Typography in Branding
I have been researching font and I have previously been reading the ‘Meet your Type’ book and I made a blog post about it access here. I have also completed some documentary research for type access here. Type is a very important aspect to a brand and I want to make sure that I choose the right font for my brand and one that compliments my monogram.
Why is Type so important?
Typography is the most common form of visual art in todays society, it is everywhere. So why is type so important when it comes to branding? Well, brand typography is key to the brands message being delivered. Similar to a brands logo, the right font can help consumers and the audience see the key characteristics behind a brands values and message as typeface can actually convey a certain type of personality. When people look at fonts they subconsciously make decisions and opinions on that brand and I need to make a type choice that makes people have positive associations and opinions on my brand and the work that I do. This is why picking the right font is key to a brand’s successful communication.
I read that in 2007 a MIT study discovered that different type designs and layouts can influence and effect peoples moods. Within the study users became frustrated and tired when using a poorly designed layouts with poor font choices and users viewing the better designed layout felt happier and actually read the content much faster. This all comes down to font choice and styling, the better your choice and the better its styled and laid out the better experience your consumer will have! This study proves that type actually has a huge affect on how people feel when they look at stand brand is all about feelings and relationships and I want my audience and consumers to have a strong and good relationship with my brand therefore making the type I choose very important.
How is personality conveyed through type?
Every typeface conveys and presents a different personality, if done well type can present a number of positive feelings and associations to the audience and consumer and it can resonate with certain people. Choosing the right typography can be inviting to the consumer and create a sense of clarity and balance for them when looking and observing your brand or product. For instance, geometric fonts with homogenised proportions tend to represent design purity, cleanliness and simplicity – values that many technology brands are currently keen to express.
Typography serves 4 purposes when building a brand:
- Distincition
- Coherence
- Communication
- Consistency
The empathetic typographer selects or commissions fonts that actually reflect and clarify a brands main belief and reason for being. If the correct typeface is chosen then this will therefore reduce confusion and friction between the consumer and the brand, therefore making the communication seamless and flow easier. This shows me clearly that choosing the correct typeface benefits everyone, making it a win win!
“Good typography is like bread: ready to be admired, appraised, and dissected before it is consumed.”
Bringhurst stated
Brands who do this well
There are many brands who make fantastic use of typography and the typefaces that they have chosen to work with for their brands identity, but I have chosen a particular example that I think will help my brand and what I am aiming to achieve.
Airbnb
Font choice – Brown for Logo and Circular for everything else!
I have chosen to look at Airbnb because they are a very much web based brand and it is important that I chose a typeface that looks good online as this is where most people will view my work., Airbnb makes great use of their type faces which appeal to online users and as well as that they are an excellent example of using this pairing approach and their chosen two work beautiful together. Their logo type is Brown, which is a sans serif typeface with minimal contrast and open forms and for their body copy as well as navigation and captions, etc the brand uses Circular.
Pairing typefaces isn’t a easy job it takes a lot of careful research to chose the perfect combo for the specific message you want to deliver, and with regards to branding the brand needs to pair fonts that are versatile on a large number of platforms, including print and the web. Airbnb, in my opinion have paired these two typefaces greatly and the pairing is just right, the two typefaces work in great harmony together, complimenting each other perfectly.
“Some typefaces surprise you with their very regularity – their sense of rightness, of always having been there. They are so of the current moment that they seem classic and timeless. … Circular falls into this category.”- As type reviewer Benjamin Shaykin says
As you can see from above the font Circular is definitely a great choice for this brand as most of there content is viewed on phones and laptop due to this brand being very web-based. I think that this font is a very versatile and economical, it works on all platforms, it’s clear at small sizes and has a crisp image in headlines therefore making it very obvious to me why it is a very popular within the tech world. In my opinion when I look at this app and website it is evident to me that this brand is clean, safe and reliable, I get all of that simply from the typeface alone never mind the colour scheme and imagery etc. I also gather that this brand is up to date with the current trends and therefore modern, which is important to people who want to travel they want to trust the brand with their money and safety. This clearly shows how a typeface can give of a personality and conveys clearly Airbnb’s message that they are in fact a safe and reliable travel app, and this shows how a brand can tell users and consumers what they are about with simply choosing the correct typography.
How to choose the right typeface for your brand?
In order to choose the right typeface or typefaces for my brands identity I need to ask myself important questions. I have researched important questions that I need to ask myself regarding typography and choosing the right typeface for my brands identity. I have made a mind map expressing these important questions and I will revisit when it comes down to choosing the right typefaces and this will help me know which is the right one for me and my brand. See mind map below.
What have I learned?
I have enjoyed this research and I am feeling a lot more confident when it comes to typography and choosing a typeface or typefaces for my brand, I think that this is an important step that I want to get right. I have learned that good typography is both magnetic and useful and choosing a good typeface benefits everyone, me and my audience! I have learned that type is a vital aspects to a brands identity and it can convey a lot about a brand. I have learned that it isn’t just about communication with typefaces and my brand perception isn’t just about communicating your personality; it’s about creating a great overall brand experience, and typefaces have the power to do so.
How can I apply this to my own brand?
I need to ensure that I choose a typeface for my wordmark that compliments my monogram, this is a very important step they both need to work together in harmony. I am not sure if I am going to pick more that one typeface for my brand but this is something I need to look into, and therefore I will experiment with pairing fonts. I also need to consider type for other aspects of my brand not just my wordmark, for example I need to take into consideration a font for my portfolio website as well as physical touchpoints. Moving forward I will continue to research different fonts and surfing the web for typefaces that have the potential to work for my brands identity.