Brand typography plays a crucial role in shaping your brand’s identity. The fonts you choose should communicate your brand’s personality, evoke emotions, and make your message more impactful. Selecting the right typography will help establish a cohesive visual identity that resonates with your audience.
Our comprehensive brand guide to typography explores how to choose fonts that align with your brand’s goals, aesthetics, and values. We’re here to help you unlock typography’s full potential to create a lasting impression.
Table of Contents
- What Is Brand Typography?
- Reasons Why Brand Typography Matters
- 5 Steps on How To Choose the Right Fonts for Your Brand
- Best Fonts for Branding: Additional Typeface Brand Guidelines
- 5 Great Examples of Brand Font Use
- 20 Best Free License Fonts You Can Include in Your Brand Style Guide
- Takeaways on Brand Typography
- Brand Typography FAQs
What Is Brand Typography?
Brand typography is a visual element of a brand style guide, or a brand book, that arranges your business's written copy legibly and aligns your messaging with your brand personality. Typography in branding is not exactly the same as brand font or typeface, although they are all closely related:
- Typography is the collection of traits that support the design, brand voice, and personality of a business on all digital and traditional channels.
- A typeface is the name of a family of related fonts.
- Fonts are the elements that constitute one typeface, such as weights, widths, and styles.
Branding companies are the most competent and qualified consultants and advisors when it comes to brand typography and other branding elements. The top digital marketing agencies are also adept at figuring out the proper typography for their clients' needs.
Reasons Why Brand Typography Matters
Brand logos, packaging, emails, documents, website design, and social media imagery include a good amount of typography. So, being such an important part of a brand — how does typography boost a brand?
- Typography gives the brand a deeper meaning
- Typography defines how people experience your brand
- Typography shapes users’ perceptions and builds brand recognition
1. Typography Gives the Brand a Deeper Meaning
Typefaces and fonts convey the values and the tone of your brand just like color palettes do. Typography has diverse connotations and presents what your brand stands for.
Clean, modern, and simple sans-serif fonts reverberate with the audience in a different way than old-fashioned serifs. Monospaced fonts have a tech-first feel, while script fonts are more personal. That’s why it is important to choose branding typography wisely and understand why you’re using it.
2. Typography Defines How People Experience Your Brand
Your customers see your brand messaging on TV, online ads, and retail stores and read about you online and in the press. Positive experiences form positive brand connotations. Typography mistakes such as small fonts on a website — one of web users’ primary complaints — lead to a negative reputation.
3. Typography Shapes Users' Perceptions and Builds Brand Recognition
Branding typography and fonts affect the way your audience sees and remembers your brand because they are a large part of your visual identity. A memorable typeface is instantly recognizable — think of widely admired brands like Coca-Cola or Disney. They have registered their own typefaces to prevent copyright infringement.
Think about your own business and audit your typography across all touchpoints by asking these questions:
- How does my brand’s typography make me feel?
- Is it creating a good experience for customers?
- Are the fonts recognizable and memorable?
- What tone does it set?
5 Steps on How To Choose the Right Fonts for Your Brand
A good brand font should be legible, unique, and memorable. It should also work on different platforms and, most importantly, communicate your brand personality effectively. Before you settle on your brand’s typography, you should understand the process of choosing a font:
- Define your brand’s personality
- Understand the personality of every typeface
- Choose a typeface that matches your brand personality
- Make sure your fonts meet these requirements
- Think about budget and licensing
Step #1: Define Your Brand’s Personality
Brand personality is a cornerstone of your identity that boosts awareness and creates a memorable impression. It is a collection of human traits that your customers relate and associate you with and remember you for. Fonts and typography, much like other brand components, must be aligned with your brand’s personality.
Brand owners, managers, decision-makers, and marketers should think about the main types of brand personalities, or brand dimensions, and their common traits:
- Sincerity: thoughtful, kind, professing family values, down-to-earth
- Competence: successful, influential, accomplished, leadership-savvy
- Excitement: daring, carefree, youthful, up to date
- Sophistication: prestigious, elegant, upscale, charming
- Ruggedness: outdoorsy, tough, athletic
Once you have established which traits form your brand’s personality, you are prepared to choose the font and typography for your brand that will match it.
Step #2: Understand the Personality of Every Typeface
Font psychology is understanding that every typeface has its own unique traits. They come in different categories and classifications to help you identify and choose the best fonts for your brand.
The basic font categories and their traits are as follows:
- Serif: Traditional, classical, reliable. For brands that convey a sense of respectability and timelessness.
