The psychology of color in print advertising and books. Color and tone saturation of the font set
Associated with brand products and is one of essential means company communications with consumers.
According to the latest research by psychologists, a correctly selected font sets a person’s mood while reading a text. In fact, the same word, typed in different fonts, will be perceived completely differently. In addition, it is necessary to remember the target audience for which the advertising message is being created.
For example, business partners are unlikely to appreciate a light, playful font, and children will not be delighted with a strict, straightforward lettering.
The influence of font on the consumer’s emotional perception of the brand
Psychologists distinguish the following several types of fonts based on their influence on the mood of consumers.
Straight elongated fonts
They communicate a business mood and are almost universal fonts. However, it should be borne in mind that a straight font will be inappropriate for non-mass and original products that need to be distinguished from competitors. Here it may seem boring and faceless if you don’t beat it with an unusual color scheme.
Strict square fonts
Mainly used in advertising design for industrial products, technologies and social advertising. Lightness and simplicity are inappropriate here; these fonts are designed to alert a person to the seriousness of the information provided. They create an impression of importance and authority, therefore they are designed to attract business partners and investors.
Rounded fonts
Conveys a feeling of comfort and coziness. While square fonts look harsh, rounded fonts are perceived positively as a brand's good attitude towards consumers.
Italic fonts with vignettes
Most often used to advertise products that have the target audience girls and women. Italic fonts evoke a feeling of lightness and beauty. This is how beauty salons, clothing and cosmetics stores advertise. Italics make information easier to understand and appear less important. Therefore, notes and author's digressions are indicated in italics.
Handwritten fonts
Not suitable for outdoor advertising the same as italic fonts - they are difficult to read if the letter size is large. At the same time, they are great for emphasizing the exclusivity of a product or service. Handwritten fonts are used when advertising law firms and consulting services, medical practice, for writing invitations, when conducting political PR campaigns. They create a feeling of trust and make the information more reliable.
Stylized decorative fonts
Fonts that look like graffiti or gothic inscriptions should be used only where they will carry the corresponding semantic load. For example, it is completely inappropriate to use a Gothic font to advertise a hair salon or children's store. At the same time, it will look good on the sign of a themed bar.
Most popular fonts
1. Serif: Baskerville, Didot, Garamond, Georgia, Times. Associations: traditional, sophisticated, practical, formal.
2. Sans serif: Avenir, Futura, Gill Sans, Helvetica, Verdana. Associations: modern, clean, geometric, universal.
3. Handwritten: Buttermilk, Edwardian, Isabella, Snell Roundhand, Zapfino. Associations: elegant, classic, sophisticated, stylish.
4. Bars: Clarendon, Copse, Josefin, Museo, Silverfake. Associations: modern, fashionable, friendly, solid.
The difference between the perception of a font with and without serifs
Serif fonts are easier to read printed works. Serifs increase the contrast between letters and make them distinctive. This makes it easier for our brain to recognize the letter. When reading a sans serif font, the brain spends more time recognizing the letter because its shape is not as distinctive.
Sans serif fonts are best used for the Internet. Also, sans serif font looks good in outdoor advertising, as it does not lose its properties when enlarged. It is often used to attract attention. A sans-serif font looks good in a small size, but for body text it is better to use serifs - it does not cause fatigue quickly.
40% of online publication headlines are written using serif fonts. 66% of websites use a sans serif font for body text.
There is an opinion that an example of a well-chosen font is a font that the reader does not pay attention to.
Perception of a font as part of a logo
Only 6% of international brands use a picture as a logo. 56% use a combination of text and image, and the remaining 37% of brands have lettering as their logo. Thus, the vast majority of companies use text when creating a logo. The meaning of the font cannot be neglected and it is necessary to spend enough time creating a logo with a font that will best communicate the brand philosophy to a person.
A logo where the text is placed in a square or circle is associated with confidence, while an ellipse is associated with creativity. The inverted triangle looks like a call to action, and the diagonal placement of the text is associated with speed and swiftness.
The best font for perception
63% of fonts used in company logos are sans serif. The most popular among them is Helvetica. This font is used in 21% of logos. Among them are such large companies as Saint Laurent, Comme des Garsons, HBA, colette.
