Fonts are just as much a defining part of a good logo as the colors and illustrations used. If you disagree, imagine a florist using a futuristic font. Enough said. Conversely, if you are designing a logo for a football team, you should avoid graceful, delicate lettering, even if it suits your own tastes better.

Brand design isn't about what you like, it's about what the brand needs to communicate to a potential customer in just a few milliseconds.

When you're looking through your font collection at the start of a new project, ask yourself what each font says to you as you flip through. Does it communicate elegance? Simplicity? Youth? Experience? The font you use must be consistent with what the brand wants to convey. Put some thought into this, sometimes fonts say more than the words themselves.

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Points to Remember

• Though not strictly the case, a modern feel is usually achieved with sans-serif typefaces, while traditional designs are easily achieved with serif typefaces.


• Kerning (the space between letters) and leading (the space between lines) is very important to get right. A little bit of whitespace can change quite a bit about how a typeface appears. For example, if you reduce the kerning and leading, you'll get a tight, solid look, whereas increasing these values gives a more relaxed, carefree vibe.


• Clients on DesignCrowd looks at typography as well. If it looks like it was an afterthought, then the design will have less chance of winning the contest. The type has to look at home and tightly integrated with the rest of the design, so it should be given equal importance.

Activity - Reworking Type

Choose a well-known logo that has an element of typography, such as Starbucks, Google, or FedEx. Recreate the logo using a different typeface, such as Helvetica or Comic Sans. Does the impression the brand conveys change? Is it just the same letters but different type? What does it mean now? See how the typography can set the mood of a brand.

Want More?

Whatever skill level you're at, it never hurts to dust up on key elements that might help win you a contest. Check out our design articles for some useful tips.

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Written by Josh Borja on Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Josh has worked as a graphic designer at DesignCrowd, and is currently an in-house graphic designer for two community groups - Harbour City Bears and Penrith Musical Comedy Company. He credits both groups as being important in helping shape who he is. He says graphic design is a tool getting him to where he wants to be.