- Times New Roman
- Garamond
- Bodoni
- Palatino
- Sans-serif: Minimal, clean, contemporary. For brands that evoke a sense of modern directness.
- Droid Sans
- Helvetica
- Verdana
- Futura
- Script: Unique, elegant, distinctive. For brands that emphasize their special purpose.
- Allura
- Alex Brush
- Pacifico
- Windsong
- Handwritten: Artsy, informal, fun. For brands that present themselves as playful and approachable.
- Porcelain Sans Serif
- Salima
- Herbarium
- Balqis
- Decorative: Dramatic, stylized, diverse. For brands that aim to be instantly memorable.
- Authentica
- Boho
- Blueshift
- Boucherie
- Slab serif: Confident, bold, off-beat. For brands with a proven history of quality.
- PT Sans Pro
- Avant Garde
- Dejavu Pro
- Arial
Step #3: Choose a Typeface That Matches Your Brand Personality
Now that you’ve established your brand’s personality and have a better understanding of each font category’s traits, it’s time to find a typeface that aligns with your brand.
Certain typeface pairings and single usage work better for certain brand personalities than others. For instance:
- Minimal sans-serif fonts create a professional and corporate look.
- Bold serif headers + nondescript sans-serif subheaders convey a trustworthy feel.
- Thick and rounded sans-serif fonts are youthful and approachable.
- Traditional serif fonts are quite corporate and conservative.
- Thin sans-serif fonts can be used for an elegant, high-end feel.
Step #4: Make Sure Your Fonts Meet These Requirements
No matter which typography you choose for your brand, it should possess certain essential characteristics. Your fonts should be:
- Flexible: Make sure your typography works well across all mediums, such as digital, product packaging, print, and mobile devices. Your typography will be a part of your brand identity for the foreseeable future, so it should look great no matter what platform it appears on.
- Contrasting: When using multiple typefaces, they should create a visual contrast while maintaining harmony. Establishing a clear hierarchy when combining two different fonts is also important — we’ll discuss this later in the article.
- Legible: Your typography branding must be perfectly readable. Any text you create using your styled fonts should be easy to understand, in large or small letters, as well as lowercase and uppercase.
Step #5: Think About Budget and Licensing
Sourcing and licensing your brand font is another important aspect to consider. Some platforms offer free and open-source fonts, such as Font Library, Font Squirrel, and Google Fonts. While they are convenient, they often have limited variety and number of fonts.
For a more professional approach to brand typography, you can license premium fonts. However, be mindful of individual fees and licensing fees, which can vary depending on the font and usage rights. Additionally, if you’re going to use different typefaces across various platforms — such as print materials, mobile apps, and mobile websites — you may need to obtain separate licenses for each platform.
Best Fonts for Branding: Additional Typeface Brand Guidelines
Here are some additional tips to find the right typeface for your brand and create a memorable and cohesive look:
- Choose between open-source, paid, or custom fonts
- Narrow down your font options
- Establish your font hierarchy
1. Choose Between Open-Source, Paid, or Custom Fonts
There are three main types of fonts when it comes to public access: paid, open-source, or custom typography. How do you choose one? It all depends on your business needs.
1.1. Open-source typography
Open-source fonts, like the ones offered by Google Fonts, are often chosen by startups and small businesses. They are web-friendly and consistent across all platforms and devices. Their downside is that they’re often generic, lacking in character, and don’t add much to a brand personality.
- Pro: Free and easy to get.
- Con: Quite bland and doesn’t lead to better brand recognition.
1.2. Paid typography
When you pay for certain fonts, you’re assured a greater degree of flexibility, freedom, and uniqueness of personality. Options are more numerous, and it’s easier to get a font that perfectly matches your brand personality.
- Pro: A much bigger variety of fonts that suit your brand.
- Con: Licensing can be costly.
1.3. Custom typography
The best way to truly make your mark is to create a font of your own. Custom typography provides a unique visual language that reflects your brand identity, but it can get quite expensive. Creating primary, secondary, and tertiary font types is also very time-consuming, which can be a problem if you are on a deadline. However, all the biggest brands have their own typeface — a true sign of a successful business.
- Pro: Tailored to your unique needs; sets your brand apart from competitors.
- Con: Time-consuming and expensive.
2. Narrow Down Your Font Options
With so many typography options available, you may get overwhelmed and end up with dozens of potential fonts to choose from. Narrowing them down to one or two typefaces can be a challenge.
To simplify the process, ask yourself these key questions:
- Which font is the most distinctive? The first characteristic of a font that defines a brand personality is that it should make your brand stand out among your competitors.
