Graphic Designer's Essential Reference

Choosing and Combining Typefaces

Many designers are baffled by the prospect of selecting a typeface for a project—where to begin? A text’s intended use is the best starting point for narrowing down the many options: Is it for display or extended reading? For display, the imagelike quality of the face, and its personality, are of utmost concern. If it’s continuous reading, eschew dramatically styled faces in favor of simplicity. Next, consider the subject or ideas to be communicated in the project. If the text is formal, for example, perhaps a serif is appropriate; but if the subject is technology, a sharply cut sans serif may be better. The feeling the typeface’s texture generates—tight, dark, open, light, romantic, organic, fresh, fluid, chunky, ...