Here Are My 5 Favorite Fonts for January
This month I will begin with a little bit of extra info to make sure we’re all on the same foot (that is a serif joke, you’ll get it later, I promise).
Do you know the difference between serif and sans-serif?
In the world of website building and web applications (like WordPress) there are?three different types of font-families (for the sake of ease we will call them fonts just like we did before this ?ber long explanation) – serif, sans-serif and cursive. Cursive encompasses cursive (duh) and also hand-written looking fonts; and serif and sans-serif make up the rest.
Serif is defined by Webster as: one of the short lines near the top and bottom of the long parts of some printed letters.
I seriously had to read that 3 times. What it means is when you look at a font, and it has what looks like a brush stroke or line coming off of the top of a letter, that is serif. Look at my capital E it is a really good example of serif.
Sans-Serif of course is without serif -?the lines. See my post headlines.
Which is better for what?
Rule of thumb. To our human eye, Serif fonts look like they have little feet. The bottoms of the letters tend to be straight, and therefore sit quite nicely on a line. Serif fonts are very easy on the eyes and therefore the best choice for bodies of texts, like blog posts.
Sans-serif fonts are wonderful for headlines. A good Sans-Serif will be open and flowing, easy to read and lead?the eye.
[bctt tweet=”Try a serif font to make sure we’re all on the same foot! http://beyondblogdesign.com/2015/02/03/five-favorite-fonts-january-2015/”]
The secret is out.
For my blog posts I use Fjord One, it is a very pleasing Serif. Not to condensed not to severe.
For my titles I use Open Sans. I like how spaced out Open Sans is while still being very readable.
This week I am highlighting two Serif fonts, three Sans-Serif fonts.
Fjord One – As I mentioned before Fjord One is a great Serif font. It accomplishes the task of being easy to read, without being too ordinary like a Times New Roman. Some of the things I love are the capital J, the lower case g and the oval Q with the longer tail. Here is a sampling.
Trocchi?is another Serif font. This one might be a little to fancy for the average Joe to use as a body font. But if you have a website with a flair, and want to use a Serif this might be the right choice for you! I love the lowercase “a” and “k”. The “k” looks like a cocktail waitress to me, her leg out and her hand up holding a tray. Yup, fetish.
Raleway is a Sans-Serif that I find very sturdy. It is a very good fit for body text or headlines because it has solid lines and a strong footing without being a Serif. Love the “w”s and the lowercase “l”s and “t”s.
Open Sans is the Sans-Serif I use in my headings. I find it very pleasing because it has nice letter-spacing. That is the space between the letters and belive it or not, that has a lot to do with why your eye likes a font or doesn’t. Something I will write about later is called Font Pairing. It is what you think. The reason I like Open Sans with Fjord One is the “a”, “q” and “j” are all very similar to me.
Galano Classic is a Sans-Serif I just recently became familiar with.?All of the letters seemed to be based on a perfectly rounded circle. To me this makes it more of a feminine font, or a font suited for something playful. I love the dots on the lower case “i” and I think the lower case “g” is how I fell in love. Because Galano Classic is a premium font, and not a free Google Font, the way I have to show you is a little different. More about premium fonts in a sec.
It’s so easy to forget that actual designers make fonts. I only wish I was half as talented as those folk! So please only use fonts that are available for free or premium fonts you have paid for.
And as always, I am available to talk about integrating new fonts in to your blog or website. Let’s chat!