POSTED: 11th JULY 2024

More Than Just a Font:

There are relatively few domains where the integration of science and art can yield a mutually advantageous outcome. However, typography does just that, mixing empirical research and creativity. It is one of those industries that so many of us never think about and then, to our surprise, there’s a massive empire that we never knew was there. If you don’t know of the industry, think of advertising and the amount of time and energy that the giants of industry put into their projects.

Think of yourself, as you move through your day, repeatedly, and how many times you encounter writing in some form. Everywhere we look, especially if we live in a busy community, there is often writing, a picture or even an advert. Graffiti can be considered a font, but it would need to have a distinct version for each letter/keystroke, with a consistent theme, known as a typeface.

Characteristics:
 

Weight: The weight of a font usually refers to how thick the lettering is. There are different types of weight, such as light, standard, and bold. Typically, if there is only standard or bold, the former is referred to simply as "regular" without the 'standard.' When you make a font bold or not, you are altering its weight.

Tracking: This refers to the space between characters in a word. It can have a significant impact on readability and can be tricky for designers to get right. Too much space, and the letters become detached; too little space, and the letters become illegible.

Leading: The vertical space between lines of text. This is similar to line spacing but is primarily used in digital formats. Traditionally, it can be imagined as an 'invisible' line that the words sit on and the distance from one line to the next. Too little leading, and the text can become cramped.

Kerning: Unlike tracking, kerning refers to the spacing between individual letters rather than the entire word. Although it might not seem important, incorrect kerning can make even the most readable text hard to decipher. It is especially crucial since not every letter occupies the same amount of space, and some characters take up more room within a word.

Keming: This term describes the problem that arises when the kerning of a font is incorrect. In short, it occurs when any two letters are aligned in a way that they are easily mistaken for a third, non-existent letter.

For example, bad kerning can alter the meaning of a phrase: 'sometimes making you sound like a click.'

If the 'c' and 'l' in 'click' become too close, it can visually form another word, changing the phrase to: 'sometimes making you sound like a dick.'

A lot of well-versed writers are oblivious to some of these terms. Why would they? Especially if they are older, as it is technically not their field of expertise. With modern-day access to technology so readily available, where we can all select the font that we want, people are (a little) more familiar with the specific names. Who doesn’t know what ‘Times New Roman’ looks like?

The Cover, Promotional Material & Advertising:

This is the part of the book (other than the storytelling) with the most freedom, the most creativity, and where the rules can be followed or ignored (lightly). The tactic of following the rules or breaking them has proved successful. The main piece of advice that many authors note is that you should never rush the design of the cover. It is your primary sales material, a promotional tool that should draw your reader in.

Note: I am not saying it should draw in ALL readers, merely YOUR readers, or the ones you are targetting.

• The cover should show knowledge of the design process - no half-measures, not for YOUR book.
• Make it resonate your genre - is it fantasy or is it a historical romance? The answer should be obvious.
• It should show a glimmer into the content within, the topic, the characters or some over-arching theme.
• I find it motivational to have a ‘working cover’ and ‘release cover’ - but this isn’t needed.
• It looks professional when you use the same font and colour scheme/theme across all content.
• Don’t be afraid that you cover doesn’t blend in, that’s a good thing, to some degree.

So, What Works?

There are some top contenders, well-known and well-used. Typically, book covers use these simple and basic fonts for the author’s name, tagline or praise. Some novels do use these as the primary text - the title - though mainly non-fiction. Fantasy and Science Fiction, for example, can use fonts that are a lot more stylised. Typically, you should always use more than one font. It is quite common to use one for the title and another for the author’s name. There is no ‘rule’ for this, other than you want the typography to work together, which goes without saying. 

• Don’t use conflicting Fonts.
• Don’t use too many different fonts (typically 2, and possibly a close-matching third, but only for the smaller text such as tag-lines or praise. 
• Try and stick to your ‘brand’.
• From the cover alone, you should be able to know aspects to the content and certainly the genre.

Sometimes, authors can go overbored or off-topic. They end up selecting a design that they like, all the while while naive to the message that it conveys. It is like anything worth buying, it needs to be packaged accordingly.

Some popular font choices, by the genre that they represent best:

Non-Fiction & Other:

Gotham

Hoefler

Caslon

DIN

Helvetica

Fantasy & Romance:

Artisan 

Cinzel Decorative

Yana

Garamond

Didot

Science Fiction:

AgencyFB & AgencyFB Brother

Rockwell

Vectis

Overview:

This article is a mild introduction to the world of typography. I’ve covered some of the technical terms and design aspects that are followed, mainly so the second part of this article, which is in more depth, can be better understood! 

Keywords:

#font #design #typography #publishing #promotion #authors #books #design