Years ago typesetting was a laborious enterprise. Each character in a font collection had to be set in place manually in a process called hot-lead typesetting.
We’ve come a long way since then, but take a moment to think about the impact typographic technology has had on our world. Several decades ago when a typo was set in lead it wasn’t so easy to hit that backspace button, because it didn’t exist!
Back then characters of the English alphabet were considered a precious commodity and schoolteachers spent many hours meticulously helping a generation of baby boomers form each letter in the proper way.
Today, almost everyone in the developed world has the ability to typeset a book or compose a newspaper using a device small enough to fit into a pocket or purse. Those devices have far more typesetting power than could have been imagined 50 years ago.
The plethora of fonts has created what is at times a wildly chaotic form of expression. Many people with easy access to an overabundance of typographic styles go a little crazy in graphic design. Just because you can choose from among 10,000 different fonts, doesn’t mean you should pick one that proves impossible to read. Take care to pick a typography style that catches your eye, but is also effective and pleasing to the reader. In other words, don’t choose a difficult-to-read font that sinks your marketing plan. Add spice, but keep it legible.
One rule of thumb is to limit the number of fonts in a poster or brochure to two or three, unless any additional fonts are used in an artistic fashion. Otherwise, your brochure or poster will appear cluttered.
Before you sign off on an order for printed materials, consult with your printer to ensure your finished piece will be both legible and appealing.