{"id":5931,"date":"2018-12-10T14:15:07","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T20:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5bd4f92546.nxcli.net\/?p=5931"},"modified":"2018-12-10T14:15:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T20:15:07","slug":"typography-101-how-the-right-t-shirt-font-can-bring-an-idea-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluecotton.com\/blog\/design-tips\/typography-101-how-the-right-t-shirt-font-can-bring-an-idea-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Typography 101 &#8211; How The Right T-Shirt Font Can Bring An Idea To Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019d like to start off today\u2019s piece with an analogy. Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve met a prospective business partner at a trade-show. Everything about them was incredibly well put-together, save for one small detail.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were wearing the ugliest, most garish tie you\u2019ve ever seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter what, when you try to look back and remember your conversation with them, all you can think about is the tie. It\u2019s a distraction. More importantly, it\u2019s negatively colored your perception of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this point, you\u2019re probably wondering what any of this has to do with T-shirts &#8211; I\u2019m getting to that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See, if you include any typography at all in your T-shirt design, the font you use is like a tie. Choose the right one, and it brings everything together, conveying exactly the look and message you want it to. Choose the wrong one, and you\u2019re basically shooting your design in the foot. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s talk about how you can ensure your shirts fall into the former category rather than the latter.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding The Different Font Classes <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In broad strokes, there are four basic classifications of fonts. Every single font you\u2019ll encounter fits under one of these four categories. As such, your first step should be determining which <\/span><b>class <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of font you want your shirt to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Serif <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fonts tend to have a more traditional feel to them. They include well-known and well-traveled fonts like Times New Roman, Clarendon, Centaur, and Bookman. Serif fonts also tend to be easier to read when printed.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Sans Serif <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fonts are usually a little more simplistic than Serif fonts and tend to present a slightly more modern front. Examples include Helvetica, News Gothic, and Cachet. They can be a good choice when you\u2019re going for something a little more minimalist. <\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Script <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fonts are cursive and highly decorative. They\u2019re apparently a favorite of people who design logo T-shirts, as well, especially those with inspirational quotes on them. If you\u2019re trying for something fancy and sophisticated, a script font is a good choice. At the same time, they can present issues where readability is concerned. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Decorative <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fonts are possibly the most diverse category. Generally speaking, you\u2019ll want to use these when the text on your shirt is the focal point of your design. They\u2019re made to be distinctive; \u00a0to draw in the eye. Readability generally isn\u2019t a concern with them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing Your Audience<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important thing to know when choosing fonts for a shirt is who you\u2019re selling that shirt to. What is your target audience? Someone designing a T-shirt for businesspeople at a trade show will probably want to stay away from Decorative and Script fonts, but if you\u2019re creating a shirt for a yoga retreat, Serif and Sans Serif might be a bit too dry. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do a bit of research into what resonates with your audience, and choose your fonts according to what you know of them. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing Your Message<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last but certainly not least, what message is your shirt trying to convey, and how important is its appearance to conveying it? Does it matter if people can read the text on the shirt, or is it the appearance and design that are important? Do you want people who see the shirt to feel bold and inspired, or comforted? <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, these are all factors that you\u2019ll need to take into account. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other Things To Consider<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right font can go a long way towards bringing a T-shirt together, just as the wrong font can leave an idea dead in the water. Now that you know a little more about typography, you\u2019ll be able to make a more informed decision &#8211; one that\u2019ll keep your ideas fresh and vibrant. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s wrap things up with a list of other factors beyond font type and style that you\u2019ll want to account for.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Color. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What hues and shades are you using on your shirt? Consider how that might impact readability. <\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Size. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How big is the text going to be? Certain fonts tend to look better when they\u2019re sized a bit smaller or larger.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Position. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where on the shirt will the text be? How it\u2019s arranged in relation to other visual elements is just as important as the font type. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Volume. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much text are you putting down? Are you going for a slogan\/saying, or a logo? <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019d like to start off today\u2019s piece with an analogy. Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve met a prospective business partner at a trade-show. Everything about them was incredibly well put-together, save for one small detail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":5932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[826,827,828,829,810],"class_list":["post-5931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-tips","tag-font","tag-how-to","tag-t-shirt-font","tag-t-shirt-ideas","tag-t-shirt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Typography 101 - How The Right T-Shirt Font Can Bring An Idea To Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There\u2019s an old saying. It goes something like \u201cit isn\u2019t just what you say, but how you say it.\u201d When it comes to designing a T-shirt, that\u2019s incredibly applicable. Everything about how your design looks is important, including and especially the font. Here\u2019s how to ensure you choose the right one - and avoid running with the wrong one.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecotton.com\/blog\/design-tips\/typography-101-how-the-right-t-shirt-font-can-bring-an-idea-to-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Typography 101 - How The Right T-Shirt Font Can Bring An Idea To Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s an old saying. It goes something like \u201cit isn\u2019t just what you say, but how you say it.\u201d When it comes to designing a T-shirt, that\u2019s incredibly applicable. Everything about how your design looks is important, including and especially the font. 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