You may not even know it, because most people don’t. That changes today, so listen up.

Every font- otherwise known as typeface- has a specific purpose and reason. We in design call it a “voice,” because the written words are an actual message. How it is perceived is extremely important, so equally important is the element of type used to convey the message.

Let’s briefly consider the infamous font, “comic sans.” This particular typeface is the default for roughly 95% of people who want to subtly declare “I’m fun!” or “Hey, let’s not take life too seriously!” One of the many low points of my college career was when a professor handed me a syllabus that was composed entirely in Comic Sans font. Maybe I’m just a snob, but I couldn’t take him seriously after that.

This brilliant website, Comic Sans Criminal, really explains everything I want to say- in a humorous, non-condescending way.

Moving on- another fatal mistake is the use of Papyrus. There are companies that will never receive my business because they took a “different” font, wrote out their name, and called it a logo. Case in point… (and that’s actually a successful company). Etsy is swarming with this font-faux pas. Trust me, just search homemade jewelry, candles, lotion- anything that the maker might interpret as “exotic,” “unique,” or… gosh.. “old world” will have a banner with that typeface. Here: Exhibit 1 Exhibit 2 Exhibit 3 And I found those in about 2 minutes.

I hope I didn’t scare you or sound entirely too snobby. Truthfully, I’m still learning as much as I can about the subject. Typography is probably the reason I discovered such a passion for graphic design. I love that each font has its own purpose- it’s sometimes a challenge to find one that will properly transmit the message. I present you with this homework: when you see a sign or a logo, ask yourself if the typeface is appropriate for the message. Then think about why the graphic designer chose that specific one. I think this activity is fun! But then again, this is coming from the girl who has an account at chess.com.

Thanks for reading.