Display typefaces have four main functions:
1. Attract attention
2. Create differentiation
3. Set a mood
4. Build hierarchy
1. Attract attention: The first use of display typefaces
was to attract attention—to pull a reader into
an advertisement, brochure, or poster. The most successful
designs do this without being overpowering.
They usher the reader into the accompanying text
without distracting from it.
2. Create differentiation: Because they are often
distinctive in design, display typefaces can create
brand and product distinction. Good choices can
make products and services stand out from the
crowd. The right typeface, used consistently, can go
a long way toward creating a powerful brand.
3. Set a mood: Display typefaces can evoke a mood
or emotional response. The font Arnold Boecklin is
the quintessential Art Nouveau typestyle (figure 1),
while Wanted (figure 2) creates a feeling of the Old
West. There is, however, a caveat when attempting
to set a mood with display typefaces: It’s easy to
be hackneyed. Using Old English for antique store
signage or a sans serif italic to indicate speed, for
example, are worse than stale.
4. Build hierarchy: Display typefaces can bring
order and structure to complicated content. Use
display type to divide large documents into manageable
sections, highlight important or recurring
points, and distinguish the body of the information
from its infrastructure—headers, footers, and
menus. If the display type does not distract from the
main text, an added benefit is that the document
“feels” shorter when broken into small bite-sized
segments, making it more reader-friendly.
What to look for
The first rule of choosing display typefaces is to
make an appropriate choice … appropriate to the
delivery vehicle, content, and audience.
Appropriateness to delivery vehicle: The most
appropriate display typeface for a small-format print
environment will probably be a different design than
one that is best at very large sizes. And both of these
might not be appropriate for display copy on screen
or in presentations.
The best font for presentation graphics, for
example, is a sans serif (because it is more legible
than a serif design), bold weight (to enable high
levels of visibility), of condensed proportions (to
obtain the maximum number of words in the smallest
space).
While the best typefaces for on-screen use are
also sans serif designs, faces with condensed proportions
are not good choices. Designs with large
x-heights and open counters should be sought out.
Large x-heights will take advantage of the limited
digital real estate of screens. Robust or decorative
typefaces like Aftershock or Snap that might make
excellent choices for posters and brochures would
probably not be good decisions for display type on
screen (figure 3).
Newspapers, which are almost always read
under less than ideal circumstances, require sturdy,
industrial strength designs like Bookman or Franklin
Gothic for headlines, while a catalog for women’s
clothing would do better with a more supple design
like Berkeley Old Style (figure 4). The same Berkeley
Old Style, however, might not be the best choice
for a web page banner, while Lucida Sans might be
(figure 5).
Appropriateness to content: A birth announcement
would be expected to use different typefaces
than a poster announcing a company picnic. And a
financial newsletter will be best served by yet different
typefaces.
For that birth announcement, ITC Kristen (figure 6) or
Young Baroque would be good choices.
The poster for the company picnic might benefit
from a robust face like Artiste or ITC Juanita (figure
7). The financial newsletter? Try heads in Mentor
Sans Bold and text in its serifed sibling, Mentor
Roman (figure 8).
Appropriateness to audience: It’s a pretty safe
bet that counterculture display faces like Panic and
Schizoid will not appeal to an over-60s reader or
that Edwardian Script and Modern No. 216 would
resonate with a potential customer for skateboards
(figures 9 and 10). Typefaces like Democratica and
Modula Ribbed from Emigre or Fink Brush from
House Industries can be great display typefaces—but
probably not for the readers of the quarterly financial
reports of an international banking firm (figure 11).
Copy length
Copy length should have a bearing on choice of a
display typeface. Long blocks of display copy should
be inviting and relatively easy to read. Traditional
designs, because they are based on standard text
typefaces, are usually the best choices where display
copy runs more than a few words. Charter Bold,
Mendoza Roman Bold, or even the Ultra weights of
faces like Novarese and Mundo Sans can be excellent
choices for even relatively long blocks of display
copy (figure 12).
There is a great deal more freedom of choice
in short copy blocks. Since many of the decorative
display typefaces are not paragons of legibility, they
should be avoided in display copy that runs longer
than a half-dozen words. In short copy blocks,
however, they can be the perfect choice. Buccaneer
or Curlz won’t win any contests for typeface legibility
but they are very effective display faces in short
blocks of copy (figure 13).
Harmony and counterpoint
Display type can either complement or contrast with
the text copy. A dramatic change in typeface will
create the most emphasis. Figure 14, below, shows a
few excellent typographic contrasts.
A display typeface can also complement text
design. The simplest—and most reliable—choice
here is to use a bold weight of the typeface used in
the text copy.
The weight you use to create emphasis should
also be the result of a conscious decision and not just
a click of the mouse. Using the next heavier weight
in a family might not be the right choice. In some
typeface families, weight changes are subtle. The next
weight up from the basic text design may be too light
to make a strong statement, and using it will simply
distract the reader … instead of highlighting an
important point.
Of course, typeface styles can and should complement
each other. Serif typefaces from the same
typeface category will normally work well together.
Figure 15 shows a selection of typeface combinations
that are from the same category and are certain to be
pleasing counterparts.
In either case, the typeface used as the emphasizer
should also be bolder and have about the same
x-height as the face used for the rest of the text copy.
Warning: Using a sans serif design as a display
typeface with copy set in a different sans serif face
almost never works.
Three display type guidelines
1. Use typefaces that have legs. There are well over
100,000 fonts to choose from, but many will have
a short life … and then become about as fashionable
as poodle skirts. Try to choose typefaces that
will still look fresh years from now.
2. Decorative faces push the “appropriateness”
envelope much sooner than more conventional
designs. Use with sensitivity toward your
medium, message, and audience.
3. The basic “goodness” test for display type: Is it
readable? Is the headline a collection of words—
and not just a bunch of letters? Shoot for the former,
avoid the latter.
