Don't try to be original...

Browsing through the Google Reader early this morning and came across this piece on the CoDesign blog highlighting a sweet infographic on typography.  Sure I know that infographics are really close to Jumping the Shark right now, but at least this one is actually focused on graphics and typefaces, and not just an elaborate and link-baiting way to show some simple statistics or bar charts that I thought it was worth featuring.

For many, the selection of fonts or typefaces is kind of a random act - we know we shouldn't choose Comic Sans under any circumstances (you do know that right?), but after that if we occasionally wander from the default Times New Roman font it is usually a crapshoot what choice we land on.  Arial? Verdana? Something something serif?

Who knows? And does it matter, really?

Well typefaces can influence your message - and these handy infographics might help you to better understand what effect your choices about type could have upon your content, (these images were pretty big, click the thumbnails below to view the full-size versions).

 

What I like about the charts is how the designer managed to simply connect a style of type, say 'Modern Serif', with a feeling or expression of the connotation that style suggests, in this case 'Glamour'. 

In addition to these relational connotations between typefaces and content, the charts also offer some simple suggestions on the design and layout of documents and displays of text and graphical information.

But besides all that, and the real reason I decided to post about these charts here, was the closing statement that wraps up the second infographic. I'll repeat it here in case the infographics don't render fully for email and RSS subscribers.

'DON'T TRY TO BE ORIGINAL, JUST TRY TO BE GOOD.'

Sort of a different way of saying, don't overthink your choices in design and typography, and it suggests there could be some danger in trying too hard to create something so new and never before seen that a designer or communicator could ultimately detract from the message.  I think it is good advice for more than just font choices - it can be really easy to obsess on 'original' or 'ground breaking' at the expense of 'good'. I know I have fallen into that trap sometimes when designing presentations, getting caught up for hours on the images and the text alignment and fonts. Ultimately if what you have to say or communicate is good, really good, the design stuff probably matters less. 

If the message and writing connect with your audience in a meaningful way, then it probably doesn't matter too much if the font is geometric or serif or extra chunky. 

Just as long as you don't choose Comic Sans - no way you are overcoming that.