When putting together your logo, the typography is a vital part of the design because the type of letter style reflects the personality of the brand. It is important to use fonts which are well-designed so there can be unity across all forms of media and so the logo can have a timeless feel. If a font is too trendy, the danger is for the logo design to be outdated in a relatively short amount of time.
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Be strategic with your choices.
There are thousands of fonts available and there is a tendency to explore too much. Designers often stick to a set of fonts they know have a strong design quality and has been proven as a timeless design. Most often, less is more. Some of these timeless fonts are Gotham, Avant Garde, Helvetica, Lubalin and Trade Gothic. There are many more but these fonts are examples to learn from.
Try to avoid the cliché fonts, like Comic Sans. For instance, a corporation wouldn’t use a font like Papyrus if they wanted to be taken seriously. The fonts you choose can have a personality and reflect culture while still remaining professional and effective.
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Stay true to your style.
The importance of keeping a unified and consistent image of your ministry cannot be overstated. Typography that accurately reflects the approach of the organization makes this cohesiveness possible.
Current fads should not heavily influence your decision-making when it comes to a logo design. Trendy fonts are too fluid to be depended on because they will soon be replaced with the next trend. The typography you choose needs to be useful in the long run; it needs to be sustainable.
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Make sure the fonts are flexible.
A logo will have its own font choice which will get locked in to the design but beyond the logo there should be a font family or 2 which are used in body text. The choice of the font family you use for content needs to compliment the logo typography without being the same font. This way the logo will stand out when placed with other text.
The fonts you use to compliment the logo should be flexible and easy to use. You can have a range of different fonts that are similar in style but vary. For instance, one particular font can have a number of styles: thin, regular, medium, bold, and so on. This way, you can add some dimension without creating clutter. The overall look will have continuity and appear professional.
Ensuring flexibility also makes it possible to choose specific fonts best for different messages and mediums. For instance, fonts will be used in a range of different sizes, in black and white, and in color.
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Limit the number of fonts used.
Keeping a limit on the fonts you use for content is a good practice to maintain a professional feel in the organization. Also, licensing fonts is a legal requirement that costs money; the more fonts used, the more money is spent.
Restricting the amount of fonts you use is also important for memorability and consistency. Too many fonts makes things cluttered and messy. Sticking to limited number of fonts builds your brand more effectively keeps everything looking uniform.
Usually, 3-5 fonts should be used for your ministry’s materials. Choose font families that compliment your logo. You might select a good serif, sans serif, and slab serif type as a starting point. Some brands require only the use of sans serif fonts which takes things even further to developing a sense of uniformity. When you stick to these fonts, they become part of your image. People will eventually recognize your particular style which is key towards building a strong brand.
A completely separate set of fonts and accompanying standards may be required for a website. This doesn’t mean that the style of the site has to stray from your overall look. Web fonts, which are similar to the print fonts, can be used on the site to allow it to flow with the visual identity of the church.
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