Todd Sumamno
Some can get by with just an image for their logo without any writing at all, but if you’re a new or rising brand, you’re probably going to want to include some text. This poses a surprisingly important question: should your font be serif or sans-serif? It’s a seemingly little addition to a letter, giving it the little feet on the outlines or not, but the one that you choose can greatly alter the perception of your brand and its image. So, what should you deploy?
In favor of the sans-serif
Sans-serif fonts offer a clean-cut, modern aesthetic that naturally aligns with younger audiences and the internet-surfing crowd. This has generally developed from a lot of old texts and styles of writing featuring a serif, while many prominent online logos and brands opt for a sans-serif font. It’s a simple design that gets to the point and emphasizes readability in digital formats.
In this way, sans-serif also lends itself well to online entertainment brands. Sans-serif doesn’t deal in formalities but is there for a modern approach. A prime example of this approach can be seen in the listings of BonusFinder – NJ online casino no deposit bonuses compiler – and the brands it ranks. Caesars Palace Online Casino, given a perfect score by the reviewer, taps into the ancient Roman style but keeps the serifs out of the picture.
Most of the platforms in the online casino scene opt for sans-serif unless they’re angling for a distinctly formal or regal aesthetic. Golden Nugget, for example, puts its serif text in gold on a black background with some additional fancy banner work around the wording. Still, as noted by Adobe – via their CC design blog posts – sans-serif fonts are very much aligned with being cutting-edge, which is what brands want to reflect in this fast-moving world.
In favor of the serif
The serif is a classic, and for some brands, showcasing heritage and expertise is more important than appearing sleek and modern. This isn’t to say that you can’t be modern and demonstrate a storied history, but the overall font would need to essentially try harder to have a modern aesthetic if the serif is in play. Of course, not all brands and businesses want to be part of this internet crowd and would rather relay what’s almost more trustworthiness.
On a list put together by VistaPrint – who specialize in US business card printing – of the world’s most famous logos, it is notable how many use the serif. Coca-Cola, Barbie, NASA, IBM and Prada all toy with the serif in different ways, and each brand lends itself to consumers for its historic placements in its respective fields. All have been trusted for decades, and keeping serif-font text helps to enforce this.
Serifs can relay prestige and founding era. What matters perhaps a bit more than the presence of the serif is its size. The larger and harder the edge of the serif, the more formal and even historic the wording seems. Small or mini serifs can add a bit more formality to what would otherwise look like a more fun, modern, digitally-inclined brand name.
The text on your logo will need to side with the serif or the sans-serif approach, as it’s a subtly important feature of the design. What you need to do is focus on the perception that you want the logo to have and then pick.
Brittany
