One subject that comes up a lot when it comes to church design is “fonts.”
While some people don’t see any reason for the fuss about fonts in church design, it is a very important topic. For example, making use of an outdated font could make your church come across as outdated.
You might have a great logo, but using the wrong font will tell a different story about your brand. Note that people don’t remember your logo as much as they remember your church name. As such, you need to be mindful of the font that you use in your church designs. In this post, we will discuss the importance of your font to your church image. We will also discuss a few best practices in choosing fonts for your church design.
What Does Your Font Say About Your Church?
Let’s try a simple experiment to buttress our point. Below are some brand names, read them out loud one after the other:
- McDonald’s
- Adidas
- Coca-Cola
- VISA
Did any images come to mind? You probably saw the fonts that are associated with these names. Do you see how much effect font has on your church brand? When people hear your church name, they remember the first font they saw with that name. Because of this, you need to make use of fonts strategically for your church designs.
The fonts on your church website should correspond to the ones on your church logo. Your font gives your brand identity so it is best to stick with a particular font on your different documents and designs. In the next section, we will show you some font best practices every church should follow.
Fonts Best Practices for Churches
As a designer, you must have asked yourself this question before, “What font is best for this project?” Should you choose a font based on a specific design, topic, mood, or season? Do you just choose font based on what you are in love with at the moment? The guidelines below will help you choose fonts properly so that you can improve your church design remarkably.
Uniformity across the board
You shouldn’t just choose fonts because they are the latest, they look great, or they suit your current mood. It is unethical to keep switching fonts in your designs. A rule of thumb in choosing a font is to have a primary font for your main headlines and another for the body.
Let’s look at your church website, for example. You shouldn’t make use of more than two font styles. Once you add a third or fourth font, your website starts to look like a “font marketplace.” The text no longer appeals to the reader and you can’t keep them on your website for too long.
Do you know that this principle even applies to the fonts on your church images? Because of this, you should ensure that the font you use across the board should be the same. It doesn’t matter if it is your website, social media, or billboard.
Make use of readable font
To an extent, every font is readable. However, the question is, “are they readable in every format?” This is where the rubber meets the road. Some font configurations are attractive and readable when they are big. Once you reduce their sizes, they become illegible.
For example, using a thin font will not be great for smaller resources such as business cards. Some other fonts look great when small but become bulky once you increase their sizes like on a projector. For this reason, you should test your font in different contexts before making a decision.
Use font that connects to your brand
Your font should emphasize your brand culture. People should have a certain feeling when they come across your font. If your church is sophisticated or modern, your font should follow suit so that it communicates the same.
Here’s a simple example to make this point clearer. Serif fonts are mostly used for communicating intellectual ideas. On the other hand, Sans Serif fonts communicate being straightforward. Find out what each font means then choose one that connects properly to your brand.
Seek professional help
Deciding on the best font for your church can be a herculean task, especially for a novice. We suggest that you should consider seeking a professional designer to help you out with making your choice. It shouldn’t be expensive since it is a single consultation. Make this investment and watch it pay off dividends for several years.
Conclusion
Note that whatever font you choose, you will be stuck with it for some time. Also, remember that your font gives your church an identity so it must communicate your culture. Finally, don’t be afraid to invest in getting the best font for your church. Please, check out ChurchPad for articles about church communication and improving your publicity.