Writer for DDI on Medium
- Sep 1, 2018
- 3 min read

Am I Not Your Type?

Personalities are experienced

Choosing the right 'type' for your visual brand is all about making sure whatever you choose, it has the right vibe to it; does it carry the story? Chances are if you're advertising your services, you're not paying attention to details like the personality of the 'type' and how well it matches the story of your brand.

Using Typography in Visual Storytelling

My company was hired to visually illustrate “The Cat That Was Afraid of the Bat”. After reading the book, my evaluation of the main character was, he’s very paranoid. And from this conclusion, I began building my illustrations. But when it was time to pick a font that paired well the subtle playfulness and tone of the design, nothing seemed to work until I came across Actionls.

The design of ActionIs had the right vibe to it: It echoed the curves of the cats tail and it was also the right kind of playful. But sometimes the fit isn't so easily found.

Before I continue, so you're not confused, when I say 'type', I don’t mean Times New Roman, Adobe Garamond etc but design: Serif or San Serif, Artisanal or Decorative, Thin or Bold. And when I say story, I'm talking about the core values of your brand as it relates to trust building with your audience. None of this is based on or influenced by a clients personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

Going back to the fit not being so easily found. If for example your clients are government officials and celebrities, basically people within a certain income bracket and lifestyle, then the family of fonts you chose from to tell the story of your brand shouldn't make an ideal prospect feel like they'll be doing their shopping at Rattans if that's not a place they will ever do their shopping.

In practice, that means you wouldn't use something like CAC Champagne in your advertising since luxury brands tend to use San Serif type fonts for sentences, or Bold fonts for headlines.

What are the the core values of your brand?

The Method To The Madness

...Think about your industry first, what 'type' do they use. You can Google this is you're not sure. Remember, the goal here isn't to reinvent the wheel but to determine what's best for specific aspects of your story you need to communicate.

I know my peers will want to also address things like justification and padding etc. Though those things matter, but for the purpose of this article, I just want you to focus on the vibe or story of your font selection for now.

Going back to the specific aspects of your story you need to communicate. We see this exemplified all the time in movies. And when you choose the right font, it can enhance the experience you're trying to create. Remember “The Cat That Was Afraid of the Bat”? One reader (an adult) wrote me expressing how the cover illustration alone was the impetus for actually reading the book. That experience wasn't a fluke, I purposely created the cover to appeal to the child in the adult purchasing the book: They too need to like scary stories, not just the kid.

So, after determining what 'type' your industry uses, consider what aspects of your brand are similar or different to what's already out there and use what makes you a freak to pick a font/s from that 'type' family that best illustrates what type of personality your brand has.

Now here's that hard part. Once you've picked you fonts, this is what you'll be using moving forward forever in your advertising. That means your logo, signage, products etc.

Don't settle for Comic Sans and Times New Roman because you're posting a flyer from your phone and Canva doesn't have Alternate Gothic and Proxima Nova. The psychology of typography is as important as the psychology of color. And, if you want to build familiarity for your brand, it's important to have consistency in your branding. And whatever you choose make sure it has 3 characteristics