Helvetica is considered the best font for perception. We also “tried it on” to our logo.
- For outdoor advertising, bold, large fonts that are easy to read and contrast with the background are suitable. If the advertisement will be read from a distance of 5 meters, then the letters must be at least 5 cm in height.
- You should not use more than three different fonts in one advertising message. The reader may feel that the ideas are fragmented and will have trouble understanding the material.
- For the general target audience, the ideal font size is 11-12 points. If the target audience is 60+ years old, a font size of 18 point or larger will be more suitable for them. For an advertising title, it is better to use a font size from 14 to 30.
- The text of the advertising message, typed in capital letters, is difficult to perceive, because read letter by letter. The ornate font on a colorful background is also difficult to read.
- An important role is played by the fact that a person does not read individual letters, but groups of letters or the entire word. This is why serif fonts are easier to read in printed advertising materials - the letters appear more separate.
- Different line lengths can make reading faster or slower. It is necessary to pay attention not only to the type of font, but also to the distance between letters, lines, etc.
The psychology of a font determines exactly what effect a particular font will have on the user. Typography or fonts are a very important component, ignoring which results in a lesser quality web design. Many designers focus on the beauty and artistic appeal of the design, color combinations and practical significance, but few treat fonts with the same scrupulousness. They simply do not understand that it is the headset that conveys the message to the user.
Font is one of the elements that needs to be taken very seriously. Fonts ensure readability and convey the main meaning. The psychology of font plays the role of the spine in the effectiveness of web design. Every designer knows that colors affect people's moods, emotions and feelings. Fonts in this sense give the same effect as colors.
There are thousands of fonts available to web developers and designers. Choosing their style may seem like a random decision, but knowing the psychology of fonts will make your choice conscious. There are two main types of fonts:
- Serif: fonts with short strokes at the bottom and top of letters.
- Sans serif: fonts without strokes.
Both types of fonts have different effects on users. The study of graphics includes the psychology of type. In this article, you will learn about the psychological impact of fonts and the principles of choosing a font. A certain typeface carries a certain meaning and plays an important role in the functionality of the design: for example, if you are creating a website for a classic, traditional business, you should choose a serif font; if you want to emphasize the modernity and uniqueness of your business, choose a sans serif font.
Psychology of font
Translation – Duty room
Many psychologists and graphologists argue that with the help of the correct selection of fonts, you can convey the mood and set the general mood when reading the text. If we take into account that forms (geometric) have a certain psychological and emotional effect on a person, then such a statement is not without foundation. As you know, different fonts have different spellings, sizes and kerning. Accordingly, a word typed in one font will differ significantly in FORM from the same word typed in a different font. After all, there is such a type of logos as font logos.
The human eye does not perceive individual letters, but groups of letters or words. This property of the eye, to capture groups of letters, their shape, as well as a certain length of lines, is a factor that speeds up or slows down reading. Therefore, it is equally important to choose the right font size, distance between letters, lines, length of lines and placement of text on a page or sheet of printed material. According to the established opinion of many experts, strict, straightforward fonts with “machine”, “technical” qualities are more attractive to men, while women’s favorites are more rounded and curvy fonts with pronounced “tails”.
In addition to the style, the font size, line length, leading, free space and even paper are of great importance.
Sans-serif fonts. They have little emotional charge and are associated with practicality and common sense. They have a modern, general feel and are a reliable choice for those who crave harmony and are not concerned with expressing themselves through typography. Arial is most often chosen for personal correspondence.
Serif fonts. Less sexually defined because they combine masculine authoritarianism with an organic, humanistic style that is more attractive to women.
Straight and angular fonts. Associated with inflexibility, cruelty; they are characterized by coldness, impersonality and mechanicalness. In psychoanalytic terms, they are defined by expressions such as “emotionally repressed” or “strong in hindsight.”
Typeface fonts. Large, round "O's" and "tails" are perceived as friendly and "human", perhaps because their design imitates the image of a human face.