- Which one is the most flexible? Your chosen font should work well across all channels, devices, and platforms. It must look good on a small mobile website and plastered across a billboard.
- Which font is the most complementary to your other brand elements? Which of the fonts would look best paired with your logo and imagery? Look for common traits of these elements, such as round or sharp edges.
- Which font can scale up with your brand? A comprehensive typeface that can grow with your brand would be your best bet. Does it include all the characters you need? Is it available in multiple sizes and weights?
3. Establish Your Font Hierarchy
Once you’ve chosen your fonts, the next step is to establish a system that makes it easy for current and future members of your marketing team to replicate. This font hierarchy should be part of your comprehensive branding kit and include clear and relevant examples of use cases.
Your font treatment must be consistent and not overly complex. The typefaces you choose should comprise the following:
- A primary font: The default typeface that communicates your brand’s identity, values, and personality.
- A secondary font: A typeface that complements the primary font and supports the typographic design system.
- A tertiary font: The font your brand uses for accents.
These fonts serve very specific purposes and play different roles in the hierarchy of your design system. Each typeface should be assigned to the following:
- Titles
- Subtitles
- Copy
- Calls to action
- Quotes
- Product packaging
Here are some popular font choices for branding:
- Helvetica is a sans-serif font widely used due to its simplicity, legibility, and versatility. American Apparel and Panasonic are some of the giants that use this font in their branding efforts.
- Garamond is an elegant serif font often used for luxury brands due to its timeless and sophisticated look. Apple, American Eagle, Abercombie & Fitch, Neutrogena, and even Rolex have used the font over time for marketing purposes.
- Futura is a geometric sans-serif font with a modern and sleek look, making it a great choice for brands that want to convey innovation and forward-thinking. It has been used by brands such as Volkswagen and Supreme.
- Didot is a classic serif font with thin, high-contrast strokes, giving it an elegant and sophisticated appearance. Brands such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Giorgio Armani have all used Didot in their branding.
- Proxima Nova is a modern sans-serif font with a clean appearance that comes in an extensive range of weights and styles, from thin and light to bold and black. Product Hunt, Turkish Airlines, and Mashable are some of the most popular brands that chose this font for their branding materials.
5 Great Examples of Brand Font Use
To put the application of fonts in branding into perspective, let's look at the best examples of brands that owe part of their success to excellent typography.
1. Alfa Romeo
The Italian automotive brand is famous for its class, style, and elegance. The company's font, Apex New, reflects this personality and tone of voice in its messaging while being fit for the trends of the 21st century market.
2. The New Yorker
The 100-year-old historic magazine has one of the most distinctive fonts in journalism and print media. Its clean NY Irvin font is simple and only slightly quirky, providing uniqueness and enticing readers into consuming equally one-of-a-kind content.
3. Uber
This is another example of a brand doing the custom, proprietary font right. Uber’s commuting services are now a global thing and the custom typography, Uber Move, certainly helps a lot with making the brand instantly recognizable.
4. Vogue
The iconic fashion magazine Vogue is one of the most influential brands in the world. The Bodoni typeface was created by blending thick and thin elements into a single font. It lends a degree of elegance and drama to the magazine normally associated with these traits.
5. FedEx
Geometric and modern Futura font reflects the coexistence of the individualistic and mass production spirit of the Bauhaus movement that made it famous. This sans-serif font has made FedEx's logo one of the most instantly recognizable in the world.
20 Best Free License Fonts You Can Include in Your Brand Style Guide
If you are looking for a quick and effective solution for your brand typography, then look no further than this list of free fonts in each category, which you can download online for free.
Serif Fonts
Sans Serif Fonts
Script
Handwritten
Takeaways on Brand Typography
Brand typography is a complex process that results in increased recognition and a consistent personality across all channels. You can consult with a package design firm to discuss the best typography for product packaging. But it doesn't stop there. To find and apply the right font to your business, you should:
- Understand and define your brand’s personality.
- Understand the traits and personality of each font and find the best match for your brand.
- Decide between open-source, paid, and custom fonts.
- Make sure the fonts you choose are legible, flexible, complementary to your other brand elements, and can follow your growth.
- Establish a hierarchy of your fonts and outline this in your brand book.
Brand Typography FAQs
1. What is type classification in typography?
Type classification in typography refers to the categorization and organization of different typefaces based on their design characteristics. It helps designers understand the differences between typefaces and choose the right one for a particular project. There are several systems of type classification, such as Vox-ATypI and Thibaudeau.
2. What are the five basic classifications of typefaces?
The five basic classifications of typefaces are serif, sans-serif, script, display, and monospace typefaces.
