Using Fonts in Graphic Design

If you do any graphic design, let me give you a huge tip. Do not use Comic Sans! If you want your publication to look professional, please take time to pick fonts that actually look professional. I prefer clean sleek fonts for most projects. Distressed or grunge fonts are also popular for a more contemporary look. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing fonts.

  • Don’t mix too many fonts! Make sure the fonts you use work together. You can mix size, color, and weight of the font, but try not to have more than 2 or 3 different font syles on a page. Less is more.
  • Readability is key! If people can’t read it, it doesn’t matter how cool the font is.
  • Match the font to the mood you want to convey.  Whimsical fonts work great on a kid’s invitation, but not in most church print pieces.
  • Go beyond built in fonts. Here are two great sites to find free fonts.

Font Squirrel has fonts that you can embed in websites or use for commercial print pieces for free. They seem to have a great selection of fonts to choose from. You can browse my most popular or newly added. They also have font sets to use in website design.

dafont.com is another excellent website with a huge collection of fonts. They have more than 10,000 fonts to choose from. You can search by style or name. It’s always interesting to check out the most popular fonts. If you ever have a need to mimic the font used on a tv show or commercial company, this is a great place to start. I have used this extensively in the past, especially for youth designs and for newspaper ads.

Both sites have instructions on how to add the fonts into your system.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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2 Responses

  1. Brian Funk says:

    Thanks, Mike! I agree completely with your font fundamentals. Can't wait to use some of these fonts on The Gazette's front page.

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