Decorative fonts. Most often they are used to emphasize novelty, brightness, and individuality. But, it is better to never use them as the main text; not only are they unreadable, but the effect also disappears. Often decorative fonts are used in logos and to create the internal mood of a web page (for example, pages with an ancient Russian theme use Old Slavonic typefaces, etc.). The choice of an unusual font can only be determined by the originality of the texts in which such a font is used.
Handwritten style fonts. This is an attempt to convey friendliness and close relationships. At one time, these fonts were used by banks who wanted to avoid the feeling of being “official” by imitating a “personal signature” in letters. By using handwritten styles, large corporations aim to appear more friendly, “closer to the people.”
Letter. The main source that allows us to share knowledge. From ancient religious texts and history books, to the status of our friends on Facebook. It is an amazing medium that allows us to convey emotions, share thoughts, and tell stories.
Is the pen mightier than the sword?
Of course, unfortunately, the text has its shortcomings. This is a static environment. We often forget that all we've ever read is just a different arrangement of the same 33 characters, separated by punctuation.
IN modern culture, unlike words, images and video seem to be able to convey action much more concisely. Just look at the growing popularity of photo and video sharing platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, which have evolved into a much more practical way to share elements of your daily life. The significant decline in interactions on Twitter only underscores this rhetoric.
However, images and videos can never replace text - ask any reader what they think of television adaptations of their favorite books. Written text will always be in demand as a source for transmitting information.
Text is everywhere, and it is a significant component in shaping the user experience. We want to keep readers engaged and make their experience as free as possible. We also want to convey elements of emotion that, unlike images and videos, may be lacking in text.
To remedy this situation, there are certain techniques you can implement to help simplify your readers' experience. Whether it's a book blurb, product information on a web page, a blog, or an entire novel, we want to make sure readers take notes, see important information, and stay focused on the text.
1. Choose the right font
Personality
Graphology has existed for more than two hundred years. Her trainees try to judge a person's personality by his handwriting, and even identify neurological problems. However, since the concept of handwriting fell into disuse due to the proliferation of digital input, these experts, in search of clues to our personalities, have switched to researching what fonts we use in emails.
In 2001, Lexmark asked psychology doctor Arik Sigman to study how typeface influences what readers think about the author. In his article "The Psychology of Fonts," Sigman talks about how certain fonts can correspond to certain personality traits.
Certain fonts suit certain situations. For example, when we write a job application for a conservative company, we use the Times, and in the case of more modern ones, we use Verdana. This helpful infographic offers a list of fonts, the impression they make on the reader, and the situations in which they are most appropriate.
Size matters
Font size is also an important factor. This is of course obvious, but we use larger fonts for important text elements, such as headings, and smaller fonts for body text, in order to save space. This is a tradition that has been preserved since the days of printed publications.
By differentiating font sizes, we can draw the reader's attention to the most important parts of the text. Word Maps takes advantage of this by highlighting frequently used words in the analyzed text in a larger font.
2. Use the right color
Color is probably the most powerful psychological tool in a web designer's arsenal. A flash of the appropriate spectrum of light can instantly let the visitor know what their action will entail.
Selection
The main function of color in text is to highlight and underline, helping the eyes differentiate between different elements and attract attention. Historically, there have been two tools in a writer's arsenal: italic and bold. Before the rise of the digital age, color was at a premium, used on covers and, if you were very lucky, in illustrations.
On the web, however, color is not an issue. We can go as crazy as we want, but this is not desirable. The first rule of using color is to make sure it doesn't compromise readability. That is why the use of the classic black and white combination dominates. Around it, in order to manipulate attention, we can use any color. The principles of Flat Design take advantage of this, using color to create differences between elements.
To attract attention
Even on this page you can see that elements separate from the article are colored differently. Not only does this make the CTA stand out, but it also draws your attention to the black and white simplicity of the body copy.
This also works well for product descriptions, where important words can be highlighted, thereby drawing the reader's attention to them. Visitors typically don't read the entire page, so it's important to draw their attention to important elements of the text.
Subconscious Thoughts
Color also carries with it a large number of cultural associations. In the Western world, green is associated with success and red with failure. The good and the bad. Go or stop. These colors create subconscious reactions that help bring additional meaning to the text. Adding a red line to an error state helps the reader identify its negative value, just as a green color after a transaction indicates a successful transaction.
