiest to read nor
the most stylish – regardless of whether “style” means either something more
minimalistic or ornate to you. Using this font basically says to the world that
you either don't know how to change the word processor's default, or you just
don't care enough to do so, or you're over sixty.
Comic Sans
Used exclusively for children's birthday party
invitations. Ignored in all other contexts. Can you imagine an unsolicited
manuscript in this font ever being read? There's
a first time for everything, but we're not holding our breath.
Arial
Reading a message written in this font gives the
idea that the writer probably loves Notepad++, writes in block letters rather
than cursive and compiles lists alphabetically. With Arial, the message is the
meaning, with no added flair or color.
Cambria
Not as bare-bones simple as Arial yet not as
pointlessly ornate as some serif fonts, Cambria has character while still
remaining readable and classy. It may be nothing special, but it's rarely the
wrong choice, which is probably why it's the default font in Microsoft Word.
Helvetica
In many ways, this font is a suitable go-to option
unless you want to express some special kind of emotion. It's clean, cool and easy
to read without looking quite as sparse as something like Courier or Arial.
While the “best” font will always be a matter of opinion, using Helvetica
suggests that you are serious without being stodgy.
Rockwell
Occasionally, a writer really wants to make a point. One of the ways of doing so is to use a lesser known font, forcing the reader to slow down a little and reset their mental preconceptions. While Rockwell isn't all that suited for everyday use, a message in this font takes a little longer to read and will stand out from those written in more easily recognized styles.
Occasionally, a writer really wants to make a point. One of the ways of doing so is to use a lesser known font, forcing the reader to slow down a little and reset their mental preconceptions. While Rockwell isn't all that suited for everyday use, a message in this font takes a little longer to read and will stand out from those written in more easily recognized styles.
