Fonts aren’t the most exciting topic, we know. However, they are a very important piece of creating a successful website, social media channel and digital marketing campaign. They can help to set a mood, deliver a specific message, and create an overall atmosphere with just their design alone.
So, let’s take some time to explore some different fonts that have grown popular over the last few years, and what you can gain from using a range of readily available Google Fonts in your designs!
Why Google Fonts?
It’s easy to think that most people don’t pay too much attention to fonts or their variations. Afterall, can you tell me what font you are reading this in? Likely not without copying and pasting it into Word or viewing the code! However, that doesn’t discredit the importance of fonts altogether.
Fonts are designed to elicit certain emotions and feelings. Some make a design look silly and whimsical, some make a design look scary and chilling, others make a design look professional and crisp. It all depends on the emotion and feeling you are aiming to capture with your use of fonts.
Even more ‘basic’ fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial can convey a message that is official, clean, and reliable – giving viewers a sense of comfort. So, fonts are pretty awesome overall. But, where should you be sourcing your fonts?
Using Google Fonts.
Now that we know that fonts are an incredible tool to be used for your marketing and design, you probably want to know where to source them. Fonts are nearly limitless, and can be found in a wide variety of places. Some of them are free to use, some are behind a paywall through licensing.
Today, one of the most common places to observe and acquire totally free use fonts is through Google Fonts. As the world’s largest tech company, Google offers a massive catalogue of fonts for users to try out at their leisure. It’s one resource that every design and marketing team should have in their back pockets!
Google Fonts is an extremely powerful tool that allows users to access fonts, gain information on their licensing status, try them out on their own text, and more! You can find updates to fonts, search for fonts, and even create custom font combinations for your website!
So, with that in mind, we wanted to explore some of the most popular fonts available to you right now on Google Fonts.
The Most Popular Google Fonts.
Open Sans
Open Sans is a widely popular font for general-purpose website use. It is the font of choice for many of Google’s own websites and features a very minimalist sans-serif body. You can really get a sense of professionalism here, without being too bold. This helps to set the mood for companies aiming for a more low-key vibe to their presentation.
– Sans-serif.
– 10 styles.
Raleway
Raleway is a fun san-serif font that packs an even more minimalist punch than Open Sans. It is a bold and elegant styling that tones down a lot of the noise that similar fonts bring along. It is typically used for headers and as such is best used in larger sizes. However, it can fit nicely into your text body as well!
– Sans-serif.
– 18 styles.
Montserrat
Montserrat is a more modern style of font that was designed and inspired by the neighbourhood it was named after in Buenos Aires. This new-age font is a bit more quirky and exciting than comparable sans-serif styles and can be used for urban marketing campaigns that wish to appear a bit off-kilter. This is a very popular font among urban tech and fashion companies for their websites.
– Sans-serif.
– 18 styles.
Slabo
Slabo is the result of a font guru, John Hudson, and the collective knowledge and skill of the Tiro Typeworks crew. This techy font is specifically designed to be used in two separate sizes based on the results you are aiming to achieve–13px or 27px (hence the naming). While there are only two styles, they both produce crisp and easily readable headlines and are great for almost any occasion.
– Serif.
– 2 styles.
Roboto
Roboto is one of the most commonly used fonts in the world, and I bet you didn’t even know it! Roboto was developed by Google and designed by Christian Robertson. This collaboration led to the font that is now the default font of Android–You may have heard of it. Roboto is consistently among the top fonts used on Google Fonts, and it’s derivatives also make regular appearances in the top 20!
– Sans-serif.
– 12 styles.
Oswald
Sometimes the classics are simply the best answer. While Oswald is not technically a ‘classic’ sans-serif font, it is modelled to resemble one. Created by Vernon Adams, this font is crafted to mimic the instantly recognizable ‘Alternate Gothic’ fonts. This natural and timeless font can be used in all types of situations where a touch of class and vintage feeling is necessary.
– Sans-serif.
– 6 styles.
Lora
Lora is a serif font that might be instantly recognizable to many readers. It is rather popular due to the fact that it appears brilliantly in both print and digital formats. This allows quite a bit of versatility for designers to play around with, despite there only being four (basic) style options. If you are looking for a ‘one-stop-shop’ of a serif font, Lora is a dependable go-to.
– Serif.
– 4 styles.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right font takes a bit of time and care. It may seem like a simple process, but it should be handled with plenty of diligence and thought. You want to ensure that you are using a font that sets the tone for your entire message. So, which font will you be going with as you grow your business?
