Magic Marketing Minutes article INDEX
Type Should Be Seen and Not Heard
These ideas come from good friends Ken Erdman and Murray Raphel.
1. Type has a first impression. Make sure yours is a good one.
2. Type has a personality. Short. Tall. Skinny. Fat. Thin. Weak. Plain. Fancy. Make sure yours looks like your business.
3. Type has "sound". Lots of it big and bold is a shout. Lesser and smaller is quiet. Make sure you know what sounds you want to make.
4. Type creates mood. The Salvation Army needs to look poor. Rolls Royce needs to look rich. Which are you?
5. Type must be readable. Don't pick anything -- style or size -- that you can't read!
6. Type is background. Its purpose is to get you to read and understand the message. It is not to be the message! Pick type to create atmosphere -- not be the atmosphere.
7. Type rarely in reverse. This means don't do white on black. It's just too darn hard to read.
8. Type is "family". Keep the family together. Don't mix type styles on the same piece. Although you may choose different type styles on different pieces inside the same mail package.
9. Type breathes. White space between the words and paragraphs is needed. Allow it to breathe.
And, 10. Type stands alone. Over-printing anything may be nice for art directors, but it's death to readers. Let your type communicate.