Graphic design has become one of the most popular professions over the last few years. The Digital Age has arrived, and every kind of content is consumed in a whole different way.
People search for quick readings, less information, more graphics, and images. They want something visually attractive.
Designers use colors, figures, photos, and layouts to attain the optimum graphic content level to compose their products. Still, there’s another element that is usually forgotten: the words. We can’t forget the importance of typography in design.
While it is true that design’s most important objective is to transmit a perfectly understandable graphic message, it’s a total mistake to leave the text in a secondary place.
A good designer knows they need to find a way to include the words as a part of the design instead of simply a compliment.
Lots of elements should be considered in the typography spectrum. Font and size play a significant role in the design.
If you want to give a specific message, you should adapt these items to the meaning you want to project. It may sound a little weird, but once we explain to you the importance of typography in design through its elements, everything will make sense.
Types Of Letters
According to your design message and structure, you can choose between two different types of letters.
The most essential characteristic of each one is if it has a serif or not. A serif is a small line attached to the end of a stroke in a letter or symbol. Let’s see the principal aspects of each type.
Serif
With a small line attached to the end of a stroke, the serifs make reading easier since it creates an imaginary line that allows you to read without getting lost.
For this reason, they were used by typewriters. They take place in reports and documents, mainly of judicial nature.
These symbols are used in designs with lots of text, and they should be considered in formats such as newspapers, magazines, brochures, etc.
Great examples of serif fonts are Book Antiqua, Berkeley Old Style, Bookman Old Style, Courier, Courier New, Century Schoolbook, Garamond, Georgia, MS Serif, New York, Times, Times New Roman, Paladino, and Rockwell.
Sans Serif
These types of letters are the opposite of serif ones, and the lack of serif is the main characteristic.
Sans Serif typography is made with “cleaner” letters. Words written in this style won’t make you tired of reading, but they are not designed to appear in enormous texts.
The lack of serif is an excellent complement for designs with fewer words. They have also gained fundamental importance in the digital space.
Web pages, including news portals and virtual magazines, use sans serif no matter how much text they use. Even scientific written works with hundreds of pages are commonly published with Sans Serif letters. Sans Serif style is preferred in design due to its versatility and aesthetic.
They have a presence in almost every type of design and publication, especially on digital platforms, because they are more easily readable on computer screens.
There are hundreds of examples we can use. Still, among the most popular, we can mention Arial, Arial Narrow, Arial Rounded MT Bold, Century Gothic, Chicago, Helvetica, Geneva, Impact, Monaco, MS Sans Serif, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana.
Size
Designers must use sizes very intelligently in their creations. If the words are too small, the audience will not see them, and the message will be diffuse. On the other hand, it will be overwhelming if it’s too big. It won’t produce an ideal impact, proving typography’s importance in design.
The size of the words must be in order with the design structure, which includes the colors, figures, and images used. But most importantly, the type of letter.
Once the design identity is established, the designer must play with bigger and smaller words to accomplish a harmonious art.
A large letter size should be used for notable titles and smaller ones for general information.
Format
Another aspect that must be considered in typography is the text format. No matter what you type or what size you choose for a design, you can accompany it with the form.
These are useful to stand out a concrete word or group of words above the others. We have three primary formats:
- Bold: makes the letter heavier, wider and darker. It’s used to highlight text keywords.
- Italic: causes the letters to tilt to the side and simulates a style of cursive writing. It is usually used to indicate strange or unique words, commonly alien to the language in which it is written.
- Underlined: It is the format that is least used. It has the same function as the bold ones, but they emphasize the word with a line below it. It is used to highlight important extracts of the writing.
Typographic Family
Creating an identity for each design or brand it’s needed in these kinds of works. It is not profitable to create a unique design but make an entirely different one under the same brand.
The idea of designing is to establish a line of identity for each brand. In other words, to wrap several different designs with the same characteristics, such as colors, images, and, of course, typography.
Keeping a brand identity means appointing a single type and style for the symbols you will use. However, if you choose a single font, everything will be monotonous. There are plenty of options to use the same font with different versions to avoid that.
Under the figure of “families,” a single font can approach many forms to adapt the different texts you may have in a single design.
Maintaining structural and style characteristics of the font, it’s possible to find heavier, lighter, taller, broader, or darker letters.
With this tool, you can combine different letters without losing the line of identity for your brand.
To Sum Up: Importance of Typography in Design
With this particular group of elements, you may find the perfect way to use words in your designs.
The graphic message may completely change according to the chosen typography, and even the most brilliant art could be ruined by an inadequate letter.
Adapting to the digital age, it’s not easy for everyone. Still, typography has changed, and every designer must know the new tendencies to put words into the digital world.
Good designers always have in mind the importance of typography in design. When they manage to use these tools the best way, the design’s success is almost guaranteed.
