Your business or blog is so much more than articles, photos, products or services. Every business or blog has personality. It’s what transforms you from a business into a personable connection. Let’s take a quick look at Coca-Cola (Stay with me Pepsi drinkers.) It’s happy, joyful, refreshing, optimistic and fun. And how about their font? It’s loose, easy and free-flowing. See how the font and personality go hand-in-hand? They’re complementary, and together they boost brand presence. You with me? A business or blog’s personality is precisely what drives the long lasting connection people feel with you.
Whether you’re a blog or business, you’re more than whatever product or service you have to offer. You have values, a mission, and a whole lot of personality. But is your font choice cohesive in boosting your brand personality and overall presence? Or is it sending mixed messages? I’m here to help! First, let’s get started with some basic identifications to font categories and what each font category means.
Serif
Serif fonts are very traditional. The serifs are “feet” at the end of each stroke. Serif fonts are corporate, classic and professional. The font below is Bedini Bold Italic, download free here.
Sans Serif
Sans serif fonts are more modern. They don’t have “feet” (hence sans, meaning without) at the end of each stroke and thus create a cleaner line. The font below is Campton, download free here.
Handwriting
Handwriting fonts are more relaxed and relatable. They’re inviting and friendly. The font below is Luna, download free here.
Script
Script fonts have a personal touch similar to handwriting fonts, but they’re more sophisticated and stylish. The font below is Thirsty Script, download free here.
Display fonts
Highly decorative, distinct, or ornamented fonts. These types of fonts do best in small quantity (meaning, don’t set your body copy in this kind of type) and in a large setting (as a headline, or a logo font). The font below is Madfont, download free here.
With these font categories in mind, you can already start to see what might fit your brand best. Remember, the goal is have your brands personality and your brands font mesh together, so equal parts can work together to boost your brand presence. With your blog or business’s personality in mind, let’s get into how to find the right font with a cohesive personality.
The best way to find a fonts personality is to personify it. Give the font human characteristics. Use this as an exercise and don’t be afraid to get into it! Who is this font? If this font where a person, what would this person be like? Here’s a few additional routine questions I ask myself:
Where would this font shop?
Sometimes it’s hard to describe styles you want your brand to embody, but when you compare it to existing brands, it gets a little easier. That, and I like to shop every now and again so this question totally relates to me! If you think about it, there’s a huge difference between a font that would shop at Old Navy than a font that would shop at Kate Spade. These are great identifiers to finding the right font. Below, I’ve used Pacifico font (click here for free download) and Bedini Bold Italic (click here for free download).
What are the physical characteristics?
We’re talking bare bones basics people. Is it young or old? Male or female? You can see how it would be really confusing if a woodshop had a young feminine font, when the very root of the business is so old and masculine. Below, I’ve used Masana font (click here for free download) and Airship 27 (click here for free download).
What are the qualities?
Qualities of a font should include the general mood or overall tone of the font. If you need a little guidance, I wrote a great detailed post on how to define the mood and tone in a font here. You can also delve into a fonts physical appearance. Is it curvy, or blocky? How can those descriptions be likened to it’s personality? A curvy font may feel more soft spoken while a blocky font may feel loud and in-your-face. Below I’ve used Bemio font (click here for free download) and Barkentina font (click here for free download).
With these questions answered, you’re sure to know your font a bit more. Is your existing font still a good fit, or do adjustments need to be made? Does your font’s personality cohesively exist with your business or blog’s personality?
Having trouble determining if your font is the right pick for your blog or business’s personality? Ask a question in the comments, I’d love to answer and give my opinion!
