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When creating your branding, step 1 is to figure out your Ideal Client. Step 2 is to dig in and pick out a solid and functional color palette. Now, Step 3: choose your logo fonts! If you thought your color palette was a rabbit hole to fall into, just wait until you start searching through fonts! LOL! Below are three rules of thumb to keep in mind while deciding on logo fonts.
Pay attention to how the font “feels”
Does your business or brand have a certain ‘style’ to it? What kind of vibe do you want people to get when they see your logo or social media graphics. Your font choices will help attract your ideal client to YOU! Are you fun and extroverted? Maybe choose a more bold font or something whimsical. Do you want your font to feel comforting and stable? Choose a sans serif font (one that is rounded without the extra little “feet” on the bottom of the letters. Maybe your brand is feminine or ‘light and fun’? Choose a handwritten or script font!
The idea is to choose logo fonts that give your ideal client more visual incite into what your brand is all about. They can look at your graphics and know what your business’ vibe is!
Two logo fonts are better than one.
It’s best to choose TWO logo fonts for your branding. Often, one will be used for the name of the business, while another will be used for the tagline. Sometimes, the two different fonts are used in the name. It can depend on the overall look and feeling you are going for with your brand.
The idea when choosing the fonts is to pick two that:
- look visually pleasing together
- are very different from each other
- they should have different ‘weights’ to them (ie: one bold/one light, one medium/one light, one decorative/one script)
- Maybe one in all caps, and one without caps.
PRO TIP: If you are not working with a designer in choosing your logo fonts, try putting them together into a graphic image you would use. Show them to a business friend and get their opinion. It’s always good to have a second set of eyes to give you feedback.
If you recognize the name of the font….don’t use it.
Comic Sans
Bradley Hand
Times New Roman
Impact
Lucinda Handwriting
Papyrus
I’m going to guess you recognize all the font names I just listed. Yep, these are DO NOT USE logo fonts! They are overused, everyone recognizes them, and they are boring to people’s eyes at this point.
I would suggest picking a font you’ve never heard of before LOL! That way, you know it’s not one that is probably overused.
Where can you find logo fonts?
The best place to start looking for logo fonts is at dafont.com. There are a ton of free fonts listed there to download for personal use. However, please read through the whole listing on a font before downloading it. There are commercial use licenses needed for some fonts. And some of them provide links to other sites such as Creative Market to purchase the font you would like.
Pinterest is also a good place (uh oh…look out! Another rabbit hole! LOL!) to search and find fonts with the vibe and look you’re going for! If you want, take a look at my Fonts & Typography board for some inspiration!
A quick note on licensing….
From one creative entrepreneur to all of you *stepping up on my soapbox: Even though you may find a font listed for free for personal use. If you are going to use it for commercial purposes, please donate to the artist or purchase the proper license so the artist receives the payment they are due. They pour their heart and soul into their work. And it sucks to not get paid what you should get paid for the products you produce. *stepping down off of soapbox.
