If you want to create a successful brand, it is essential to start treating it as more than a logo. It should stand for everything that a consumer thinks and feels when they interact with it, be it on the television, a billboard, or in a magazine.
In many ways, beautiful web typography is a part of this and gives businesses the chance to really stand out from the competition. So, if you want to learn how to capture something special, take a little look at your typography choices.
The problem with modern businesses is that they are too fixated on technology. Yes, it is important to make use of the tools available, but essentially, once the shiny technological ‘bells and whistles’ have all been used up, only good old-fashioned text will be left.
It is this text that will either drive potential customers towards your website or see them scarper fast. It is time to think about whether utilizing paid fonts could help your corporate website perform better.
Typography & Fonts
Image source: Sherzod Mirzaakhmedov
The word typography refers to the balance and interaction between letters on a page. It constitutes both a verbal and a visual cue designed to help readers comprehend the key ideas contained there. This dual role, as both visual and verbal indicator, is important, because it allows the human brain to interact with content in the most efficient way possible.
Whilst human beings are not always aware that it is happening, they are subconsciously attuned to the verbal and the visual whilst browsing a page. They first assess the overarching visual themes of the page, and then they turn to actually reading the content. Therefore, successful typography creates a supportive visual framework for assessing written content, by offering visual cues and making the interplay between visual and verbal clearer.
Typography & Web pages – The Importance of Content
Image source: Alexander Antonov
The good news is that visual content can be formed in a thousand different ways. As web fonts and web browser scripts continue to develop and improve, innovative new projects are being created.
The trick to success is to treat each webpage as a branch diversion of a singular root design. If you think about typography in this way, it is much simpler to imagine it flowing from page to page, like the branches of a tree.
They all interact, and depend on one another for survival, but are distinctly separate components at the same time. This is particularly true when it comes to creating exclusive categories for paragraphs and headings.
Digital Typography
Image source: Justin Rands
There was a time when switching to a different font was a journey in itself. For example, if you wanted to swap from Times New Roman to Arial (or make the transition between any two fonts), the only solution would be to remove all of the keys on your typewriter and replace them a new set. These days, switching between fonts takes seconds, and it is important that the privilege is utilized correctly.
Whilst digital typography has come on leaps and bounds over the last decade, there are still lots of fonts which are not entirely web compatible, but this tends to be due to unsuitable browser choices.
So, you could end up picking a font that you like, using it on your website, and then finding out that it does not look like it should. This would lower the quality of your brand, which is why it is so important to plan your typography choices carefully.
In other words, it can often be a better choice to invest in reliable paid fonts. If you make use of resources like Adobe Typekit, you will find that it becomes easier to source and use web compatible choices.
Image source: typekit.com
The Typekit tool liaises with individual foundries and assesses and creates modern versions of the traditional fonts. Plus, it can be used in tandem with Creative Cloud, allowing web designers to experiment with different combinations and designs.
For those who would rather host font files on their own servers, there are scores of websites which allow for this, or you can choose to work with an individual foundry. In fact, these one-off investments can sometimes end up costing less than hosted choices with scheduled fees. The point to remember is that licensing will require some forethought; do think about the number of desired licenses and what form they will need to take.
It is a good idea to ensure that the whole of your design and marketing collective is in possession of a licensed copy of the certified font so that no costly mistakes are made. Plus, it is important to give some thought to what kind sounds like a basic question, but is actually the foundation upon which your online content sits; what is the purpose of the digital text?
Digital Text
Image source: Andrew Johnson
The main objectives of digital text are to offer insights, share resources, and help you send a message to readers. Whilst text may the most basic way in which we express ideas, it can be a very intricate tool and can convey details in ways that video and photography simply cannot.
The majority of website visitors now find the content that they are looking for by searching for the keywords which they imagine the content to be centered around. This is why it is essential to construct your copy with care and skill. Once you have grabbed the attention of a visitor, the aim then turns to keeping them interested and transforming traffic into conversions.
Useful Web Typography Trends
Lots of White Space
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These days, minimalism is all the rage, because internet users do not always want to be bombarded with lots of content. The bottom line is that empty space does not necessarily equal wasted space, and a little bit of room to breathe can be really appealing. Yet, this trick is all about the visual, so if you are going to use it, you need to make sure that your digital content is just as appealing.
Heavy Font Weights
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The weight of a font dictates how bold it will appear to the eye, and this can alter the overall look and design of content. For example, if you are aiming for a very slick and sleek look, a thinner font choice is best. For a more friendly and down to earth atmosphere, pick up something a little thicker and fatter.
Different Combinations
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As typography continues to advance, the role of creativity and imagination increases in importance. For most modern businesses, this means investing in a carefully constructed combination of typesets, which work well together and compliment one another. With new typography innovations, combining fonts will continue to get easier.
Huge Typographical Logos
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It is not always easy to incorporate typography into logos, because you are, in essence, trying to combine two previously distinct branches of the tree. However, this technique continues to grow in popularity, and it is the business who manage to create top quality typographical logos that draw a lot of consumer attention.
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Whilst a singular font choice is unlikely to determine whether your brand is a successful one, it will absolutely play a big part in whether consumers want to find out more about it. Once an established brand becomes inexorably connected to one particular font, it can become very difficult for them to change it and retain a certain level of popularity. For example, can you imagine if Pepsi changed its characteristic font?
This might sound like a disadvantage for a business, but a well established typographical design can be a real boon. It means that customers are interacting with your brand in both a visual and a verbal way, which is precisely what human beings are designed to do. In other words, you are playing to their strengths, so that they will take notice of yours.
Credit for featured image: piccsy.com
