Don’t choose fonts based on style preferences

This is more a general than just a logo design rule. Try to choose fonts based on appropriateness and not based on style. The newest flashy font might look great and fit your own style preferences but that doesn’t mean it’s the best font for your next job.

Style over substance

Everyone has seen a movie that was perfectly edited, had a fantastic colour grading, and used stunning effects, but still, the movie didn’t really work. The story was lame, the dialogues boring, and the actors only amateurs. This is a clear case of style over substance.

In design it is also a mistake to prioritize style over substance. This principle becomes very clear if we think of fonts.

Here is an example of a playful and detailed font:

In the wordmark on top we’ve used the font (“Allura”) for a tech company called Lexitech. At the bottom we’ve used the same font for a Fashion Boutique in the city centre. This example shows how a nice font can work for one company and completely fail to work for another one.

Let us reverse the situation by using a futuristic font that works for Lexitech but doesn’t for the fashion boutique:

The font here is called “5Mikrodotz”. It remembers me of old machine texts and might be a great solution for a tech company. The style fits the field, looks nice as a wordmark, and is unique. But what works for Lexitech completely fails for Suzy’s Fashion Boutique.

This example might be a bit exaggerated, granted. To get the point across, I chose clear contrasts.

The bottom line is: Search for inconsistencies between style and content. Futuristic fonts work for tech companies, abstract fonts work for art galleries, and playful fonts work for small businesses.

These guidelines may differ from case to case. With time, you’ll develop an eye for that and recognize style over substance as easily as in movies.