We all know what the worst fonts are: Curlz, Papyrus, Comic Sans…
But what about the best fonts?
Hi, it's Noni from Printful.
Font choice is an incredibly important part of designing merchandise as it can make or
break a sale.
However, there's no such thing as a universal "best font" that will work for anything and
everything.
It's more about selecting the font that will work the best for your product, brand, and
audience.
In this video, we'll get into how to select the font that'll work best for you.
But before we jump in, make sure you subscribe to our channel and tap on the bell icon to
get notifications about our latest videos.
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First, let's talk a bit about typefaces.
Let's start off by defining the difference between a typeface and a font.
A typeface is a set of characters that have the same design.
This includes letters, numbers, and punctuation marks.
A font, on the other hand, is a specific size and style of typeface.
While Arial is a typeface, Arial 12 point bold is a font.
And a font family contains all the variations of a specific font like Arial Bold, Arial
Italic, and Arial Narrow.
To understand more about which font might be best for you, we first have to explore
the different typefaces.
The two biggest categories of typeface are serifs and sans serifs.
Serifs are a style of typeface where the characters have a little nub on the end of the strokes.
These nubs, called serifs, can be pronounced or they could be more subtle.
Times, Garamond, and Georgia are all examples of serifs.
Serifs are a traditional typeface and have been around for a while—they used to be
used with typewriters and they're still used in books and screenplays.
Because of this, serifs give off a more formal feel.
They're generally not seen as super modern or trendy.
However, this isn't to say that you should write off serifs entirely—there are popular
brands who make the serif feel classy and stylish.
Sans serifs are simply a typeface that don't have serifs.
You can remember the difference because sans is the French word for without so sans serif
means without serif.
Some examples of Sans Serifs are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana.
Serifs usually convey a more modern, simplistic, and minimalistic feel.
Other typefaces to be aware of are script, decorative, and monospace.
Script fonts have a personal touch and are based on the stroke of calligraphy and handwriting.
They're known for their flourishes and swirls, which are known as swashes.
Brush Script, Pacifico, and Allura are all examples of Script fonts.
They have two subtypes, formal and casual script.
Formal scripts are fancy and have over the top curls and flourishes while casual scripts
have fewer flourishes and increased readability.
Generally, script fonts convey elegance and femininity and they're unique and artful.
One of the biggest downsides, however, is that script can be harder to read than other
typefaces, so I'd recommend using it sparingly.
Next up are decorative fonts.
Decorative or display fonts are a diverse typeface known for their distinct look.
They're bold in style, unique, and original, which makes them great for decorative and
ornamental purposes.
Many decorative fonts are characteristic of a certain emotion or era.
Some examples are Outlaw, Horror Hotel, and Kingthings Christmas.
Because decorative fonts are so eye-catching, it's important to use them sparingly so they
have an impact.
Now onto Monospace fonts.
Monospace fonts are fonts where each character takes up the same amount of space.
When characters are different widths, those are known as proportional fonts.
Monospace fonts were popularized with the typewriter and are commonly used in code and
screenplays.
They're generally a more bookish, serious style like Courier, Valkyrie, or American
Typewriter.
Now let's get into some tips about how to choose the best font for your merchandise
design.
The first thing you should consider when selecting a font for your brand is your brand's style.
Establish brand style guidelines to ensure that your brand has a well-defined style and
is consistent in its aesthetic.
Define your style first, then choose a font that suits this style and avoid using just
any font that you really like.
For example, if you want your message to be taken seriously, don't use comic sans.
Or if you're aiming for a modern, gearhead look, avoid classic serif fonts.
To find fonts that fit your brand, start by searching the word font + a keyword related
to your brand.
If you're a hip-hop artist designing a streetwear line, just search up hip-hop fonts and see
if one strikes your fancy.
Using the same fonts in your merchandise over and over again will also strengthen your brand's
appearance.
If you keep it consistent, your clients will recognize your style straight away.
Resist the temptation to use that really cool new font you just found and ask yourself the
question: will it fit in with the style I've already established?
Next, we'll touch on simplicity.
As I mentioned before, simplicity is key when choosing a font that will stand alone or that
is meant to be cohesive in a more involving design.
This is especially true if you're just getting into design.
When designing a logo it can be tempting to pick a complicated, unique font so your logo
stands out.
But try to avoid it.
For example, very curly handwritten fonts used to be a huge hit, and are still quite
popular but they're not the best for logos as they're difficult to read and make logos
look cluttered.
Readability can be a huge issue with these complicated fonts.
When it comes to adding multiple fonts to a more involving design, using a number of
complex typefaces can create chaos.
Try not to use more than 2-3 fonts in the same design, and follow the general rule that
not more than one of those fonts should be a complex one.
There can be exceptions to this but without advanced design experience, it's easy to mess
up.
Now, onto the character map.
A character map displays all the characters in a particular font.
Before deciding on a font, it's best to take a look at the map to see if the font has all
the symbols you need.
Some fonts have all the necessary symbols for multiple languages but others are limited
and might not even have numbers or punctuation marks.
If you fall in love with a font but it's lacking some of the characters you need, you can create
the missing characters yourself but it'll take up a lot of time, especially if your
design includes a lot of text.
When designing merchandise, it's important to keep in mind that thin fonts work well
for digital designs but they're not suited well for printing or other types of customization.
Usually, when printed thin fonts aren't very legible and may cause technical issues.
With direct-to-garment and sublimation printing, thin fonts may come out a little blurry.
With embroidery, they'll likely be run-stitched, which will cause the font to lose a lot of
its original appearance.
With engraving, small details are more likely to be picked up but you might want to use
a bolder, clearer font if you want your message to come across easily.
You want your brand to be unique and sell products that only you can offer.
So why use fonts that everyone else is using?
Some major fonts you should avoid are Comic Sans, Times New Roman, Papyrus, Helvetica,
and Arial.
Using these fonts can make you look lazy when there are so many interesting and distinct
fonts you can download online for free.
Some great fonts you can use are Bodoni, which is great for a vintage look, Open Sans, which
is free and available in our Mockup Generator, and Bebas Neue, which is modern and trendy.
But before you download these fonts, be sure to check the license.
It's important to keep in mind that fonts can be subject to copyright too.
Just because you can download a font for free, doesn't mean you can use it on your merchandise—the
font could be restricted to personal use.
Once you've found a font you really like, be sure to check the license to see if you
can use it for commercial purposes.
That way, you'll be legally in the clear.
Before you tweak your font, you have to put it in a design software.
There are a number of design softwares you can choose from but vector-based software
like Adobe Illustrator is most suitable for text-based designs.
Adobe also has a font site where you can choose between thousands of high-quality fonts.
The Printful Mockup Generator also has a huge font library and is free and easy to use so
it's perfect for beginners.
Once you've got your text in your software, you can play around with text alignment and
spacing.
Changing the text alignment simply means changing if it's left-aligned, right-aligned, centered
or justified.
Where you align your text can really alter the aesthetic of your design.
You can also play around with the kerning, which is the spacing between the letters.
Bringing your letters closer or further apart can drastically change the look of a font.
Just remember that stretching characters vertically or horizontally isn't a good idea because
you change up the font's proportions.
If you need the text to be more narrow, adjust the spacing, size, or even choose a different
font.
And finally, you want to ask for feedback.
Our design team asks each other for feedback all the time.
This is because when you work on a design, you concentrate on details and not the overall
image.
Giving it to someone else to look at will give you a fresh perspective, which will help
you understand if it really works.
And that's been your crash course on font choice!
Which of these tips are you going to apply when designing?
Let us know in the comments below!