Web design trends always change and almost all elements covered by Web design also change as a result. Typography makes up for a very important aspect of design and is all set to change as the New Year settles in.
The function of good typography is to reduce the on-screen reading fatigue and make it easier to get content across to users. Plus, good typography accentuates design. But then, just like Web design, typography is a field that's been evolving and growing its wings.
The first thing that typography does to design is to give it a lot of visual appeal. So for businesses looking for a way to add distinctiveness to their branding efforts, typography scores points. How you arrange typefaces that you select does a lot to how your brand is perceived, according to Thomas Phinney of Commarts.com.
To explain why we can't just be content with Times New Roman or Courier, think of typography as fashion. You just need a new way to make something look good (design in this case), and typography helps with that. Typefaces are like new fashion trends or clothes that'll herald a new way to make a statement. Apply that to design and it's easy to see the madness.
How is all this set to change in 2014? Let's see:
The rise of non-boring typography
Just like content is getting a personality makeover and so is design (by itself), fonts will begin to have a personality of their own. This year will see a new breed of fonts that will stand on their own, make statements, and stay unique. More designs will now feature these non-boring fonts, according to Amber Leigh Turner of The Next Web.
Say goodbye to Times, Arial, and Impact. Say hello to fonts that almost have an attitude of their own.
Types will dig deeper into human psyche
Continuous innovation backed by research is the best part about typography. Typeface companies, individual designers, studios and agencies are all working on new typefaces. It's not just designers and design agencies, though. We now have research coming in from companies like Adobe (it also purchased TypeKit). We now have psychologists and professional typographers poring over experimental research on good typography, how typography affects us and our moods, and picking out legible typeface design from the bad ones. So, don't be surprised with new fonts, typefaces and typography trends surface.
The more fonts there are, the higher the chances of making a distinctive design.
Handwritten Fonts will find a place
It's already the age of personalization, branding, and super connectivity. Social media is big and 2014 is going to see more brands get on the bus. According to the Creative Market team, handwritten fonts will find more takers.
It's now the new way to bring some personality into visuals and graphics that are widely in use on social networks. Handwritten fonts are almost personal with irregular sizes and weights. While some of these fonts might be hard to read, some others will be adopted in 2014 for good use. Popular examples include fonts like Everglow and Sprout Serif.
Handwritten fonts might just be what you need for those visual assets you need for social networks, slide decks, and for other purposes where a bit of "you" will work.
Flat design and its apparent sexiness
The release of iOS7 introduced a new language for design. Flat design is now very popular and is already adopted for design across categories including websites, mobile apps, and also graphics. As long as it's sexy to make designs that are simplistic, minimalistic, and intelligent, flat design will have its appeal. If that holds true, flat design fonts such as Transat Typeface, Duase, and Industry will now get more popular. Nancy Young of HongKiat.com has a huge list of 40 free fonts for flat design that you might want to take note of.
Flat design focuses on color and typography while working off a grid. It's the best answer to cater to the demand for responsive design and display quality. The flat design (and hence the fonts) will look across devices and makes it easier for users to access information, according to David Kizler of Hyper Arts.
It'll all go mobile
Typography will see more of its own attunement to the growing phenomenon of mobile. We'll now see mobile-first fonts and mobile-ready designs featuring simpler content layouts and color schemes. We'll also see a lot more scrolling while large "landing page style" hero elements will take the place of sliders on website home pages. HTML5 will grow more robust (which will bring a lot of bad too).
From now on, it's about less text and exciting fonts. It's about minimalism with purpose. It's all about conversions and mobile will see a lot of importance with respect to conversions too.
According to Chris Lake of econsultancy.com, Micro UX and minimalist navigation are also some of those pivotal trends we are likely to see in 2014 and beyond.
He also adds that CSS will replace images and we'll have more of those interesting moving pictures and dynamic backgrounds. His point on richer content experiences for users isn't going to be complete with the use of judicious fonts picked for their impact, quality and inherent sexiness.
Chris also points to the trend of varied typography where it's not just about one set of fonts anymore. Mix and match of fonts, for instance, is now getting popular and responsive typography is only a trend waiting to happen to go along with responsive Web design.
How do you see typography changing? What impact do you think good typography has on design? Starting this year, what typography trends do you see that might impact the way your website works and delivers? Share your ideas with us.
Author Bio:
John Siebert is the President and CEO of TranquilBlue - A Web Design Tampa company that focuses on all kind of website design, mobile app development and search engine marketing.
