Font Psychology

 The Psychology of Fonts

    Fonts are used in every occasion, all the time. But have you ever thought about why a specific font was used? The reasoning behind fonts? This blog will be talking about the psychology of fonts; what fonts are, how to tell them apart, and even the fonts specific to food magazines. The main fonts talked about in this blog will be Serif, Sans-serif, and Script.

Font Psychology: What is it and How Can it be Used?

    Font psychology is the study of how different fonts impact thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. However, let's dive a little deeper into the details of what it really is. People have very different thoughts, feelings, and associations with different font types; there is a specific font many people prefer, and this differs for everyone. For example, the Knewave font (bottom image) could be associated with a fun or casual feeling, while the Vidaloka font (top image) could be associated with a more traditional or trustworthy feeling. Understanding these different associations and emotional responses- and using them to your advantage- is font psychology. 

    

    Using font psychology allows you to be able to choose the right fonts for something while also avoiding the wrong fonts. Using font psychology 

is so important, because it gives you tons of control over how the audience perceives, or receives, the design of an article. For example, let's say you are trying to create an advertisement for a new brand of dog clothing- you want the audience to feel happy or cheerful when they look at it. Therefore, rather than choosing a traditional serif, you are going to want to use a more whimsical script/font to create the desired emotional response. Not only is choosing the right fonts important, but so is ruling out the wrong ones. Choosing the wrong font can potentially change the look and feel of your design completely, and as a result, changes the way the audience reacts to it as well. For example, let's say you're designing a Twitter cover page to promote your new financial consulting company; in a more traditional industry such as finance, you want to inspire feelings of trust and stability in your audience-but choosing the wrong font, like a graphic or script font, will make your design feel too casual. On the other hand, if you're designing a Twitter cover page to promote your new personal training business, a traditional serif font won't inspire the kind of emotion you need to draw in your audience, and your design will fall flat. In short, choosing the wrong fonts can have large negative effects on your design. Therefore, understanding font psychology is important because it helps to avoid choosing the less-than-ideal fonts.

    No matter what situation or design it is being used in, font psychology works! Every design has a goal, and choosing the fonts that inspire a certain emotional response in your audience will help to motivate you to hit that goal. For example, let's say you are designing an Instagram post to promote the sale of something. If you choose a font that inspires the feeling of excitement, people will want to buy that product. On the other hand, say you are making a Facebook post to spread the word on a new product. Using a bold font will help you stand out in the audience's feed, while also generating anticipation and excitement towards the product. Font psychology is so powerful, because whatever the end goal is for a design, understanding fonts and their impacts will help to achieve that goal.

The Major Fonts: Serif, Sans-serif, and Script

 
    Serif fonts are the most classic of the fonts talked about in this blog. Therefore, when a serif font is used in your design, it shows the audience that you're an established or traditional company that they can trust. Some responses/associations you could expect from a design using serif are trust, respect, authority, and formality. Serif fonts are best fit for more traditional or classic settings/brands/industries such as law firms, financial companies, insurance companies, and consultants. 

 

  Sans-serif fonts are known as the "more up-to-date" version of serif. Because of their prominence in the tech world, sans serif fonts are often associated with being cutting-edge and tech-savvy. Due to this, these fonts are typically viewed at as cool, sleek, and modern. Some responses/associations you could expect from a design using sans-serif are straightforward, modern, trust, sophisticated, tech-focused, and cutting-edge. Sans-serif fonts are an amazing fit for any brand of tech companies, fashion brands, or start-ups who wants their designs to be viewed at as innovative, bold, or sophisticated.

 

  Script fonts are much more elaborate and detailed than other font categories, because they lend a special look and feel that can develop designs to a more elegant or sophisticated level. Unlike other fonts, script fonts also replicate handwriting, leaving them with a more personal touch. Depending on the font, they can also feel fun/whimsical or more traditional/old-fashioned, which makes script fonts one of the most versatile categories in the design world. Some responses/associations you could expect from a design using script are elegant, sophisticated, fancy, creative, happy, traditional, personal, and whimsical. Script fonts can also be a good choice for industries such as food/beverage brands, fashion brands, and children's focus brands that are trying to create an elegant, whimsical, and/or add a personal touch to their designs.

Food Magazines: How do they Connect?

    Food magazines use many different types of fonts/typefaces in order to create a certain response/association in order to attract readers to the magazine. Some of the main fonts/typefaces used in the food magazine genre are Dapifer, Dapifer Stencil, ITC Tiffany, Clarendon, Gotham, Helvetica (Helvetica), and Cheyenne Sans. These specific fonts/typefaces are used because they are bold, thick, and often large, which draws in readers. The general meaning behind most of these fonts used in food magazines is to have a response/association that is modern, sophisticated, or straightforward. Through research, I have decided to use Helvetica on my magazine in the future because of its professional yet modern and fun look.

Work Cited:

• ("The Definition of Font Psychology and How to Use It,"Deanna DeBara) https://www.canva.com/learn/font-psychology/
• ("Food Magazine,"Darden Studio) https://fontsinuse.com/uses/21698/food-magazine
• ("20 Magazine Fonts,"Lavi Buciuman) https://blog.flipsnack.com/best-magazine-fonts-for-editorial-design/