Choosing typefaces: a working designer’s shortlist
How we pick type for a new brand, and the questions that rule out ninety percent of options in an afternoon.
Halfmoon Studio
Type does more of the brand’s talking than any logo. Most people will read your typeface thousands of times before they look closely at your mark.
Start with the hardest job
Is the type mostly for long reading, big headlines, small labels or interfaces? Pick for the hardest job first, then check it can handle the others.
Our five filter questions
- Does the family cover every language you sell in?
- Is there a variable version for the web?
- Do the numbers line up in tables?
- Can you afford the license for apps, web and print?
- Does it still look like you at 11 pixels?
Pair with contrast, not similarity
Two sans serifs that are almost the same look like a mistake. Pair a characterful display face with a quiet workhorse, as we do on this site with Unbounded and DM Sans.