FUTURA
I always had a strange obsession with geometric fonts, especially Futura. I could never explain why. Generally it’s not the most suitable font in this modern day and age. But there’s something about the geometric shapes that remind me of pattern which I greatly love and the condensed letter add a wholesomeness and togetherness to the font. I also find it, though it was eligedly a futuristic font it has a kind of quirky playfulness to it. At first I thought it would be a great addition to my project.
However I had to realise that Futura just made the overall feel and tone of voice of my project ‘commercial’ and goofy.
Futura to me always felt like a simple yet carefully constructed geometric font and I thought it would be a perfect match with the layout.
The key visual elements of my work – stationery and app interface – are colours and geometric patterns.
In terms of context and conveying the message of my project, made sense to choose a fun, friendly yet structured and balanced font that is pleasant to look at and not only draws in the reader but relates to the aesthetics and creates an overall balance.
As much as I love the geometric features and feel of Futura; it just wasnt right. I thought the ‘tone of voice’ of the font would match the mission statement and aesthetics – especially due to it being considered and ‘efficent’ font.
It is clean, legible and stylish without any overt ‘style’ (which is probably the reason why it was too much instead of being perfect).
Futura just added a very childish and disorientated feel to the whole layout and design. The choice of font was work in progress.
Helvetica
While I was focusing on the layout, pattern and aesthetics I swapped over to Helvetica. I always found Helvetica to be a safe choice, especially when it comes to development.
However I knew that I wanted to experiment and further research with the choice of font. For the procrastination diary I only used Helvetica for the quotes – the other written parts of the layout I (temporarily) used Arial Black.
These fonts served as ‘temporary solutions’ while I worked on everything else with regards to the stationery. I also began my experiments in terms of the app interface with Helvetica.
ACUMIN PRO AND SWEET SANS PRO
To gain more inspiration I have browsed through Swiss Typefaces. I knew I was looking for sans serif with a delicate, light and bright feel to it. Something with geometric shapes that arent too perfect and structured so it is easier on the eyes.
I have found Riviera. A very delicate and pleasant font. I wasn’t prepared to pay for a font, however I had a better idea on what I was looking for and began the search for an appropriate alternative.
I looked through Adobe Fonts and picked out two fonts that I thought would work:
• Acumin Pro
• Sweet Sans Pro
FINAL FONT – PROXIMA NOVA AND MONTSERRAT
The more I have experimented, not only with the stationery but the app interface as well, the more I began to question my type choices. I was happy with mainly using Acumin Pro and secondary using Sweet Sans Pro. To satisfy my curiosity, mainly in terms of the choice of appropriate type for my app I conducted further research. I was reading online articles about popular typefaces for UI/UX designs. I was determined to find a font that was similar to the ones I used previously, a font that is is legible and light with a friendly and welcoming aura that would convey the message and mission of my project without creating too much contrast between written words, layout and colours.
I was pleased to find, not only popular and often used fonts within UI/UX design, but fonts that matched what I was looking for.
The article / link I found that essentially presented me with the perfect type solution:
https://99designs.co.uk/blog/design-history-movements/know-your-typeface-futuras-amazing-past/
Proxima Nova appears similar to Acumin Pro, however it is more pleasant on the eyes. Montserrat and Sweet Sans Pro have a similar relationship. Almost like Proxima and Montserrat are upgraded versions of the previous fonts I used.