- 18th March 2019
Choosing the correct font for your printed bag can be a minefield. With the minimum font sizes suitable for printing differing depending on the type of bag, we’ve put together this guide which will help you when you’re choosing and developing your artwork/design. Our design team is on hand to give you advice on what will work best.
Keep it simple.
The best fonts for printing are the ones that are simple and clean—one that’s not a distraction, but not void of character either. It has to be a complement to the bag. As a tote bag is a minimalistic design you are allowed to be a little more daring with your decision but remember the font should always be clear and readable.
Research your fonts.
Would you like the bag to be friendly, intelligent or confident? Limit yourself to three to five traits, then you can start to get a sense of the direction your font needs to go in. A friendly font might be one that’s rounded and legible. A confident one might be angular – and perhaps in full caps.
Use a font to reflect your design identity.
A font makes your design recognizable and memorable. Find out which font suits you best. Is it serious, clean, and neat? Or is it playful, airy, and chaotic? Does it communicate novelty or does it cling to traditions and conservative ideas?
Do not use too many fonts.
One or two fonts, as the most, is your best choice. Any more and you risk your design looking messy and hard to read. Note that high-profile companies focus primarily on just one font. Smaller businesses tend to use different fonts for a company name and a slogan. Remember that everything neesd to be kept simple and clean so your brand message is communicated effectively.
Do not use trendy fonts.
Trends are short-lived; what is popular today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Sizing
When it comes to fonts, size does matter. Once you’ve chosen your type, you’ll need to decide on a size for large titles, for subtitles, and for paragraph text. Titles would have to be large enough to be noticed, but not too large that it overpowers the rest of the design. When it comes to printing on textiles, allowances have to be made depending on which bag is chosen. some bags such as jute have a wider weave which means font sizes need to be bigger and line size should be thicker. However if you decide on a Cotton Tote Bag, which is a 5oz, the weave is tighter and smoother allowing for more delicate font sizing.
Let’s dig a little deeper into fonts and typefaces. Remember, a font is a specific size and style of a typeface.
SAN-SERIF
MODERN | CLEAN | CASUAL
Some safe sans-serif typefaces you might start with: Arial, Impact, Tahoma, Verdana, and Helvetica.
SERIF
SERIF TRADITIONAL | CLASSIC | FASHIONABLE
Some safe serif typefaces to start with: Georgia, Palatino, and Times New Roman.
SCRIPT
FEMININE | CREATIVE | FRIENDLY
Some safe script typefaces to start with: Learning Curve, England Hand, Sofia, Tangerine.
ROUNDED
FEMININE | CREATIVE | FRIENDLY
Some safe rounded typefaces to start with: Gotham Rounded, Linotte, Matchbook, Quicksand.
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