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Computer Help
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A font is a set of all the letters in the alphabet,
designed with similar characteristics. This is also known as a typeface.
Fonts are usually designed to include several style variations. This can include
styles like light, regular, bold, semi bold, ultra bold, and italic. Some fonts
also include "Expert" versions, which are fonts that include fractions and
mathematical symbols.
Font families are typically packages of fonts that include all of the different
versions of a font. Using fonts with large families will give you a wide range
of fonts to use in your materials, for variety and emphasis.
There are many basic classifications of fonts. Four of the most common classes
of fonts are:
Serif fonts, which have little "feet," called serifs, at the ends of the
lines that make up the letters. Some examples of serif fonts include Times,
Palatino, and Garamond. These fonts are more traditional, elegant, and
old-fashioned.
Sans-serif fonts don't have those feet. "Sans serif" means "without serifs."
Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, and Helvetica are some of the most common sans-serif
fonts. These fonts are more clean and modern.
Script fonts are calligraphic or cursive fonts. Brush Script and Nuptial Script
are two common script fonts.
Display fonts are decorative and often used for logos or headlines.
There are other types of fonts as well, including handwriting fonts and all-caps
fonts. However, the four listed above are the most common and useful in business
communications.
Your company should have designated fonts to use in the following
situations:
A logo font, which is typically not one of the fonts that come installed on
Windows machines: it should be more unique and interesting. Some logos will have
two or three different fonts in them. If this is the case, then consider using
one of those fonts as the secondary font as well.
A secondary font, used for headlines, sub-headlines, taglines, special text such
as graphics and captions, and decorative text such as pull quotes, which are the
large quotes that are used decoratively in articles and documents. This can be
the same font as is used in your logo. This is typically an interesting and
unique font as well. This may also be used as the font for your contact
information in your stationery, depending on its legibility.
A tertiary font is optional and may be used when the secondary font is
not always legible, for mid-length texts such as pull quotes and contact
information.
A serif text font, for lengthy printed documents. Printed materials are more
easily read if they are in serif font rather than sans-serif font.
A sans-serif font, for shorter printed documents and on-screen use. Text on a
computer monitor is easier to read in a sans-serif font than in a serif font.
A website font, which may be the same font as is used as the main sans-serif
text font, depending on how that font translates for online viewing.
All of these fonts should have similar or contrasting characteristics. Choosing
fonts with similar characteristics will make your fonts match and create
consistency throughout your documents. Choosing fonts with contrasting
characteristics will build visual texture and interest into your materials. For
example, you could pick all thin, sans-serif fonts such as Arial and Frutiger to
create a harmonious, matching suite of fonts. Or you could pick fonts with
contrasting characteristics to create greater interest, such as using a serif
font like Palatino for the headlines and then using a sans-serif font like
Verdana for the text.
Fonts can require special consideration when you send materials to a
professional printer for reproduction, use them on your website, or send Word
documents to others. Here are some basics on using fonts and preserving their
appearance in these cases.
In printed materials, it's easier to read long blocks of copy that is set in a
serif font. Sans-serif fonts are usually used in print for short blocks of
information, like headlines, pull quotes, or bulleted lists.
When sending your materials to be professionally printed, make sure to address
your desires regarding the use of fonts. You can either include the fonts with
the files you send to the printer or outline your fonts (creating shapes out of
the fonts, an option that's available in most vector art programs such as Adobe
Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand), so that they can be printed accurately.
Outlining the fonts is the best way to ensure that your fonts will remain
accurate and sharp.
Online, in websites, emails, and HTML newsletters, sans-serif fonts look the
best: they're clean, clear, and easy to read. There is one other trick to online
font use: you have to make sure that you use fonts that will be installed on the
computers of people reading your site. Otherwise, your text will appear in the
default font selected by their browser, which is often Courier, a very plain
font. That limitation does leave you with several fonts to choose from, though,
including Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, and Trebuchet MS.
Serif fonts could also be used on websites; however, it's best to use
them in limited quantities, such as for headlines and subheads. Some fonts that
are available to use on the web include Times, Times New Roman, and Georgia.
Another issue that commonly arises with online fonts is the difficulty in
controlling the size and appearance of those fonts. Standard font tags in HTML
don't provide precise sizing control and need to be used several times
throughout each HTML document, so making changes can be time-consuming. You can
use Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS, to precisely control the exact size of your
fonts and to make site-wide font, size, or color changes with one simple
alteration.
In Word Documents, you also want to make sure that the fonts that you use for
the text will be available on the recipient's computer. Good fonts to use are
the standard fonts that come installed on PCs, which include Arial, Verdana,
Tahoma, Times New Roman, Georgia, Palatino, Courier, and Trebuchet MS.
In order to insert a small amount of customized text - such as your logo,
tagline, or address information - create an image of that information and place
it in the header and footer of the page.
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Computer Help
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