Good typography makes a huge difference to your logo designs and, in fact, any kind of communication.
Learning typography enables you to see things that you were once not able to see.
With software on the increase it has become easy to do typography badly.
I have even witnessed professional designers using display typfaces in body text.
All you need to do it well is a set of rules and an eye for good practice.
The first rule is to always trust your eyes.
Typography, like all good design, is an art and not a science, although applying a few simple rules to your logo designs will make them pop and give them the desired effect upon the untrained eye.
This article is aimed at helping student and amateur - even some professional - designers get a clear grasp of typography for their logo designs.
So such things as widows - one word left on a line by itself - and rivers - huge, running gaps through a body of text, usually caused by justified buttons in your text editor - or anything to do with body text will not be appearing, although I will be covering this in a later article.
I am writing this to help designers make educated type choices within their logo designs and brand identity guidelines.
Typography is everywhere from digital to print, from pound coins to pound notes.
It is the visual form of language.
Anyone can write a sentence on a word processor, however, there are certain elements to doing it well.
Rules are there to be broken, however, setting to a strict rule set gives you consistency through out your work.
A logo needs to be legible and readable.
Capitol letters shout loudly and can be portrayed as aggressive.
Lowercase letters are much quieter and speak softly upon their viewer.
Serif faces are very professional and business like in nature - they're a natural progression from calligraphy.
San serifs' are very clear, simple and to the point, which is why we saw the modernists from the Swiss era using them for clarity.
We also see them in a lot of headlines because of this fact.
However, we can overcome some of these aspects.
When using capitols - remember that we can give the logo a lighter typeface so that it doesn't scream.
Although, having said that...
keep in mind that when designing for screen displays that a lighter typeface is not recommended.
I am very old fashioned and fussy about this next subject.
The meaning of font has somewhat changed over the years.
12pt Helvetica Regular is a different font from 14pt Helvetica Regular.
They are the same typeface but a different font.
Although we use one universal point size for typography: different typefaces vary in sizes even if they're the same point.
There are not fixed sizes and vary between certain typefaces.
Uppercase and lowercase are named in this way because the printers encased capitols above the smaller characters.
Typefaces have their own character - no pun intended.
They're the actors and it's your responsibility to cast them in the right scene.
We wouldn't like to use comic sans - even though we should never use comic sans anywhere - in a corporate logo neither a grunge typeface for a children's entertainment company.
It is, without doubt, that the choice of typeface is the paramount of every good logo design.
I see so many bad choices.
It is not a quick fix.
You have to take your time and that is why knowing your Akzidenz Grotesk from your Helvetica is a must.
Getting to know your typefaces will make this process quicker, however, this comes from years of practice and study.
I'm not all the way there yet, myself.
Knowing your classifications will help determine the right typeface for the right client, brand and logo design.
Here is a list of type classification and an example to go with each one: Old Face - Century Transitional - Baskerville Modern - Bodoni Slab Serif - Clarendon Sans Serif - Futura (geometric) Helvetica (grotesque) Script - Edwardian Script Blackletter - Fette Fraktur Display - Cooper Black (Old Style) Monospaced - Courier Now, in my opinion, for what really makes a typeface pop within a logo and adds a little bit of character to your whole logo design.
The spacing.
Tracking is the overall spacing of a typeface.
Kerning is the individual spacing of letters.
Most designers moan about tracking and, especially, kerning.
However, I find this part fun as, like I say, I feel it gives the logo design character.
Bold typefaces should be tracked and kerned tightly and lighter typefaces should be tracked and kerned loosely.
How tight and loose is completely up to the logo designer.
As all ready stated: logo design is an art and not a science so it's paramount to let your instinct do the deciding - and definitely not your client.
Always trust your eyes but remember that space has to be taken into account for a decent logo to stand out from the rest.
As designers we should never let space worry us, we should embrace it and use it wisely.
Using clever tracking and kerning can help you line up smaller taglines precisely.
A note of caution on spacing.
As every logo design should work at a very small size...
it is also that at a very large display size.
Sometimes when kerning your logotype will look great at an inch in size but blow it up to display size and the spacing may become overwhelming.
Take note of this when spacing and look at your logo from both points of view.
There is nothing wrong with using a 70 point font, however, the sizes as standard with most computer programmes are there for a reason.
That reason being that the sizes in-between do not really make a difference on how our eyes read the word.
A note on designing logo marks.
We remember the shapes of words.
We do not read each individual letter that spells out the word: we read shapes.
So when designing any brand mark we must remember that it can be a powerful tool as we all read shapes and if your brand mark sits in harmony with the types shape: your viewer will remember that shape as a whole, making your design a lot more memorable.
I see a lot of logos where I have to really study it just to see what it says.
This is not good.
Although a brand mark can be a very important element to a brand's identity: you must never neglect the typography over this...
every element within a brand's identity should send a clear and memorable message to its audience.
With so many typefaces to choose from: how do we decide which one to use? Good question, I hear you say.
Some designers decide to illustrate their own typeface and this can be a great thing as it gives custom to the logo design as a whole.
Some designers customise typefaces.
However, as I do both, I also have a palette - if you like - of typefaces I never stray from.
I like the typefaces that have stood the test of time, although there are some pretty good ones out there that have only been with us a few decades, like: Bliss, Aktiv Grotesk, FF Meta, Gotham and Mrs Eaves.
Remember, there have been specific typefaces designed for screen such as Verdana, designed by British typeface designer: Matthew Carter.
My Typeface Palette: Helvetica Futura Din Gill Sans Univers Akzidenz Grotesk Baskerville Century Times Optima Clarendon Final Thought.
All logo designs should be heavily researched and in order to achieve its maximum potential.
This means that the typeface and its look and feel should not be neglected in favour of a strong brand mark or any other element.
Make use white space within a logo design - it's your friend.
Never use such things as gradients or drop shadows, logos and type work best when they're simple.