Readability
In addition to accentuation, color can be used in other ways. BeeLine Reader is an ingenious solution that claims that using it can increase your reading speed by 30%.
Two keys to typography: legibility—how distinguishable letters, words, and phrases are—and readability—how easy it is for the brain to convert them into a coherent message. Looking through the text quickly, we can get confused. Ever had to read the same line twice? We train our eyes to absorb lines and lines of text, but this, however, does not pass without consequences, and the eyes can become tired.
BeeLine adds a color gradient to text, making it easier to move from line to line, helping the eyes follow a given path, and as a result, increases reading speed.
3. Use proper formatting
Readability
Finally, the format of your text has a big impact on its readability. Remember the newspapers, with their a huge amount narrow columns. This is the result of many years of research and improvement. In the words of Bob Bailey Ph.D. (UI Design Newsletter – November 2002):
“One of the best studies was done by Tinker and Patterson in 1929. Using 10-point black font on white paper, they determined that a line length between 75mm and 90mm produced the most high speed reading."
On the web, taking into account the distance at which the reader is from the screen, the length of the lines should not be so compact, and can be 10-13cm. Still, you need to make sure that the reader doesn't have to skim too much.
White space
White space is of great importance in improving the perception of a part of the text. Let your content breathe; Be mindful of the space between lines and letters, and your text will be easier for the user to understand.
Airows not only uses white space to separate features, but also the negative space around images allows text to be placed within each image without the risk of overloading the page. Text volume is also kept to a minimum, and the contrasting white color ensures that each heading stands out.
Conclusion
To summarize, try to remember the following:
- Make sure your text is appropriate for the situation in which it is presented
- Size matters - logical sizing puts emphasis where it's needed
- Use a font that reflects the conversation you want to have
- Color is of utmost importance in conveying subliminal messages to your reader
- Also, color can be used to draw attention to certain parts of the text.
- Text is useless if it is not readable - help your reader by using logical formatting
Translation of the article by Robin Collinge
When preparing a poster, brochure or other printed advertisement, it is very important to think carefully about the issue of color.
Unfortunately, the choice of color is still treated as something secondary, preferring scientific approach your personal opinions.
From a scientific point of view
According to the results obtained in the course of numerous psychological experiments, scientists concluded that color in a certain way influences a person’s perception of body weight, room temperature and assessment of the distance of an object. Thus, red, yellow, orange colors visually bring the object closer, increasing its volume and, as it were, “warming up” it. Light blue, blue, violet, black - visually move the object away, make it smaller and “cool” it. Therefore, when choosing a particular color for advertising a product, you should evaluate it in terms of these parameters.
The perception of color depends on the emotional state of a person. This is precisely why a person can be attracted to some colors, indifferent to others and intolerant of others. The perception of color in humans is determined mainly by two factors that are not subject to arbitrary change: night and day, light and darkness. Night means the conditions when active work stops. The day requires active action, so dark blue is associated with the peace of the night, and yellow with a sunny day and its worries. The color red is reminiscent of blood, flame and related situations that require high mobilization and activity. The attitude towards color has always been and remains emotional. Color not only evokes the appropriate reaction of a person depending on his emotional state, but also shapes his emotions in a certain way.
Semantics of color
Red – instills determination and can make a person have a strong desire to do one thing or another.
act, make an energetic effort and buy what is advertised. This color, like no other, is able to quickly attract attention and fix its gaze. The semantics of red is attention, don’t pass by, act for the sake of action: boldly, thoughtlessly, give in to your first feelings. The color red also has a certain sexual charge. This is especially necessary to take into account those who advertise products addressed to men, for whom red has always been a symbolic color. However, do not overestimate this color: it is good in moderation. Thus, a small detail of an ad/catalog highlighted in red will be appropriate and will immediately attract attention, while its excessive use can make the consumer aggressive and even irritated by the subject of the advertisement. In addition, red is one of the three primary colors that have been used since ancient times to highlight text (e.g. red line, highlight initial letters and initials).
