Here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design experts. We work with companies in a range of sectors across the North West, including those in Blackburn and Chorley, to provide top quality, effective web design solutions. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about calligraphy typography.
What are the important do’s and don’ts for using calligraphy typography effectively?
Calligraphy typography is a typography style that mirrors actual handwriting with swirls and flourishes. This can be incredibly decorative for your website and it also helps to add a little bit of visual style and complements your company branding. However there are a number things to bear in mind if you are to get the full benefit of this style of font on your website. So these are our important do’s and don’ts.
Do consider the size of the calligraphy typography
Because calligraphy typography mirrors natural handwriting it is essential that you consider the size of this on the screen. Calligraphy typography that is too small will be almost impossible to read especially on small screen sizes like mobile devices. However, as with any other front you do not want your calligraphy typography to be too large and to take up too much of the screen, as this will impact on the quality of your visual design overall. To make sure you get calligraphy typography just right it can be important to experiment with different sizes so you can find the right fit for your page.
Don’t use a busy background
Using calligraphy typography above the fold can be a great way to attract attention, direct the eye of the website user, and make a big visual impact. However this should not be combined with a busy or detailed background as the background style needs to have a large amount of contrast to really allow the calligraphy font to stand out. Detailed backgrounds can draw attention away from the front and even make the front more difficult to read. Instead it can be a good option to use a simple piece of photography or alternatively a block colour background for calligraphy fonts, especially above the fold.
Do shorten your sentences
Above the fold, only the heading or title should use a calligraphy font, as this allows the font to attract attention to the most important pieces of text. However even so, if your heading or title is too long, this can reduce the impact of the calligraphy typography as well as take up all of the space above the fold. In this case it can be a good idea to shorten the length of your heading or sentences to 5 words or less for the maximum visual impact. However this can only be achieved effectively when this works for your company and still allows the content to make sense for your potential customers and clients.
Don’t forget the purpose of the calligraphy font
As with anything in web design the calligraphy font should be chosen for a particular purpose. Maybe it is the best font to fit with your branding, or maybe you want to enjoy the authenticity that calligraphy typography can bring, or maybe you simply want to stand out from your competitors, and feel like this font is the best option to achieve this. For whatever reason you have chosen calligraphy font, you should make sure to consider the purpose of this thoughtfully during the design process so that the font can really feel like an integral part of your web design.
For more information or advice, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.