Stop getting overlooked and quickly dropped in the “boring, blah, same ole same ole” pile of businesses and professionals people just don’t have time for.
I get it. It’s a font. Surely we have WAY more important things to worry about.
Do you want to be dismissed or un-missable?
Fonts play a crucial role in communicating your brand’s personality, tone, and values. Fonts are like the voice of your brand, and they can convey emotions, attitudes, and messages to your target audience. I ever find it fascinating how minor differences can make huge differences in brand perception. Are you playful and fun? Is your niche in a younger or older demographic. Is your brand for legal professionals or your local urbanites? As with colors, the fonts you choose should resonate with the impression you want people to lean in, read more and just soak up what you have to say.
Winning Tips:
- Limit your selection to maybe 3 fonts as part of your brand package (typically used for a heading, paragraph and accent).
- Pick from different font families for fonts (serif, sans serif, slab…) that are clearly different but compliment each other.
- Keep it legible! Trust me. There are some super cool, super cute fonts out there that scream fancy-schmancy, heavy metal or most any beat you can drop BUT if it’s not super easy to recognize what it actually says, especially to people glancing/scrolling, ditch it or use it SUPER sparringly.
- And for heaven’s sake, please stop using Comic Sans.
How Fonts Speak to Your Brand
Establishing Brand Identity
Fonts are a key part of establishing your brand identity. The font you choose will give your brand a distinct look and feel that sets it apart from your competitors. This look can be bold, sleek or chic. It can be crisp, it can be rough, it can be downright rugged. Each of these will have their influence on your brand’s image and the types of graphics that incorporate the fonts you choose.
Reflecting Brand Personality
The right font can convey your brand’s personality and tone. Are you establishing a luxury brand, speaking to your fellow gym junkies or just want people to know you biz has spunk? The right font can help communicate any of these without you having to utter a word. (okay, but you will have to type it of course because without words, you have no fonts and that defeats our message here so, use at least one really good word. Okay?)
Evoking Emotions
Different fonts can evoke different emotions, such as trust, professionalism, and friendliness. Choosing the right font can help you connect with your target audience on an emotional level. Stop and look at the fonts you’re using. Does it impart a sense of comfort? Is it a little edgy and dominant? Ask yourself how your current fonts really make you feel or reverse this and start with your core values, asking yourself if the feeling you attach to those values is reflected in the feelings you get from looking at your chosen font.
Consistency
Using the same font consistently across all your marketing materials helps to reinforce your brand’s identity and makes it more memorable to your audience. This is why a brand kit is SO important. A brand kit takes you back to what you decided on for your brand’s appearance. It ensures that people see your brand as reliable and consistent, regardless of the industry. Constantly changing your fonts, colors and imagery screams “pardon me but I’m still trying to dial it in over here and am not really sure what I want yet!”
To be sure, rebranding is okay and even recommended over time to keep your brand from getting stale in an ever evolving market. Just think of it more like putting a new roof on your house, not like changing your underwear.
Brand Recognition
Fonts can contribute to brand recognition. A unique font that is associated with your brand can help people identify your brand quickly and easily. Think of iconic brands like Vogue Magazine, iTunes or Netflix. I feel like if you saw their font used to write anything else out, you would still likely readily associate it with their branding. Obviously, it can take some time – much time repeatedly in front of your audience – to establish that firm impression but, as you do, that is branding gold. The more often even the subtle things take their minds back to your brand (in the most positive way, of course) the better.
Conveying Authority
Consistent use of the right fonts can help your brand stand out as a pro of your industry. Nothing screams “ammy!” like the use of outdated or misplaced fonts – especially 20 different kinds.
Final Notes
Fonts play a critical role in communicating your brand’s personality and values, establishing brand identity, and evoking emotions in your target audience. It is important to choose the right font that reflects your brand’s personality and creates a lasting impression on your audience.
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