Good question, for the most general larger format signs our designers have produced a small list:
- Helvetica
- Futura
- Bebas
- Avenir
- Proxima Nova
This does not necessarily mean that if the font you choose is different than these five then it is a bad font. Who knows, it may have been ranked number six! These were simply the most common answers that we discovered from our survey. So let’s dig into why those fonts work so well for sign fonts.
Quick note: Our designers also revealed their bottom 3 fonts to use for signs, which are the following:
- Comic Sans
- Papyrus
- Any script font
We recommend to Steer clear of these fonts if you want to have a professional sign and have it be readable.
Most people first use fonts in school, using a word processor like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Due to this fact, many people think the default fonts used by those programs, such as Times New Roman and Arial, are the only fonts out there. That is simply not the case. Did you know that there are hundreds of thousands of fonts? Most of them can be downloaded or purchased, then installed for you to use.
Any font that is natively in a tool like Microsoft Word or Adobe Illustrator is actually being licensed by the company that owns the tool. That is why we think they are “free”, but unfortunately they are not necessarily free for everyone. Keep cost in mind when exploring fonts. Many fonts are very similar and can substitute each other. It is typically worth it to purchase an expensive font if you want to use it on your website or across your brand consistently.
Below is a sample of a window vinyl graphic we have just done for https://www.facebook.com/THinkTattoosCosmeticsbyTamy/
The above window sign was cut out using To Do Designs in house vinyl cutter based on Chanterlands Avenue. This, for example, goes against what we have mentioned above but fits in really well with the brand THInk. So there is not really a specific font that will work best and it depends hugely on the brand.
Please comment below with your thoughts or contact us