Give legibility a leg-up!

Published 4 March 2008

Also in this issue: guest contribution | alice's actions

Letter spatial awareness

Different typefaces or fonts can make a difference to your design, especially when used in conjunction with white space. You can use white space to contribute towards the mood of your publication, for example: particular use of white space can create a style that suggests elegance, expensive, prestigious or upgraded, so special consideration must be taken to which kind of lettering you use.

Heavy and large fonts need plenty of white space to balance everything out. This should be used sparingly and certainly not for long pieces of work, otherwise the result can look amateurish. Their usual function would be for headlines and areas you wish to draw attention to the reader. Alternatively, light and airy typefaces shouldn’t overload on white space or they will become lost and overwhelmed. Don’t make it too small, as thin lettering can get swamped and melt into the background.

Certain fonts are designed for legibility, such as Times Roman for news-type presentations. It is designed for a rapid intake of information, and white space plays its part by guiding the eye through the sentences; placed too close together and the result becomes cluttered and may prevent the reader from naturally finding the next line, whereas too much spacing causes confusion in scanning down the page and locating paragraphs.

Fonts come in various forms: serif, such as Times Roman, Palatino or Georgia, provide an air of authority and are easily readable in dense, narrow paragraphs, whereas sans serif, such as Arial, Helvetica or Verdana, being more open, are suitable for headlines or statements. Children find it easier to read text in sans serif because the letters match their own style of print, and there are number of fonts that emulate children’s writing. Other fonts, such as ‘display’ or ‘handwriting’, should be used sparingly, and certainly not within a textual format – they are not designed for easy reading and should be employed as a statement or for design work.

Finally, be aware of the kind of colours you use. Dark colours on a light background are much clearer than the reverse, even though it is trendy to have a black backdrop. You have to be aware of how the letters react to the colours they are set on, to make sure you will be able to read a large amount satisfactorily. Check for the clarity of print so that they don’t merge together, for instance, white words on a pale background will melt, red words on green will swim, pale grey on white will become invisible, blue on black will dissolve. Even though it may seem boring, books are generally black words on white pages for a good reason…

Click here to read the first two parts about ‘white space’.

Guest Contribution

To the point: Why concise writing is key to your business

People have very short attention spans these days. To make sure they sit up and take notice of you, your marketing literature needs to be absolutely spot-on.

To achieve this, you need to make your writing as concise and clear as possible. No waffle as your readers will switch off or fall asleep. You need to tell them just what it is you sell or what service you offer. Dress it up a bit to make it sound interesting, but stick to the point!

Tips:

1. Define the purpose of your writing. Just what is it that you want your customers to know? If you don’t know then neither will they! Grab a cup of tea and have a good old think about it. Scribble down some bullet points.

2. Decide on the format. Is the copy for a website, brochure or press release? The medium will define the style and content.

3. Rip it up and start again... Once your thoughts are all down, have a bash at writing, then walk away. What changes can be made? Pretend you’re the customer and see if you understand what you’ve written.

4. Remove any niggly bits. This is where the copy has to be trimmed into shape (a bit like topiary). What bits aren’t really necessary at this stage? Are the long words or flowery expressions essential? Are there any repeated words?

5. Avoid cliché. By getting straight to the point and avoiding tired, well-known phrases you’ll keep the attention of your reader.

If all of this makes you want to hide under the duvet, then don’t be afraid to ask for help! Not everybody is good at writing and it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion. This is where a copywriter can help you out!

By keeping your copy punchy and to the point people will come to you rather than your competitors.

If you like what you’ve read and want to find out how a copywriter can help you, then find out more about copywriters from Fiona Seymour-Jesse via www.sjcopy.co.uk, or you can email fiona@sjcopy.co.uk or phone 01244 301065.

Alice's Actions #15

Corporate Consistency

At a recent networking event I was struck by one woman’s exceptionally beautiful business cards. The colours, logo design and type of card just smacked professionalism. But the bubble was burst when she handed me her literature. OK, the logo and colours were the same, but the design layout, font and quality of stock (paper or card) was increasingly inferior, and looked like it had just been collected from her personal office ink-jet printer.

The moral is: take a bit more care with the consistency of your stationery. If you want to portray a certain kind of impression, don’t blow it with cheap promotional material. Keep with the flow and get your marketing products professionally produced to maintain that all-important presentation – otherwise your inconsistency just might cost you that sale…

Another thought – maintain your corporate image throughout all your stationery. Speaking recently with a solicitor, I suggested that if she was to attract expensive clients she should think carefully about advertising her expertise and professionalism via what the world outside sees, eg all her correspondence through her headed paper, envelopes, franking design, presentation folders, website, signature on her email, electronic or paper communications – not just her business cards.

Now for the action: take a look at your literature, establish whether you have maintained corporate consistency, think about how your can improve and/or expand on it, and then go ask Alice!

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