Fonts are on our screens, on paper, on the products we buy, and on signs everywhere! When used effectively, fonts can significantly improve our communication. Patrick Griffin (“the font guy”) shares his advice about choosing the ideal font, considering the white space, and emojis!
SHOWNOTES
Contents

* 3 Key Learnings
* References & Links
* Andrea’s Commentary
* Interview Transcript
* Conclusion

3 Key Learnings
When choosing a font, consider the audience and the context

* Take yourself out of the equation. Be objective. Avoid your favourite font!
* Avoid the generic fonts that ship with your software.
* Think about adjectives to describe the project or the takeaways of the document. Then find a font that embodies those adjectives.
* Consider the age and preferences of your audience.
* Usually, serif fonts are considered more traditional. Sans serif fonts are considered more modern.

White Space Matters

* When choosing a font, don’t just look at the black marks on the page. Consider the white space too.
* If you are seeking to communicate that something is bigger or more “airy,” use a sans-serif font and avoid the serifs. Serifs are ornamental and take up space.

The font should complement the message

* The font should communicate clearly, but ideally it should not be noticed. Your audience should be so immersed in the content that they don’t even notice the font. (Consider the similarly implicit influence of colour.)
* Use two fonts maximum in any document. As Patrick says, “you can’t change horses on people all the time!”  If you are using two fonts:

* use one for the headings and one for the body
* use one SERIF font and one SANS SERIF font

References & Links
Patrick Griffin

* Canada Type – https://canadatype.com
* Font references –

* https://typedrawers.com
* https://slashdot.org

Fonts Referenced in this Podcast

On Fonts

* The Unicode Consortium – https://unicode.org
* Emoji proposals – http://unicode.org/emoji/proposals.html
* Fonts Researcher Frédéric Gosselin – https://recherche.umontreal.ca/english/our-researchers/professors-directory/researcher/is/in14360/
* History of Helvetica (Wired magazine) – https://www.wired.com/2015/04/legendary-redesign-helvetica-reborn-30-years/
* History of Fonts (FastCompany magazine) –https://www.fastcompany.com/90322896/who-was-garamond-anyway-the-people-behind-typographys-famous-names
* Fonts vs. typefaces FastCompany magazine) – https://www.fastcompany.com/3028971/whats-the-difference-between-a-font-and-a-typeface

 
Talk About Talk

* Fonts BLOG – https://talkabouttalk.com/talk-about-fonts-and-emojis