4.7 - How to choose the right fonts for your designs?

When someone says "T-shirt design", what comes to mind? An illustration, a logo, a drawing? Yet it turns out that text often occupies a mega-important (even primary) place in graphic design.

Not all fonts have the same impact: let's take a look at the criteria you can use to make your font choices.

Choosing the right font for your message

If you haven't already read it, we suggest you take a look at our guide to the different font categories, juuuuust here.

As we explained earlier, not all fonts are suitable for all messages: if your subject is serious, it's best to opt for sobriety with a Serif font. If the aesthetic of your design is more vintage, a cursive font would be the wisest choice.

Focus on visibility

That's a very, very (very) important point. It's worth noting that printed products don't offer optimal visibility: for example, a t-shirt has a nice dimension, but will generally be seen from a certain distance, on the move. The customizable surface area of a mug, meanwhile, is quite small.

We therefore recommend Sans serif fonts, especially for longer texts. Serif, cursive and decorative fonts can of course also be used, but for short, large texts.

Harmonize your choice of fonts

You don't have to use a single font in your design! In fact, quite the opposite: a carefully selected pair of fonts has the potential to energize your design.

To find that perfect match, you'll need to try out a number of different combinations, trying to find the right balance: if your main text is Sans serif, use a Cursive or Serif font. If the font is rather bold, a thin font will compliment it perfectly.

Pretty inspiring, isn't it? Back to your designs, T-Potes!