Orange – helps to induce a surge of vitality and gives an optimistic tone. The ancients considered it the color of health and creativity. This color is best used in advertising medicines, children's products, as well as health and education services. Orange adds activity, but at the same time gives a feeling of inner balance and spiritual harmony.
Yellow – promotes communication skills. This is the color of openness and sociability. It helps to bring balance to runaway emotions, find inner peace, and calm emotional unrest. Yellow is capable of “endowing” an object with intelligence, therefore, for example, advertising of high-tech goods is best done in yellow. This color will be successful in advertising children's products, services of travel companies, as well as advertising and PR agencies.
Green – softens everything, relieves the severity of emotions. This color has a healing, relaxing effect. It will be appropriate and effective in advertising medicines, water purification systems, dental clinics and pharmacies, veterinary hospitals, health and environmental protection centers.
Pink is an excellent assistant in the field of personal relationships: it enhances feelings, makes us more attentive, affectionate and sensitive. The range of use of this color can be the widest: from advertising perfumes, products for women and children, to services marriage agencies and family centers.
Blue also tunes in to the area of feelings, but more sublime, more platonic than mundane. This is the color of friendly affection, kinship of souls. Blue is the color of peace and universal harmony. It makes it possible to feel an invisible connection with the Universe, and is able to give the subject a holistic appearance, and the issue/case – globality and a favorable outcome.
Blue - helps you concentrate on what is most necessary: don’t get lost in trifles, don’t throw yourself away. A blue detail in a catalog or advertising brochure will immediately attract attention, and, unlike red, will never cause negative emotions.
Purple is the color of inner concentration. This color promotes internal deepening: it will help you abstract from everything unnecessary at the moment and concentrate on the main problem. Purple stimulates the brain well and promotes creative problem solving. It is no coincidence that purple is so loved by creative people. Used to advertise a product (service) offered to consumers of creative professions, as well as in cases where we're talking about about objects of art or it is necessary to emphasize the sophistication of the product (service) being sold or a given printed work.
Black is the color of self-immersion: it helps you isolate yourself from everything, isolate yourself and concentrate on solving a problem. This color can induce melancholy and despondency. In black comes a feeling of loneliness and isolation from the outside world.
White is the color of complete openness, readiness to perceive the world in all its diversity. This color is good because it does not cause any unpleasant sensations. It is only worth noting that mono-use of this color in print advertising can create a neutral effect when the advertising consumer is simply informed of information about the product, without establishing any emphasis or priorities.
It is necessary to take into account national and cultural specifics when developing advertising campaign in one country or another. In America, red is associated with love, yellow with prosperity, green with hope, blue with loyalty, white represents purity, tranquility, peace, and black is a symbol of complexity and emergency. In Austria the most popular color is green, in Bulgaria - dark green and brown, in Pakistan -
emerald green, and in Holland - orange and blue. In general, the closer to the East, the more importance is attached to the symbolism of color. Thus, in China, red means kindness and courage, black means honesty, and white, unlike the symbol of purity and holiness generally accepted by Europeans, is associated with meanness and deceit. In Russia, the favorite color has always been red, which from time immemorial has been associated with wealth and love. The colors of the Russian flag are red, white (symbol of purity and spiritual improvement) and blue (valor and honor).
Thus, by choosing a specific color, you can control the consumer’s attitude towards advertising, and by creating the necessary color environment, you can evoke the required emotions in the advertising consumer. At making the right choice– favorable perception and desire to purchase the advertised product.
Font set color
The tonal saturation of the font (typeface), determined by the thickness of the strokes and the density of the letter pattern, allows us to talk about one or another of its tonality in the set. The wider the stroke thickness of the letters, the denser the set looks and the higher its tonality. It is also connected with its stylistics: if you need to achieve the effect of elegance, use a font with thinner strokes and less tonal saturation, and vice versa. The tonality of the typesetting also increases when using bold styles of the same font. The use of color in set goes back thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian scrolls used color to highlight parts of the text. In this capacity he passed to the Greeks and Romans. In Latin, “rubric” (from the word “ruber” - red) meant “new department”, division of the text. Significant, most important words, as well as dates, were written in red. Those highlighted in red promote the active activation of visual memory and are better absorbed (if served in small quantities).
