My family has recently started calling me the font nazi ever since I came home fresh of a typography semester and would name fonts that would show up on TV screen. My mom says I deserve it because I got a hundred percent on my font ID test. That and I'm a wedding announcement critic and only I and family will ever hear about my rants of how wedding announcements sent to our house could be made better. But back to this post. I've wanted to do this for a long time because I read blogs a lot and some blogs are clearly better than others concerning typography.
Blogging is an excellent form of self expression not only in the writing but also in its design {background, header, buttons, etc.} But lately I'm getting tired of overkill or a.k.a "lets push for so gosh darn cute my reader can't read my blog post." There have been plenty of blogs that I have stumbled upon that sound really interesting and then I get to their blog and I can't read a thing. Sadly I won't stay long to read that blog and they have lost a reader when I have lost interest in trying to decipher what they wrote. I've kept my blog pretty basic not only because I don't know a lot of coding but also because it keeps my blog functional.
Tip #1:Post Body
Not all fonts are created equal. Some are meant for reading over a long period of time {books, articles, etc.}, while others are meant for display and grabbing attention{posters, movie titles, announcements, etc.} While blogging you need to constantly keep in mind your readers. Even if you think nobody is reading your blog, your wrong someone is reading {unless you keep it unpublished}. Don't pick a font that you think is super fun and cute because it'll mostly likely be hard to read for a long period of time. It wasn't meant for a body of test. If I have to squint because I can't make the shape of the letters I won't try to read the post. Maybe just one sentence but that's about it. Think about writing a paper for a class. You want your professor to be able to read it and its not some poem for third grade. So you would pick a readable font or use the one the professor has chosen for the assignment. Make your your readers happy by making the test more readable. I recommend Georgia or Veranda {both have been specifically designed for the web} or even Arial{pff what a knock off} or Times New Roman. Never, never, NEVER use script or comic sans or apple chaucery. You will me scoffed at by designers, especially me.
Tip #2: Color
Not all colors are meant for reading over a long periods of time as well. With color keep it simple. Black text on a white background{ok yes you can't get away with several light colors} or white text on a black background {or some other really dark color}. Yes I may of cheated on this one using navy blue for text color but it still works because it is dark enough. Please do not use yellow or a light color like baby pink or blue. Even teal or lime green or a hot pink can be hard to read.
Tip #3: Size
Web is very different from print and sometimes that means your text needs to appear bigger. Some cases it will appear smaller and you'll need to make it bigger. Sometimes it will be made bigger already. For blogger size 12 or 14 is a good size and very readable. Even size 11 can work. Sometimes bigger is better especially when it comes to text and the web.
Tip #4: Post Title/Blog Title
Go for it! Yes you read my words correctly: Go for it! But when I say go for it don't go completely crazy. Do pick one of those fun fonts that are meant to be for display. Go ahead for a script with your favorite shade of lime green. Remember you reader. Do make it a lot bigger than your body text for some added variation.
Typography is important, very important. Don't believe me imagine text on TV giving you information they want to share and its in a script font. Not very useful or helpful. You want people to read your blog--make it easier to read. Your blog can still be cute without bad typography.
For other design advice or your looking for someone to fill your graphic design needs email me at chloevictoriadesign@gmail.com.
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