Don’t Look Now, But Your Font is Unzipped
By Tom Chandler on May 28, 2007 in Writer tools, Writing
Before PCs, writers used typewriters, and before that, they used pen and paper.
Naturally, being a largely superstitious, wholly contentious lot, battles erupted over what pen worked best, and why. Later, the word processor wars broke out, and back when there was actually a difference between products, writers in text-based online bulletin boards fought over them with an almost religious zeal.
Of course, all that has changed. With word processors largely the same, what’s left to fight over?
Fonts, baby. Fonts.
Matthew Stibbe of Bad Language Fame uncovered a Slate article that asked several writers about their font preferences.
Any copywriter knows the right font choice affects more than readability. A good font conveys tone and attitude (imagine 1990s Apple without Garamond Condensed). It adds “voice” to your words.
That’s why the Slate article surprised me. Among those surveyed, there was a strong dependence on typewriter-style fonts like Courier.
Even the US Government threw off the non-proportional shackles of Courier in 2004, so why are so many writers (outside of screenwriters ) still using it?
In an era of highly readable typefaces, why are so many stuck with poor, space-hogging, slow-reading Courier?
What Have You Been Doing?
Because I want to look like I write for a living, I developed a set of copy forms, but populated them with the fonts I liked (provided most of my clients would have them, which limits you to a handful of choices).
Strangely, I never asked my clients what they wanted to see.
I never received a complaint, but now I have to wonder; do they have a preference? Do my clients sit in their offices and say “sure, I like the copy, but what was he thinking with that san serif font?”
Any thoughts on fonts in the copywriting world? Are you captivated by a font?
[tags]copywriting, writing, font, typeface[/tags]
Great observation!! Like you, I was surprised when I found that work from some other writers was… well… sloppy and looked like scratch paper.
I consistently use Arial 10pt with 14 point headers with a right margin set at 5 (to better reflect how it will appear on the web). That has become my “brand.”
I used to use Verdana, but later switched to Arial because I was bored with it. I guess it’s sort of any other person getting new tools to spice things up a bit.
Like you say, if you want to charge like a pro, then you’ve got to look like one. These electronic documents are a writer’s product so they should look great and be consistent with a unique branding.
Christine OKelly | May 28, 2007 | Reply
Tom - this is such an interesting topic!
Like you Christine I use Arial (in 11 point) for regular copy. I try to make my drafts look professional with a nice header that includes my logo, contact info, the job name, date, and draft verison.
Sometimes when I’m writing web copy in MS Word (rather than HTML) I use Verdana. This is to help my clients see how their final product will look online.
I use Courier New for fiction because it’s preferred by agents and publishers.
As for handwriting, mine is terrible. I blame years of keyboard use. :)
Janet Martin | May 28, 2007 | Reply
I come from a design background so I’ve always fascinated by typography. It’s interesting how much can be said, about you or your product, just by the typeface used.
For the projects I do for my clients, I stick to Arial 12pt. for the body copy. I know it’s boring, but I try to use a font that everyone has on their computer.
For my own stuff I use Geneva.
I’m definitely a sans serif guy.
Mike Sieber | May 29, 2007 | Reply
I *love* fonts — especially those that aren’t on everyone’s computer. But, then again, I have a good bit of design in my background.
For the text I do for clients, I follow the boring rule of san serif headings and serif fonts. I know that I should pick one and stick with is consistently but that’s hard to do :)
Meredith | May 29, 2007 | Reply
Guess, I’m the Luddite here but I actually do like to write copy in 11pt Courier, but will give the client the look-see in Times Roman. (My preferred screen font by far is Verdana.) But I don’t work with a particular format. Text is generally 11 pt, heads are 16 pt and subheads 14 pt.
I’ve only had one client who insisted I write copy to their particular format which was all Verdana and blue headlines.
Don’t hate me ‘cos I Courier.
Roberta Rosenberg, The Copywriting Maven | May 29, 2007 | Reply
I went with Tahoma for my copy forms. Most Windows-based clients have it, and — to my eyes at least — it’s more readable (and prettier) than Arial.
Remember — to be noticed you must be different.
BTW — Slate also has a short slide show on the Helvetica Hegemony. Perfect for font freaks.
I look forward to the day that blogs become sophisticated enough to support more than the few fonts we typically see.
Tom Chandler | May 29, 2007 | Reply
I am all Arial all the time. Web copy, promo copy it doesn’t matter. Ahh…if we could just put the ax to Times New Roman.
Rob | May 29, 2007 | Reply
While writing drafts I like Courier, 12pt, because it is so neutral and slower reading - this latter point helps with editing.
For output I like like Georgia, but will give the client whatever they are most likely to have.
Steve | May 30, 2007 | Reply
Has anyone ever heard a peep from a client about their font choice?
I have worked for clients who had strict formatting guidelines, but outside of those, I’ve never heard much of anything (well, a few compliments on my forms).
I’m curious.
Tom Chandler | May 30, 2007 | Reply