Have you ever been fascinated by a street sign or a city map?

Once I became a graphic designer I became so much more aware of all the typography around me. Type is one of the major visual entities that bombard us day by day. So much of it is ignored or once glanced at – given no further thought. More importantly, type that IS noticed is usually noticed because it is bad typography.

The variety of type and the instances in which it appears are endless. Building Signs, Street Signs, Magazines, Maps, Movie Credits, Posters, Cell phones, Computers, Clothing and daily commodities like food packaging all contain type. Typography accompanies graphics in Informational Graphics which provides facts and data whereas typography in signs provides information but usually stands alone.

Bottom line – Typography makes up words. And those words send a message, it provides information. But type can do so much more than that. It can express attitude and show personality. Type can be big and bold, or small and light. Italics can suggest emphasis and size can establish hierarchy.

How does typography influence us?
Typography can be used to influence a customer’s decision making process. A Health food product may use neutral colors and a natural organic looking font to insinuate through the packaging that the food contained inside is healthy. In opposition, a pizza box may use bright bold colors and large fonts to attract a younger audience to it’s packaging. An upscale nightclub may use a cursive or script font to attract a high-end clientele whereas a children’s daycare may use a font that looks like a child’s handwriting in crayon.

Learn more about how others use type in the video “Off Book: Type” from PBS arts

See more Off Book.

Tags: bad typography, good typography, how to attract customers, how to design a logo, how to design a sign, tampa graphic design, tampa informational graphics, tampa typography, tampa web design, the influence of typography, typography