Typeface choice is a very important part of the email design process. It can make or break your email design, and it can be one of the most difficult decisions to make. The size, color palette, and choice of font influence the subscriber’s perception of your message. It can be used in many different ways. For example, it can be used to give a certain feel or tone to the content or emphasize a section’s importance through font size.
Since 59% of the marketers find email as their biggest source of ROI, none of its aspects can be left unattended, even if you are eyeing to convert PSD to HTML email.
In this article, we will go through the various aspects of typography to understand its role in building winning email designs. In this section, we will discuss the different types of typography and how they can be used to create better email designs. We will also provide examples of how these typographic elements can be incorporated into email designs.
Why Do Fonts Matter In Email Design
Fonts have a huge impact on the way we read emails or any form of digital/print textual communication. If the choice of typography isn’t correct, chances are, you may dilute your brand value and limit the reader’s ability to consume your message. Right from how far individual letters are spaced to their design attributes, everything contributes to their efficiency in communicating the message and the aesthetic appeal.
Typography also impacts the tonality to a huge extent as certain fonts are associated with serious emotions while others are oriented towards a lively reading experience. Again, you can use a combination of qualities in fonts depending on your requirements.
The Basic Dichotomy Of Fonts
There is a huge number of font families, but if you were to get started, it is necessary to know that fonts are divided into two major categories: Serifs and Sans Serifs.
To summarize their difference within one line, we can say that Serifs have projections at the end of the stroke while Sans Serifs don’t have projections at the end of the stroke.
Serifs are more popular with print media as the edges help readers consume information efficiently on paper. However, they weren’t compatible with the early screen resolutions, and hence Sans Serifs came into the picture. In today’s time, our computer screens can display Serifs without any trouble, but Sans Serifs have become widely popular, and thus, you can choose the one that aligns with your goals as an organization.
Serifs lean towards the scholarly, intellectual spectrum, making it apt for formal applications. On the other hand, Sans Serifs are bold, lively, innovative, making them ideal for brands that are active in new-age technologies or if your target customer demographics is focused on young individuals.
Attribute-Based Impact Of Email Fonts
The typeface attributes such as thickness and weight make a significant difference to your design language and the overall impact. Let us understand the impact of your email fonts on how your email design is perceived with respect to its quality:
Attribute vs. quality associated with it:
- Thickness: Beauty
- Tall: Luxury
- Short: Stability
- Straight: Stability
- Slanted: Movement
- Rounded: Softness
- Angular: Formality
- Weight: Readability
- Bold: Power
- Simple: Straightforwardness
- Complex: Uniqueness
- Lowercase: Compassion
- Uppercase: Strength
- Separation: Individuality
- Connected: Unity
- Extended: Relaxation
- Condensed: Precision
When selecting your email fonts, check out the qualities mentioned above to understand their interoperability with your brand. For instance, you might want to market a brand that is focused on independence, and in this case, using connected or clumsy fonts can be a bad thing.
The font attributes are derived from the real, physical world, and thus, other elements in your template must be in line with your choice of email fonts. For instance, if you are promoting a brand focused on health or aesthetic beauty, you would want to use Sans Serifs that are thin, tall, and extended like in the below example:
Also, you can find in the above example that the model featured in the hero image happens to resonate with the email fonts used. No matter if you are going to convert PSD to HTML email or create it from scratch, this is an important part of creating a symmetric email design, or else you may end up giving a bit of a confusing message to your subscribers.
Where Do You Find Fonts For Your Email Templates
You can use the below websites to find the ideal font for your email marketing endeavors. Remember, since the use of fonts in emails is deemed as ‘commercial use,’ you may not be eligible to use free fonts available on the internet. In case you use them, you might compromise your legal safety as you could face potential copyright issues. To find the typefaces, you can go to any of the following websites:
- Village
- Typekit by Adobe
- Google Fonts
- FontShop
- Process Type Foundry
- MyFonts
Summing Up
In this article, we focused on the various design-based qualities of typography used in emails, but it is important to understand that font size and colors play equally important roles. In most cases, they are a part of the larger email template design strategy.
However, they are taken care of during the general course of design, and hence, you must focus on the attributes that we discussed in this email for better results. We hope that this blog helps you understand the role of typography in email design and the impact of various font features as you go on to create winning email designs.
Author: Kevin George is the head of marketing at Email Uplers, that specializes in crafting Professional Email Templates, PSD to Email conversion, and Mailchimp Templates. Kevin loves gadgets, bikes & jazz, and he breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on email marketing blog.