#but im missing the simple readable lines of sans serif. i have to say. even if it is usually uglier.

[frecht]

really enjoying this 11-point arial. WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO

[mattelektras]

hello, i dont know if this is something you answered before, but i was wondering, how do you choose which fonts go together in your graphics? do you have a specific idea in mind, or do you go through a couple before you decide what looks best together? they always look really beautiful

i think i have but i cant find it and i probably do things differently now. also this went off on a tangent about typography but theyre in the same vein SO. 

i ABSOLUTELY flick through a few fonts before i pick one. i might have a vague idead that i want to use one bold and plain and one fancy but its 70% trial and error when it comes to actually physically putting them in the graphic

its about the VIBES

if what im editing has a more messy, artsy weathered vibe then i’ll choose a messy font. something handwritten or something that looks like paint maybe. example

for a more futuristic, minimalist vibe i’ll use something simple and non serif. example / example

you can use what comes to mind when you think of the subject matter too even if it isnt directly relevant. for example when i edit elektra i think greek > ancient greece > serif fonts

for spiderverse i think city > modern but with miles’ own art mixed in with it > both some bold no serif fonts and some more artistic, personalised fonts

for superman i think bright > bold > clear 

you can also adapt those ideas to HOW you want to edit something too. for example usually when i think about editing jason i think of a messier graffiti kind of look because jason >  a little bit scrappy and fighty > messy BUT one day i wanted to try a different flatter vibe for a graphic so i went flatter graphics > minimalist > sans serif > modernised 

neither nat or elektra have a particularly gothic vibe but i wanted to make one work so i used blackletter fonts

i think it helps to know the types of fonts that exist too so im gonna sound like a schoolteacher for a second here but stick with me 

serif - basic wings on certain letters, weight varies in different sections of the letter. used for a more old fashioned, professional, elegant look. can make something seem fancy even if it isnt 

sans serif - basic no frills letters, consistent weight for the entire letter. used to be readable and give a clean, modern, polished look

slab serif - again with the serif but like. BIGGER. can make a serif font seem more up to date and bolder. visually louder, makes stuff look important and can add more character than a basic serif

blackletter - gothic, old english kind of fonts. usually used for stuff that has Ye Olden in the title. capital letters usually have added embellishments and the characters in general will be very angular with a few decorative curves. i used to hate blackletter fonts because i could never make them work but i love em nowadays because they can give that kind of.... dark look to something. i see a blackletter font n i think big ol gothic mansions and the addams family which is indeed, a vibe

decorative - best for giving character imo. theyre unique and they can take parts from a lot of other font styles but also not conform to any. theyre heavily stylised and non traditional. letters can be backwards, smaller than others, some capitalised, some not. they make stuff playful and original. kind of personal too 

script - joined cursive mostly. can be handwritten or glyphs. im not a huge fan of glyphed cursive because it looks very old fashioned without that being a deliberate choice but they can work sometimes. its another style that can make something seem artsy, elegant, “”””femenine””””

that was all very boring. class is over. 

going off of the types of font though, mix it up!!! use the fanciest font you can find mixed in with a basic sans serif

some singular words will evoke a different, more important vibe than others, so to exaggerate that word and make it the focus of the graphic, use a more detailed, noticeable font for that and then something lower key for the rest of it. example / example

it can work the other way around too, with the simple font being the focus of the sentence and the script for example being the ‘add on’

the above is all something sizing can come into too

kerning is the space between each letter and i find that, particularly with sans serif fonts, changing the distance between each letter can change the whole font. so if something is like. OK but theres something missing, try kerning

the same goes for keeping all the letters on the same line vs having each as a different layer and moving them separately. this and this are both the same font but the second has each letter at a different level and a different size because i wanted it to look less formal and a bit more quirky and artsy, whereas in the first i wanted bold but plain  

something i always say and the one thing i took away from actually formally studying design is type it how you’d say it. do you enunciate one word of the sentence more than the others? is it a formal word or is it something fun? what part of the word or the sentence do you stress? whats the hierarchy of the information you're trying to convey? typography put literally is visual storytelling and its always helped me to think of it like that because im not actually someone who’s very creative or artistic so i like 2 think of it like. logically instead