http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/14/what-font-should-i-use-five-principles-for-choosing-and-using-typefaces/
http://justcreative.com/2008/09/23/top-7-fonts-used-by-professionals-in-graphic-design-2/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/choose-perfect-font/
Thanks guys!
Sophie,
ReplyDeleteThank you! The Smashing Magazine article was great. I definitely picked out the 'don't focus on your individuality' thing because I think that's what alot of novice designers (aka people like ME) do. The idea of having your Levi's or your "comfy jeans" font was great - as I learned I already have a few. I had no idea about font families. Definitely learned something today. It was good to know the reputation of each and that all of my favorite go-to fonts fall in the Transitional and Modern category. Contrasts are cool and I think is an easy design element for all ages to understand and read. The pink belt vs. decked out in pink example was so true. It reminded me of horrible examples from Visual Communication were classmates tried to use way too many dominant unique fonts.
The Just Creative article was short sweet and to the point. Helvetica is NOT perfect for every occasion, rather, a lot of occasions. Trajan was definitely recognizable from Hollywood posters and DVD covers. Garamond is good for long bodies of text - good to know. I kinda hate the Futura besides when it is used in logos. I think it is just intended for a niche I do not fit into. Bodoni has always interested me because it is serifed but also not? I learned the term in this article. It has unbracketed serifs. The 1st Web Designer article made me LOL with their opener about Comic Sans because I. Hate. Comic. Sans. So much. We learned that white space isn't the enemy, and this article reaffirmed it. This article had great examples about contrasting and how our brain takes longer (possibly long enough to lose interest) to process complicating fonts. So good to remember for headlines and what not, even when we try to be original and unique. Thanks for sharing Sophie! Looking forward to your presentation!
Sophie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links! I really appreciated reading these because font selection is something that I have always struggled with. It's been one of the most difficult design elements for me to get a good handle on. I've just never really had the best eye for it.
There were a few tips I really liked in the "What Font Should I Use?..." article. I especially liked the first one, with the overall message of the importance of being appropriate instead of sexy. Kelsey's presentation and article's she used mentioned that unique typography is becoming a trend. While this may be true, and I think it is important to stand out, it is equally important to make sure you don't lose track of your design's purpose. Don't let that get lose in the font selection. The font categories listed in the second tip were actually different from the basic categories that I have learned in the past. Wouldn't things be so much easier if everyone agreed on the "categories" of fonts? I also appreciated the fourth tip, "a little can go a long way." I think this is one of the most important things to recognize. As with color in design, less really is more.
Out of the fonts mentioned in the "Top 7 Fonts Used By Professionals in Graphic Design," I think I use Helvetica and Futura the most. They're generally in my "go to" fonts list when I just can't decide what works the best. I should start paying more attention to whether or not they actually work for my design and why I would use them.
I liked the third article "How to Choose the Perfect Font for Your Needs" quite a bit. The tip that headline fonts are not meant to be used for paragraph fonts is something that I've always tried to follow. Especially since taking Visual Communications. If you use the same font for both headline and body copy it becomes too much and too overwhelming, as the article illustrates. It's important to have some contrast. (But not too much, as the article also mentions.) Finally, I liked the suggestion to "analyze end result." Don't just pick a font to pick one or because it looks good. Knowing your message and audience before choosing a font can be key in effectively communicating!
Sophie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your article links! I also truly enjoyed your presentation!
Font selection has always been somewhat confusing to me to be honest, I've never really understood the proper reasoning behind why one font works better in comparison to another for specific articles and layout designs. These articles actually helped me!
In the "What Font Should I Use?" Article I particularly enjoyed the "Dress for The Occasion" paragraph because it's such simple, problem-solving way of thinking when it comes to designing a page that's 'audience oriented.' I personally wonder why I've never considered this process for choosing a font before whilst working in InDesign and working on page layout.
In the article "Top 7 Fonts Used by Professionals in Graphic Design," I could not have asked for a more proper description of Helvetica. Typically, a student bypasses the the ideas behind the typeface so being able to see a description that fits the standard idea behind it really is pleasing!
In the third article, "How to Choose the Perfect Font for your Needs," the first thing that stood out to me was the tip of not 'over experimenting' with the typeface. I think that, considering it's an unpracticed art of choosing a proper font for the desired audience, there is a variety of fonts picked and thrown away in the publishing process. The article is right, the more that you work through, the more confusion the reader will feel in the end!
I think that typeface is just as important as the overall layout design whilst working on page design, thank you, Sophie for helping me with this problem by providing these articles!