Simply put, fonts affect the appearance and style of writing.
You should think carefully about your font choices, as it can affect how easy your yearbook is to read, and even the mood of your yearbook.
Tasteful use of fonts can make it more visually striking and attractive, but overuse can turn your project into the clown fiesta of yearbooks (in a bad way).
The best way to avoid font abuse is to spend a few minutes learning about font styles and how they’re used by professional designers. Also, you’ll look like a genius when you bust this terminology out at your yearbook committee meetings.
Let’s get started.
Font Class
Take a look at any publication you have to hand – a newspaper, a magazine, or even this webpage. They all have at least 3 font classes; these could be resized versions of the same font, or something else entirely:
Heading
This could appear at the top of the page, and might also break up longer sections of text.
Subheading
This might be a smaller version of the heading, or it could be in an entirely different font style.
Paragraph or body font
For an A4 yearbook, this is usually between 9 and 14pt, so it’s relatively small. These fonts are usually chosen for readability.
Depending on what you’re writing, you may also need other font classes. Your yearbook, for example, will almost certainly include quotes from students; these look great in an italic font.
Now we can learn how to select font styles for each class.
The Five Styles of Font
Ask any professional designer about font choices, and they’ll be able to harp on about it for hours. Needless to say, it’s super important to use the right font style for your purpose.
If you’re going to choose the perfect font for your yearbook project, you need to know what’s out there. Most font enthusiasts (yes, these exist) agree that there’s five main types of font:
Serif (With feet)
Serif fonts have tiny “feet” at the top and bottom of most letters. This makes the text look more traditional.
Some designers argue that the feet automatically direct your eyes to the next letter, making it more natural to read. However, Serif fonts are usually only used in print, as they don’t always look good at lower resolutions on a computer screen.
Some fonts include Serif in their name to make it easier to find them in a list.
In Yearbook Hub, this includes…
You can use Serif font for pretty much anything – headings, subheadings, or body text.
Sans Serif (Without Feet)
Sans Serif is a more modern font style. It has no feet, so it looks great on screens, but there’s also no reason not to use it in print if you prefer it.
Again, some fonts out there are named Sans Serif to make them easier to find.
In Yearbook Hub, this includes…
Just like with Serif fonts, you can use Sans Serif for anything.
Cursive or Script fonts
These are designed to mimic fancy handwriting. They can look great, but they’re universally difficult to read.
In Yearbook Hub, this includes…
Cursive fonts should be used sparingly, such as for a heading or a motivational quote. Never use a cursive font for body or paragraph text, or readers will hate you.
Display fonts
Display fonts stand out from the crowd. They’re style over substance – they look great, but you wouldn’t want to read more than a few words of them.
These should work for themed pages, main headings, and anything you want to stand out. However, try not to go too over the top with display fonts, or they will lose their impact and could make your writing harder to read.
In Yearbook Hub, this includes…
Wingdings
Wingdings isn’t included in Yearbook Hub. I mean, come on guys. Look at it. It’s crazy.
Don’t use Wingdings. You’re better than that.
People used to use them as emoticons, but nowadays, we have emojis to do the same thing – and they’re a million times better 😀
If you want to use emojis in your yearbook, they come bundled with our standard clip art, and you can always add more.
Final Points
Typically, you’ll want 2-3 different font styles in your yearbook. For example, on this page, we’ve used three – one for the title at the top, one for the main headings and subheadings (resized), and one for body text (which you’re reading right now!). If you just use a resized version of the same font for each of these, it’ll end up looking a bit bland, and may actually be harder to read.
Don’t forget that most fonts have a bold, italic, and underlined version. You can use these for emphasis, but don’t go overboard – it can look a bit over the top.
Some also have a strikethrough version; nowadays, this is mostly used for childish memes refined and witty jokes.
