Recently, Researchers at MIT conducted a study which proved that fonts can impact how we feel. A bad font can make us unconsciously feel bad, while a good font can make us happy.
We relate fonts and font styles to our past experiences. This is often influenced by the culture we grow up in. For example, sans serif fonts are commonly used on official U.S. government forms. However, in England, sans serif fonts are more commonly used by tabloids. The context in which different fonts are used changes how we feel when we see them.
In case you need an example,THIS IS A SANS SERIF FONT and THIS IS A SERIF FONT. Sans serif simply means without serif. Serifs are the finishing strokes on the tops and bottoms of the letters. You can see that the sans serif font looks the same on every part of the line which makes up the letter, whereas the serif font has little strokes on the ends of the lines.
Some fonts are easier to read than others. The harder your eyes and brains have to work to understand the paragraph, the worse we feel afterwards. Serif fonts were originally used by the print press, because serifs have been proven to help the eye move from letter to letter.
When computers were first used, computer screens had low resolutions. Serif fonts didn’t look right with the poor screen resolution that was available back in those days. So, early designers started using sans serif fonts.
Let’s take a look at a specific example. Comic Sans is the most hated typeface in the design community. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF COMIC SANS. Let’s take a look at why this is not a good font to use. It was designed for Microsoft to provide user-friendly menus for people who were a scared of computers. When it was included as one of the font choices in Windows 95, it took off. Everyone with a computer and the idea that they could do “graphic design”, started using it on their party invites, store signs, personal emails, and so on. Comic Sans wasn’t designed to do all these things, so why did everyone like it so much? The designer of Comic Sans himself thinks people like to use it because “it’s not like a typeface.” That very fact ensures that it will look unprofessional and even childish when used on official documents or business websites. This is an example of a font producing a bad effect in terms of marketing. It associates your company with unprofessionalism and perhaps childishness? What better reason would there be to not use Comic Sans for a business?
Try out different fonts before deciding which is right for your company. If you are having trouble deciding, consult a professional. This way you will ensure the font you chose will make users happy, and be good for your company.
