Business printing is usually clear and concise as companies seek to get their message across using a variety of printed media – business cards, newsletters, marketing brochures, proposals, white papers, adverts and the list is endless.  While clear and concise language is great for quickly getting the written message across, the design and appearance of the piece needs to attract and excite the reader to actually pick the item up and read, at least, the first line. This is where good design and creative imagination comes into play, and one of the most powerful tools at your disposal are the myriad numbers of fonts and effects you can create with them.

Use Simple and Straightforward Fonts You want the reader to be able to quickly and easily read the text – it is no good having a really decorative, cursive font only for it to be virtually unreadable by someone with a busy life, being jostled on the train or having to switch to reading glasses to decipher what teh text is – they simply will end up not reading it at all! This is why you should keep your fonts simple and easy to read, but this doesn’t mean boring! Font Mix & Match By mixing different fonts into your text you can create interest and break the text up into more manageable chunks which allows the reader to skim rather than actually read completely (here’s a hint: most people skim to the good bits when they read, they do not take the time to read it completely).

By using headings and sub-headers in conjunction with differing fonts, you can create a more inviting and easily understood piece. Typefacing Issues More than mixing fonts, by using different typeface effects, such as italics and bolding, you can highlight the important parts of your communication for the reader’s attention.  Whenever there is a crucial part of your text, set that in italics or bold it as a block of text – this way you signal the importance to the reader. Do not use bolding in isolation and frequently – it makes the text difficult to read. Utilize Spacing Techniques Spacing is one of the least appreciated print design issues because many novices or people intent on making their own designs, think they have to pack the space available with images and text.  Spacing creates a flow and acts as an attractor for those design elements which are important and simply cramming text and images in leads to the message getting lost and a confused piece being created.

You can also utilize different text height and widths which involve using space differently in order to emphasise aspects of your text, eminently suitable for headers and sub-headers. Contrast Creating contrast with your text and background is also a great way of making parts of your message stand out to the reader.  Back fill with a different color to the rest of the paper, changing the font color being used or inverting the text/background colors will create different highlights and effects.

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The Font of Advice