Typography
Also called brand typography, brand fonts, type
What is typography?
Typography is the craft of choosing and arranging type so text is readable and expresses a mood. It covers the choice of typefaces, sizes, weights, line spacing, letter spacing and hierarchy. In branding, typography means the specific fonts a brand uses and the rules for headings, body text and captions across every format.
Typefaces fall into broad families. Serif faces have small strokes at the ends of letters and often feel traditional. Sans serif faces feel clean and modern and read well on screens. Display and script faces are expressive and best kept for short headlines.
Strictly, a typeface is the design and a font is a specific file or style of it (such as Inter Bold), though most people use the words interchangeably. Brand fonts also need the right license for web, apps and video.
Why typography matters
Type is on almost everything a brand makes, so it does a lot of quiet work for visual identity. Consistent fonts make posts and videos recognizable even without a logo.
Typography also decides whether people read at all. On a phone, in a feed, text that is too small, too long or too low in contrast gets skipped. Clear hierarchy gets the main message across in a glance.
How to choose brand typography
- Pick a heading typeface that matches your personality and a body face that is easy to read on screens.
- Limit yourself to two families (see font pairing).
- Set a size scale and weights for headings, subheadings, body and captions.
- Check licenses cover web, social media and video use.
- Test on a phone at real sizes, including text over images.
Typography FAQ
What is the difference between a font and a typeface?
A typeface is the overall design, like Helvetica. A font is one specific style or file of it, like Helvetica Bold. In everyday use the terms are interchangeable.
How many fonts should a brand use?
Usually two: one for headings and one for body text. Some brands use a single family with several weights.
Related terms
Font pairing is choosing two or more typefaces that work well together, usually one for headings and one for body text.
Visual identity is the visible side of a brand: logo, colors, typography, imagery, icons and layout rules applied the same way everywhere.
Brand guidelines are a document of rules for using a brand's logo, colors, fonts, imagery and voice so everyone presents it the same way.
A wordmark is a logo made only of the brand's name, set in distinctive type or custom lettering, with no separate symbol.
Kinetic typography is animated text that moves, scales or appears in time with speech or music to express meaning and keep attention.
A brand kit is a compact set of a brand's core assets: logo files, colors, fonts and voice notes, ready for anyone making content.