How To Choose Display Font For Brand Identity
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is a Display Font & Why It Matters
- Key Elements of Brand Identity
- How to Evaluate and Choose a Display Font
- Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
- Examples: Display Fonts That Nail Brand Identity
- Implementing Your Display Font Across Media
- Conclusion
1. Introduction
Your brand’s identity is more than colours, logos, or messaging—it’s how all those pieces come together visually. One of the most powerful visual tools in your toolkit is typography, especially display fonts. A well-chosen display font can make your brand memorable, convey personality, and set you apart. But choose poorly, and you risk confusing your audience, losing legibility, or appearing unprofessional.
In this article, we’ll dive deep into how to choose a display font for brand identity—what to look for, what to avoid, and how to apply it successfully.
2. What is a Display Font & Why It Matters
A display font (sometimes called decorative or headline font) is meant to be eye-catching. It often has unique or exaggerated characteristics. As PyromaniacDigital notes, display fonts are “the broadest category of fonts, and can range from highly stylized retro fonts, to illegible symbol fonts.” They are best used in logos, headlines, or other places you want to catch attention—not as body text. pyromaniacdigital.com
Why it matters:
- First impression: The first thing people see is often your logo or headline. The typeface you use immediately sets expectations for your brand.
- Differentiation: A unique display font helps separate your brand from competitors.
- Emotional tone: Fonts have personality. They can evoke playfulness, seriousness, luxury, rustic charm, modernism, etc.
3. Key Elements of Brand Identity
Before you select a display font, you need to be very clear on what your brand identity is. Some things to define:
- Brand values & personality: What are the core qualities? E.g. traditional vs modern; playful vs serious; luxury vs affordable.
- Target audience: Who are they? What aesthetics do they respond to? What contexts will they see your branding in (web, print, signage, packaging, etc.)?
- Tone & mood: Are you aiming for authoritative, friendly, minimalist, quirky, dramatic, etc.?
- Visual ecosystem: Colours, logos, imagery, other typographic styles already in use. Your display font must harmonize with those.
4. How to Evaluate and Choose a Display Font
Here are concrete steps + criteria to guide your selection:
| Criteria | What to Check | Why It’s Important |
|---|---|---|
| Legibility / Readability | How readable is the font at large size vs small size? At different resolutions? In different mediums (print, web, signage)? | Even display fonts need to be legible, especially for logos and headings. A fancy font is useless if people can’t read it. |
| Personality match | Do its shapes, weight, contrast, curves/angles suit the brand personality you defined? | A mismatch can send confusing signals (e.g. a playful font for a serious law firm). |
| Versatility | Does the font come in multiple weights, styles, and support for uppercase/lowercase, numerals, special characters or other languages your brand needs? | Helps you use it in more contexts, so you don’t have to switch fonts constantly. |
| Contrast pairing | If you’ll pair with a secondary font (for body text or subheadings), can the display font contrast well without clashing? | Good font pairings strengthen readability and hierarchy. |
| Scalability & adaptation | How does it perform when scaled up for signage vs down for mobile/web? How does it look in black & white, or over images? | Ensures consistency across applications. |
| Uniqueness / Distinctiveness | Is it memorable? Does it stand out but not so strange that it becomes gimmicky? | Helps with brand recognition. |
| Timelessness vs trendiness | Is it following a short-lived trend or does it have staying power? | Brands benefit from being current but not dated quickly. See “Avoid Trends” advice from several typography guides. Medium+2DesignRush+2 |
| Licensing | Do you own the rights for commercial use in all desired media (web, print, signage)? Are there restrictions? | To avoid legal trouble. Designers often under-estimate this. |
5. Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
- Over-complexity: Very ornate display fonts can look great in large format but are hard to read at small sizes.
- Inconsistent typography: Using too many display fonts or switching styles too often dilutes brand recognition. Stick to a limited number.
- Ignoring legibility: A display font might look great on desktop but awful on mobile or print. Always test.
- Over-reliance on trends: Trendy fonts might seem fresh now but might make you look dated in a few years.
- Poor licensing: Using a font for which you lack proper rights can cause legal issues.
6. Examples: Display Fonts That Nail Brand Identity
Here are a few display fonts from NoahType that illustrate some of the criteria above. These could be good fits depending on your brand:
- NoahDisplay Bold – Strong, high contrast, excellent choice for brands that want to make a bold statement. Good for headlines and logo work.
- NoahVintage Serif – Retro, elegant serif display with personality. Great for brands in fashion, luxury, hospitality.
- NoahModern Script – Playful but refined script display. Use sparingly for emphasis, taglines, or highlights.
- NoahStencil Display – Industrial, rugged character; good for outdoors, adventure, or craft-focused brands.
- NoahGeometric Sans Display – Clean angular shapes; excellent for tech, startup, modern minimal brands.
For each example, think about: is this matching your brand’s personality? How well does it read small? How does it pair with a simpler secondary font?
7. Implementing Your Display Font Across Media
Once you’ve chosen, here’s how to make it work effectively:
- Create a style guide: Document when and how to use the display font. E.g. logo, headline, sub-titles, packaging. Specify sizes, spacing, usage over images etc.
- Pair with complementary fonts: Usually use your display font for headlines / logos, and a simpler, more readable font for body copy.
- Test across devices and print: View on mobile, desktop, signage mockups, packaging mockups. Adjust kerning, weight, spacing as needed.
- Use hierarchy: Clearly distinguish titles, sub-titles, body copy, captions etc. so that visuals guide the reader.
- Consistency is key: Use the chosen fonts uniformly across your website, marketing materials, social media, emails, packaging, etc.
8. Conclusion
Choosing the right display font for brand identity is a crucial decision—it’s not just decoration. When done well, it communicates personality, builds recognition, and strengthens credibility. Follow a structured process: know your brand, evaluate font options carefully, test in context, and ensure licensing is correct. With the right display font, paired with thoughtful supporting typography, your brand identity can become much more powerful and memorable.
References
- PyromaniacDigital, Typography 101: How to Choose the Best Fonts for your Brand. pyromaniacdigital.com
- Medium (NineBlaess), Everything You Need to Know About Choosing Brand Fonts. Medium
- DesignRush, Brand Typography: How To Find the Right Fonts for Your Brand. DesignRush
- FontFabric, A Guide to Choosing the Perfect Brand Fonts. Fontfabric™