The Subtleties of Fonts

    When the goal of most text is simply to communicate it's contents then it is no surprise that fonts tend to be more passive and non-threatening so as to not distract away from the message. But the predicative downside of this is that fonts are no longer distinctive. Some fonts such as Times (or Times New Roman) and Comic Sans are distinctive only because they are so commonplace. This sentence is different from the last because it is written in Georgia instead of the default font, but if i were asked to name the difference between the two fonts I could only say the very minute difference in size. Fonts like Courier look as though they were written on a typewriter and you would think you would notice if it came up in a document, however if an entire document was written in this font then it would go unnoticed by the reader. 

    We make use of uniformity so that fonts don't distract from the content but some fonts can be used to set an almost subconscious tone to the writing. Courier can be used when you wish for your text to feel vintage and official, when one imagines 'classified' documents it is often in a font similar to Courier. For newspapers hard-stamped and clear lettering like Times (or Times New Roman) express professionalism and one would very quickly notice if it was replaced by something like Comic Sans. These subtleties add up, and we often don't pay them as much credit as we should. Even when they seem to be dull and non-threatening, fonts still add a richness to the text that often goes unnoticed until it's replaced by something atrocious (like Comic Sans).