If you think combining fonts in a logo design is a breeze and a joy, you’re mistaken. Fonts may look pretty and innocent, but these creatures are sly and devious. With each of their strokes, dips, and blank spaces, they communicate a world of meaning. Don’t believe me? Look at these offending font combinations and see how they make the text so hard to read!
The truth with font combinations is like colors, fonts too have unique moods and personalities. When these personalities don’t match the brand’s vibe or misrepresent its values or character, the disaster can be catastrophic.
To pull off an ideal font combination, there are typography rules that must never be broken. In this video, we share these sacred commandments, discuss types of logos where fonts are a must, and list font styles that dominate the corporate branding world.
Why fonts are important in logo design?
Fonts play an active role in establishing a brand’s visual identity. According to Montone, a font technology company, using fonts compatible with brands and using them consistently throughout the branding improves brand recognition by 80%.
It also sets the brand’s visual tone and flair, influencing how customers perceive you and impacting your message’s credibility.
What else do fonts do?
- Convey the personality and tone of your brand.
- Establish brand identity and recognition.
- Evoke emotions and set the visual tone for your logo.
- Contribute to the overall aesthetic appeal and professionalism of your logo.
Types of Logos That Use Fonts:
Almost all types of logos use fonts; even logo marks that traditionally contain no text. Fonts usually appear in logo marks to support their taglines or brand slogans to clarify the brand message and leave a lasting impression.
However, four kinds of logo designs rely most heavily on fonts:
- Wordmark logos or logotypes: Logo designs that are entirely made of text. Examples: the Wonka movie logo and the Johnson and Johnson logo.
- Lettermarks or monograms: Logo designs that only contain disjointed or connected letters (which makes them monograms). Examples: HBO and H&M (the latter is a monogram).
- Combination logos: Logo designs with both text and graphic elements. These are the most popular forms of logos. Examples: Reddit and Bacardi.
- Emblem logos: Logos with some kind of seal or shield elements in them. Examples: the Lamborghini logo or the Harley Davidson logo.
How to mix and match fonts in logo design
Keep your font palette small with no more than three fonts to match within the logo. Use the following tips for a smooth design process.
- Understand your brand: How would you define your brand? Is it modern and edgy? Or creative and cheerful? Choose font styles that complement this character.
- Research font styles: There are six major font styles to choose from — serif, sans serif, handwritten, script, display, and monospaced. Each has its own flavor. Take your font combos from a single style or mix them up for a more diverse and fluid brand!
- Consider legibility: Whatever type of font designs you choose, prioritize readability and legibility over everything.
- Reflect brand identity: Choose font styles that complement and highlight the brand’s intrinsic personality and values.
- Maintain balance and proportion: Ensure your font pairs follow principles of hierarchy and balance. Taglines must be in lower sizes and weights. The brand name must be in a more vivid color than a tagline. And secondary fonts must not overtake the primary font in any way.
- Test different options: Keep testing till you find the perfect mix of legibility and style!
Popular font choices in logo design
Helvetica is one of the most popular fonts designers use in brand identity work. Below are some other major players.
- Futura
- Garamond
- Roboto
- Bebas Neue
- Lato
- Montserrat
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