Design: Find your Fonts
– Ed Henninger
A look through your font files may show that you already own quite a few that will work well in a redesign.
You want a redesign. It’s time to give your paper a new look and you’ve finally got the go-ahead from your publisher to give it a shot.
But he’s made it clear that you have to do it on a shoestring. No pie-in-the-sky stuff-and make it happen at little or no additional expense.
You have your doubts. “How,” you may ask, “am I gonna do a redesign with these same typefaces? Sheeesh! New Century Schoolbook. Times. Helvetica. We’ve been using those for years and they’re just tired! We just gotta get some new faces!”
Well, yes…and no.
Have you checked your typeface files lately? Yes, those typeface files that are hiding somewhere on your server-those typefaces that may work very well in your redesign. They may have been there all this time, hiding in plain sight.
You never knew you had them because, well, you’ve always used New Century Schoolbook. Times. Helvetica. You rarely felt the need to use other type faces.
It’s a design Catch-22: You haven’t tried to use other type faces because you didn’t know you had them-and you didn’t know you had them because you didn’t try to use them.
When I’m working with a client on a limited budget (and whose isn’t?), one of my first steps is to take a look at their entire font library. For me, it’s like a treasure hunt.
Akzidenz Grotesk. Basilia. Berkeley. Bodoni. Caslon 224. Formata. Frutiger. Goudy. Lucida Bright. Myriad Pro. Photina. Utopia. You may have these typefaces in your system already, just waiting to be used in a redesign.
Some suggestions:
LOOK FOR THE CLASSICS: Stay with those fonts that you know work well. Don’t go for Bernhard, for example, when Berkeley will do much better.
LOOK FOR NUMBERS: A typeface family with six or eight fonts will be more versatile than one with only four fonts from which to choose.
LOOK FOR COMPATIBILITY: You want the typefaces you choose to work well with each other. See if their letterforms compliment each other.
LOOK FOR SIMPLICITY: Consider what I call the “Rule of Three”-only three typeface families in the entire redesign. One for text (always a serif), one for display headlines (often a serif), one for accessory uses (often a sans serif).
Choosing new typefaces for your redesign can be an exciting process. But there’s often no need at all to rush to buy type. Very often, the typefaces you need are already available to you.
All ya gotta do is look in the right place.
IF THIS COLUMN has been helpful, you’ll find more help in Ed’s new book, Henninger on Design. With Henninger on Design, you’ll become a better designer because you’ll become a thinking designer. Find out more about Henninger on Design by visiting Ed’s web site: www.henningerconsulting.com
ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting. Offering comprehensive newspaper design services including redesigns, workshops, training and evaluations. E-mail: edh@henningerconsulting.com. On the web: www.henningerconsulting.com. Phone: 803-327-3322.