Serif fonts are always a selection in designing a graphic product. It can be said that this font has the most usage among other font types. The versatility, the performance, and the unique anatomy make this font extremely popular. Then, how to maximize the usage of this font so your design product can stand out among other products that use similar fonts? Let’s dig in.
This font is believed to have originated from the Roman inscription letters that can be found on buildings or monuments. The text is written on stones and the serif is used to improve the readability of the text and give a formal appearance to the inscriptions. This font has been used through centuries and experiencing a lot of transformations in style and purposes.
Fast forward to the 20th century, the most popular serif font, Times New Roman, is developed by Stanley Morison for the British newspaper, The Times. This font has narrower features than other fonts due to the newspaper’s demand to fit more text per line. To this day, this font is massively used for publications, mostly book publishing and academic purposes.
This font is characterized by the small lines extending on the main stroke end of the character. The style of this font gives a classic and formal appearance, making this font widely associated with and even becoming the standard for official purposes.
Adapting the digital needs to incorporate serif fonts for digital media, this font becomes one of the default fonts in Microsoft Office. Beyond that, this font is available on the market and ready to be used for versatile uses.
There are several practices you can do when you are incorporating this font into your design project, especially digital where the demands are increasing every day and the emergence to produce a fresh, high-quality design is also skyrocketing.
There are countless fonts available on the market with different styles and uniqueness. The very first thing you must do is to match the font with the theme of the project or the brand’s personality and tone. Keep in mind that this font is strongly associated with a professional impression.
Hierarchy means that the text is visually organized to help the audience navigate the information. The text hierarchy commonly consists of the headline, subheading, and body. The order of the hierarchy determines the size and the length of the text.
Pairing two fonts together can create a balance. Different fonts have different style and performance. For example, serif fonts are perfect for headings because of the serifs that can make a strong impression. On the other hand, sans serif fonts will be better for body texts due to the clean appearance. Using both fonts in one design helps to create a contrast and makes it easier to be accepted by our eyes.
Set the goal to make a visually coherent design. In achieving that, you have to pay attention to the overall font choices, the text hierarchy, the size, the alignment, and also the spacing. Make sure that the design does not look too overcrowded and that each element complements each other rather than overpower the design.
Readability should be put at the top of the priority when making a design. Thankfully, serif fonts are famous for their readability. Your job is to ensure readability performance in both digital and print. You can print the design in a variety of sizes and also present it on different devices to see the performance and the quality of your design.
There are a lot of selections out there but let us compile the recommended ones below.
Ziporah is supported with a balance between thin and thick strokes that will be perfect for titles. The thick serifs add a professional tone to the text without looking too heavy. Needless to say, this font is ideal for business cards, tags, or logos to present brief information or the name of your brand.
Comes with straight letterforms, Sidney Headland offers a classic and elegant style that you usually see in fashion magazines and interior design catalogs. The narrow length of each character helps to fit more texts in limited sections, really suitable for titles, tags, labels, and other modern editorials.
Another recommended font is Acros. The unique style of this font will catch the attention of the audience immediately. The serifs also make each character legible, making the information presented using this font readable a lot easier. Another plus point is the multilingual support that comes with this font.
Ragita is a blend of elegant and classic tones, giving those feelings that you feel on jewelry brands or feminine clothing lines. What makes this font even more unique is the ligature with swirly details on some letters that add more artistic value. This font is perfect for website brands and advertising material, as well as lifestyle magazines.
If you are looking for a simple font that has the ability to make a statement in your design, then Trick and Treating is the answer. The straight letterform makes this font look professional. This font is a perfect match for pitch deck and other presentation purposes.
Comes with the regular and italic style, this font expresses a classic nuance through every stroke and vertical pressure. You can use this font for your formal wear clothing line logo to give a timeless and classic brand impression.
You can see how stylish this font is at the first glance. The unique curves on certain characters also add an artistic value that will be easily recognizable by the audience. Any beauty and fashion editorials will stand out with this font.Enough for the explanation. Now it is your turn to try the best practices using the recommended serif fonts to achieve the maximum design result!
