How To Use Fonts (and Why You Should Care)

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A fundamental part of any written piece is the font that is used.

OK. So what is a ‘font’? Put simply, a font is the style of the letters that you use on your written document. Is your font big and bold, or crisp and clean, italicised or underlined, or black & white or coloured? Are the letters properly spaced? Can it be read (some people use fonts that are so small they cannot be read)?

When properly used, a font or font mix accomplishes four things:

  1. Fonts focus the reader’s attention;
  2. Fonts enhance the document’s readability;
  3. Fonts set a tone; and
  4. Fonts project an image.

Here are some tips on how to use fonts.

 

1. WATCH Your UPPER and lower CASE  

Try to avoid using UPPER CASE THE WHOLE TIME, AS IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ AND DRIVES READER’S LOOPY — UPPER CASE IS JUST THE SAME AS YELLING.

do not totally avoid upper case letters. upper case letters assist readers in understanding when one sentence ends and another begins. upper case can make reading easier.

Traditionally, the upper and lower case is used throughout the document, as the case assists with the readability. For example, each sentence starts with a capital letter, as do proper nouns (e.g.: Carlton, Victoria, Bill and Ben).

With headings and titles, use the upper case sparingly. Each word in a heading may or may not be capitalised, but keep ALL UPPER CASE HEADINGS AND TITLES to a minimum — they are the same as yelling.

 

2. Font Size is Very Important

Please be aware that a document, whether it is read on the Internet or is on a printed page, must be capable of being read. If it is too small then it cannot be read and your message will not get across to the reader.

As a general rule the main text should be between 10 or 12 points in size. However, you should consider your audience; if your readers will be the more mature members of our community, then they might need 14- or 16-point font, or even 18- or 20-point font.

Headings are normally somewhere between 14 and 48 points in size, and each sub-heading is about half the size of the heading before it.

Warning: the font on your computer screen is very likely to appear larger than it will appear on a printed sheet. So, print our your document and have a read of it. If it appears small on the printed document, then increase the size, regardless of how it might appear on your screen.

Also, if you are not too sure about the size, then make it bigger; it is easy to read text that seems a bit big, whereas your message will get completely lost if the text is too small.

 

3. Simple Fonts are Better

Keep your fonts and font mixes simple. The best rule is to use a serif font for the main part of the text, and use a sans serif font for the headings.

A serif font is flared at the ends. This is particularly noticeable at the bottom of the letters m and n — there are tiny little flat feet at the bottoms of each leg.
This sentence is written in a serif font, and its name is Times New Roman.
Serif fonts are much easier to read on paper.

A sans serif font has square edges — there are no little flares or bulbs at the end of each part of a letter.
This sentence, and almost all of this website, uses sans serif fonts, and the name of this font is Arial.
Sans serif fonts are more authoritative in headings. However, if a sans serif fonts is used in all of the document, if turns into an intimidating block of text.

 

Use only two types of font in your document. One font for the text, and a second font for your headings. If you need to make a heading or sentence a bit different, then just alter the look of your text by using the bold, italic or bold italic features of your program. Do not use the underline option, the reader's attention will be drawn to it before he or she actually gets to the relevant underlined word; so they will probably not properly read and understand the words that appear before the underlined words. If you must underline a word or sentence, then make sure that there is no other alternative; and, once you have decided that you must use it, think again before you actually use the underline option.

 

4. Be Consistent

Never use three or four or seven different fonts in the one document; it is too hard to read. Always restrict yourself to a maximum of two fonts in the one piece (i.e.: one for the main text, and one for the headings). Your readers will thank you, and you will improve your chances of getting your message across to them.

 

5. Use Variety, but be Sparing

As mentioned above under heading "3. Simple Fonts are better", whilst font use should be consistent throughout a document, variety can break the monotony. For instance, italicised, bold, or underlined text can assist in emphasising the important parts of your message. However, use them sparingly or do not use them at all.

The rule of thumb is: unless you have a very good reason for using a variety of fonts, then you should use just one or two.

 

6. Your Font should Match Your Audience

There is not one ‘best’ font.

Rather, the traits of your particular assignment will determine which font is ‘the best’ font. If you hare addressing the young, then the page must be ‘exciting’ and ‘active’ — we suggest the headings can be exiting, and the background colours and images can be exciting, but the main part of the text must remain a serif font (e.g.: Times New Roman). If you are addressing a business, then they tend to value information over ‘excitement’. If you are addressing the mature community, then they have to be able to easily read it.

 

 

So, what is written above is not the ‘unquestionable truth’; what we have written are guidelines. So:

  • If your text must be in UPPERCASE, then use it (but really think about it before you actually use it);
  • If you need coloured sentences, then create them (but really think about it before you create them);
  • If you need small text, then use small text (but be careful that your message is not lost);
  • If the whole document must be italicised, then italicise it (but you must have really thought about it before you do it).

Ultimately, your aim is to have your document match your audience, and hopefully you will ensure that it does.

 

7. Outlining text 

One last thing about fonts — your commercial printing company might not have the fonts that you choose to use, or the printing company might be licensed to use the fonts that you use. Even if you embed the fonts, your commercial printing company might have impositioning software that cannot accommodate your embedded fonts.

If you are using a simple program to create your printing job (e.g.: Microsoft Word, Publisher, Powerpoint), then use a font that every one is assured of having on their computer. These fonts include:

  • Serif fonts for the main part of your text — Times New Roman or Times.
  • Sans serif fonts for your headings — Arial.

If you are using a high quality program to design your job (e.g.: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), then you can use the font that you want, but you must prepare your file for your commercial printing company. This is simple. You just convert your text to outlines, and this will solve all your font issues.