An early appreciation for letterforms and fonts is what got me started in graphic design. I collected a lot of typefaces early on because I thought they were super cool. And I still do. Typefaces can be anything—structural, sophisticated, stylish, serious, swooping, silly, stringy—they transform everyday words into artwork with the flick of a wrist and a click of the mouse. MAGIC.

So why, when we have all the coolest fonts at our fingertips, are there text designs that look like a tragically failed cloning experiment of something that should be super-cool and trendy? Well, I happen to have several answers that stem from that one simple question, so here we are.

To limit myself and my word count, today I’ll tackle the topic of font choice. The right typeface plays a large part in how designs look, but selecting the right one for the job can be a bit of a chore if you don’t know where to start.

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