In the Middle Ages, handwritten books were also written in fonts of different colors. Color emphasized the significance of words and phrases and marked the beginning of chapters. Many of these techniques were transferred to the first printed book. There also important text stood out with larger font size and red color. IN Western Europe a set was adopted that was a font rectangle of uniform color saturation. Even highlighting, for example, italics, should not disturb the overall color of the typesetting strip. The Slavic book was printed in 2 colors, because according to its function, the “red lines” were the most important, were read first, and required a raised voice. Over time, the opposite happened: what was not read aloud was printed in red.
Francis Skaryna, a pioneer Belarusian printer, used red ink for texts with joyful content. In the Russian book, the first letters of words were highlighted in red, red letters bordered the pages.
In the 19th century, a uniform band of typesetting began to predominate everywhere. The limited use of color in printed works was due to the high cost of paints and technical difficulties. Nowadays, there are no such obstacles, and the use of color in a type set is limited only by the taste of the designer and the need to think about readability.
Excessive diversity of the set tires the eye and irritates the viewer. In those publications where there is little text, where it mainly consists of phrases and small pieces of text (in advertising posters, packaging), it is permissible to use bright and different font colors. In this case, the auxiliary text, which, as a rule, carries important information for the consumer (addresses of companies, information about the composition of the product, etc.), is typed predominantly dark if on a light background, or white if on a dark background, also in for readability purposes. In a book, magazine, booklet, annual report, auxiliary information of a corporate (corporate) style, a solid font set of black or (sometimes) dark blue or brown is used.
Color itself carries a certain information load (remember the lesson on the topic “color” of 1st semester). These color properties must be taken into account when working with the set. “Screaming” inscriptions, the most important places in the text, are highlighted in red. It is not used in a complete set due to rapid visual fatigue. The yellow set is readable only on a very dark background and is not suitable for topics of strict, respectable content, because... in the European mind it is associated with something shocking and unreliable. Green color is used in specific topics: cosmetics, nature, ecology, and in general is rarely used in the set, with the exception of color entertainment magazines (pulp fiction), where color is generally used, as a rule, thoughtlessly. Dark blue, the color of calm and confidence, is quite widely used in advertising, magazine products and corporate identity. The same can be said about dark brown. Purple is very specific. Its themes: perfumes and cosmetics, theater, fashion, modern music, it is also associated in our minds with the early “modern” style. 20th century
The book set is the most conservative. The book is based on centuries-old traditions and excellent readability of the text. Therefore, the dominant color in the book set is black. An exception may be for art books, where small passages of text, headings and supporting information may use different colors, but with more care and delicacy than in other publications.
In corporate style media (business cards, letterheads, envelopes, folders, applications on souvenir products) in small pieces of the font set, either black or one of the corporate colors of the organization is usually used. In general, it is necessary to remember that color is a precise tool in the hands of the designer, evidence of his good or bad taste. It is necessary to use color with some caution, since information must be presented in a form that is easy to understand, without tiring the eye or causing irritation.
Shades of Gray
In any work of printing, many letters placed in a row represent a rhythmic gray line, many lines one below the other represent a gray plane. Depending on the size of the font, its design, whether it is a normal font or italics, bold or bold, depending on the line spacing, a different effect is obtained gray, from the most delicate light gray through medium gray to deep dark gray all the way to rich black.
If you add more different structures of letters and fonts, lines, numbers and lines, then the number of different degrees of gray tone will increase many times over. It is necessary to use this arsenal of tools wisely to combine shades of gray in size and shape. To a certain extent, gradations of gray tone are the musical tones of printing, which must be combined into a printing melody.
The color sensations affecting our eyes can also be reduced to chiaroscuro. Our eyes see near and far in shades of gray. Strong contrasts of light and dark suggest the near, soft transitions suggest the distant, and combinations of shades of gray are then perceived as interesting, complete and harmonious when they approach the possibilities of the picture.
This is true for all types of printing work. But even here it is necessary to distinguish between orders, where the readability of a given text is more important, and advertising orders, where first of all they pay attention to entertainment.
