Can you imagine a world without words? It's impossible to fathom a life without the very foundation of meaning. Written words are everywhere, from traffic signs to print advertisements. The absence of text would render many things meaningless.
Words are more than just letters arbitrarily arranged to give meaning. Today, creating text has transformed into a kind of digital art that warrants organized planning, in-depth designing, and error-free execution.
If you've been on the web for some time now, you've probably heard of the term Typography. If you think this word is synonymous with a font style, you're right. But that's a very shallow perception of typography. In real-life practice, typography can make or break your brand and it could be costly if you don't do it well.
In this article, we'll cover what typography is and practices that you can do to build your brand.
What is Typography?
You might be asking, what is typography? Is it art? Does it involve science? Will it be important in web design?
The quick answer is yes to all of these questions. Typography is the process of arranging text in a meaningful way with respect to aesthetics and form. This means that typography must look good, balanced, and it must make sense to the readers.
Typography integrates the art of making legible fonts and the science of effective communication. Basically, the strength of typography isn't only derived from its visual appeal but its ability to attract a market and heighten their curiosity.
Element of typography
An excellent typography design relies on the effective use of elements. In typography, the practice can be broken down into several elements to achieve a remarkable typography text.
Image taken from Unsplash
Familiarize yourself with these elements so you can apply them when designing typography for your brand:
Typeface and font. Many people use these terms interchangeably, but don't make that mistake. A typeface is not a font and vice versa. A family of fonts like Times New Roman is a typeface. Specific style variations of a typeface like italic or bold is a font.
San serif and Serif. All serif typefaces have tiny embellishments on the letters. These are often found on the tips, thus the term 'tails'. San serif literally translates to 'without serif'. These are typefaces with cleaner lines.
Hierarchy. The basic principle of design highlights that more important texts must take a significant space on a page. For example, you need to use a bigger and thicker typeface for your title. Then use relatively smaller styles for your subheadings. Having hierarchy pushes the attention of the reader to more important sections of written content. It also creates a balanced reading experience.
Legibility. What's the use of a fantastic font design if people can't read it?. Many graphic designers make the mistake of over-designing typography that compromises legibility. Aesthetics are essential to typography, but it's only second to readability. Legible typography has enough spaces between letters and is supplied on a contrasting background.
Importance of typography
Why is typography important? Apart from the fact that typography reflects your branding goals, it is also necessary to sustain your efforts as a business. Now that you know what typography is and its elements, understanding its benefits is vital to incorporate it into your brand.
- Brand Recognition
Think about the single, red letter of M of McDonald’s. The thick, blocky letters of Netflix. The playful all-lowercase letters of Amazon. Their brands became statements fueled by easily recognizable typographies that set them apart from their competitors.
Even without context, all it takes is one swift look at the typography, and it will trigger recognition from the view. These companies successfully made typography so unique to their brand that it's almost imitable.
Designing typography for your brand requires rigorous planning. During this period, you want to brainstorm values that you want readers to associate with your brand. For example, if you're in the food business, you may want to use typography in the color red. Why? Because red reinforces a feeling of craving, and applying it to your brand’s typography creates an emotional association to your business.
In the long term, the importance of typography in brand recognition empowers your brand’s reputation and loyalty.
- Increases Engagement and attention
Your choice in typography could either make a reader stay or leave your website. Web browsing for long hours can be straining on the eyes, and your typography may be too much to tolerate.
A great typography design visually stimulates the readers. In most cases, they must also provide comfort and ease of reading experience. Remember, your goal is to make web visitors stay on your site for a long while. You need to make them stay long enough that they'll engage with your site and potentially turn into a customer.
Typography also encourages active participation. Expect to hold your readers' attention with well-designed typography.
Choosing typography for your brand
Now that we've discussed typography elements, you might be wondering what is typography art in web design and how can I make it effective? To make things a lot easier for you, here are some useful typography tips for your website:
- Give Your Typography a Personality
You may notice it, by typography has personality too. The core of your typography's character is rooted in the emotions you want to exude. Do you want to seem playful, or do you want something more classy? It all depends on the overall personality of your website.
Image taken from Strikingly user website
Take a look at this website from Puppy Milestone Cards. Their typography is friendly, and instead of aggressive, you're welcomed by the tame arrangement of letters. The effective use of whitespace forces views to focus on the essential elements of the page.
The typography is effective because they didn't overdo their design. The letters are rounded, well-spaced, and perfectly legible with the white background.
They also used hierarchy wherein the texts are organized from the most vital titles to the subheadings.
- Think About The Tone
Think about your tonal approach to your typography. If you want to sound professional, refrain from using comical typefaces with too many embellishments. But if you want to sound more energetic, consider a loud and bold typeface.
Image taken from Strikingly user website
Take a look at the website of Grand Tour Florence. From their typography alone, it's easy to understand the tone they're aiming for. The slightly slanted text makes the typography look formal yet classy, confident, but not intimidating.
The white color of the text perfectly blends in against their background image. It also exhibits a feeling of warmth and a sense of inviting calm when reading.
It's also important to note that they didn't use an overwhelming font for their menu names. It's fairly noticeable on the page’s left side, but it looks aesthetically pleasing beside the website's name.
- Don't Be Afraid To Try Something New
Simply put, step out of your comfort zone and experiment on different typographies. If you want to be noticed on the web, you need design or ask a graphic designer to design typography that stands out.
Image taken from Strikingly user website
Typography graphic designs shouldn't be confined in a box. Look at the website above of Billy Skyscraper. The futuristic style of their typography gives the impression of fun and energy.
You’ll also notice that a faint, neon-like red color outlines the words if you look closer. This creates a separation between the text and the background. And it looks really cool too.
However, all these typography tips would be meaningless without a set of tools that could help it make it happen. Fortunately, there's a website builder that allows you to achieve your typography goals.
Strikingly is a free website builder that gives users the chance to make their own websites. Sounds complicated? No worries, Strikingly is absolutely easy to learn, and even those who don't know about web development could definitely enjoy it.
Strikingly has features that allow web builders to add or edit typography. You will be impressed by the amount of typefaces and text colors you can use.
With Strikingly, you can manipulate the spaces around your typography and create visually appealing texts that follow good typography design elements. You can mix and match styles to achieve that typography that will make your brand a remarkable one.
How can you make use of all these fantastic features and tools? All you have to do is visit strikingly.com, create your account, and you're good to go! You can enjoy Strikingly's features for free, but you can upgrade to a Pro account to access exclusive features and full customization options.
Typography isn't just about the arrangement of texts in a visually appealing way. It also conveys meaning, sends messages, and relays the core values of a business. Good typography can be your ticket to a long-lasting brand name and reputation. Once you're ready to go, don't forget to add Strikingly to your journey towards success.
