Value of written communication is often looked at from a single dimension, that is, the actual information it provides to the reader.
However, we live in a visual world and every written artifact communicates visually to the reader. This is quite similar to the spoken word. Imagine listening to a drama on a radio. All the emotions and expressions in this medium are compressed in the way the words are uttered: the stress and the tone of the actor's voice. The movies that we watch now add the visual dimension and we get to see the actors when they talk. Their body language, movement, their attire, and expressions communicate emotions and the situation much better than something that you experience through a radio.
Similarly, the documents you create include the content or the words as well as a visual dimension. Then, what is the body language or expression of a written document. One way to complement written documents is adding images that summarize the text or provide a context to the document's subject. For example, an image of an oil rig for a company that manufactures drilling equipment. Apart from images, the fonts you use take place of the actor in this visual world and their makeup and clothes more or less define the character that they are playing. For example, Jack Black could hardly play the President in a movie dressed-up as he does in most of his movies. Similarly, Hangover 2 wouldn't communicate the vacation mood with the Wolfpack moving around in pristine suits. My point - just as clothes give a personality to actors and characters in a drama or a movie, fonts give the content a personality and add another dimension to the communication.
Fonts and typefaces - a family of fonts - have been in existence for a long time and have evolved over the period. Typefaces can be broadly classified as Oldstyle, Modern, Slab Serif, Sans Serif, Script, and Decorative. Each of these categories can be associated with some specific characteristics and aren suitable for a specific purpose. For example, Oldstyle typefaces, something you typically see on old text scrolls, are used for Diplomas. Similarly, Script or Decorative are more suitable for documents where you want to appear friendly and engage the reader.
Each font has its own persona and is suitable for some specific type of communication. Using the right font for a document can set the tone for the document and help you get an appropriate response from the reader. Visit our blog to know more about what to look for in fonts and typically, what types of fonts are suitable for your communication needs.
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