Am I Not Your Type?

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

Updated: Jul 28

TheBrandTUB — Personalities are experienced

Choosing the right 'type' for your visual brand is all about ensuring whatever you choose has the right vibe.

Chances are, if you're advertising your services, you're not paying attention to details like the personality and how well it matches your brand.

So, I want to take this opportunity to show how type can make or break meaning. But 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.

USING TYPOGRAPHY IN VISUAL STORYTELLING

TheBrandTUB was hired to visually illustrate a children's book titled “The Cat That Was Afraid of the Bat”.

After reading the book, my evaluation of the main character was that he’s very paranoid. 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 echoed the curves of the cat's tail, and it was also the right kind of playful. But sometimes the fit isn't so easy to find. So here are some basic principles to begin with if you're bootstrapping design.

Thick fonts are popular with signage. Think blowout sales or closing down notices typically associated with department store brands. Premium brands also utilize this type of font, but the use of color makes the service feel elevated.
Thinner fonts are popular with luxury brands. Think runway shows in Milan, Paris, and London. It’s meant to feel Elite. These brands go to great lengths to express who they’re for. So naturally, the fonts they use mirror that exclusivity.
Whimsical fonts are popular with fairytales, energy drinks, and fitness. Think Peter Pan, Wizards of Waverly Place, Monster (the energy drink), Tae Bo. It’s meant to feel playful not just because the experience is anchored in imagination, but also because of the audience buying the product.

When you're running a business, the strategy isn't based on or influenced by subjective things like a client's personal feelings, tastes, or opinions, but by the experience the brand delivers. Every decision either reinforces it or works against it.

In this particular project, where the author is unknown, even though the kids are the customers, the parents are the ones with the money. So, it was very important for the sale of the book to also win over the parents. Not every parent in Trinidad and Tobago, just the right ones.

Data retrieved from testing the cover art proved it captured the childlike curiosity of many adults who expressed that "It made them want to read the book despite it being specifically written for children!"

A thin font would have crippled creating that vibe.

I know my peers will also want to address things like justification and padding, etc.

Though those things matter, for the purpose of this article, I just want you to focus on the vibe of your font selection for now.

Going back to what you want people to experience. 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. "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.

Once you know what 'type' has the right vibe to it, identify standout qualities about the project or your brand to echo in the font chosen if the service or project leans more on the creative side.

Here's the hard part.

Once you've done this, you can'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. Build familiarity with consistency.

And whatever type you choose, make sure it has 3 characteristics: