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I once spent three weeks on a logo design that looked absolutely perfect in my mind. Clean lines, balanced composition, great color scheme. But when I showed it to my client, they said something that crushed me: "It looks like something I could make in Microsoft Word."
Ouch. That stung because I knew they were right.
The problem wasn't my concept or creativity. It was my typography. I had made every beginner mistake in the book, and it showed. That harsh feedback became my wake-up call to actually learn typography instead of just picking fonts that "looked cool."
Why Typography Makes or Breaks Your Design
Here's the thing nobody tells design students: people judge your work in the first THREE seconds. They don't analyze your color theory or composition principles. They just know if something looks professional or not.
And typography is usually the culprit when designs look amateur.
Think about it. What's the difference between a restaurant menu that costs $5 and one that costs $50? Often, it's just better typography choices.
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Mistake #1: Using Too Many Fonts
This was my biggest crime early on. I thought more fonts meant more creativity. Wrong.
I remember designing a wedding invitation using six different fonts. The bride took one look and asked if her five-year-old nephew had designed it. Not my proudest moment.
The fix: Stick to 2-3 fonts maximum. One for headings, one for body text, and maybe one accent font if you really need it.
Better yet: Start with just two fonts and see how far you can push them with different weights and sizes.
How to Choose Font Combinations
Pick fonts that are different enough to create contrast but similar enough to feel harmonious. A sans-serif heading with a serif body text? Classic combo that works.
Avoid pairing two fonts that are too similar. Comic Sans and Papyrus together? Please don't.
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Mistake #2: Terrible Font Choices
We need to talk about Comic Sans. And Papyrus. And Times New Roman for anything that isn't an academic paper.
These fonts scream "I don't know what I'm doing" louder than anything else in design.
Fonts that instantly make you look amateur:
- Comic Sans (unless you're designing for kindergarteners)
- Papyrus (just... no)
- Times New Roman (overdone and boring)
- Arial (the vanilla ice cream of fonts)
- Brush Script (trying too hard to be fancy)
Better alternatives:
- Instead of Comic Sans: Nunito or Poppins
- Instead of Papyrus: Trajan Pro or Optima
- Instead of Times New Roman: Crimson Text or Lora
- Instead of Arial: Open Sans or Source Sans Pro
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Mistake #3: Ignoring Hierarchy
I used to make everything the same size because I thought it looked "clean." It actually looked confusing and boring.
Your readers need a roadmap. They should immediately understand what's most important, what to read next, and what's just supporting information.
Create hierarchy through:
- Size (bigger = more important)
- Weight (bold = more important)
- Color (contrast draws attention)
- Spacing (more space = more emphasis)
The 3-2-1 Rule
I learned this from a senior designer who saved my career: use three sizes maximum, two weights maximum, and one color family for text.
Simple but POWERFUL.
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Mistake #4: Poor Spacing and Kerning
Spacing is invisible until it's wrong. Then it's all you can see.
I spent years not understanding why my text looked "off" until someone pointed out my spacing issues. Letter spacing too tight makes text look cramped. Too loose makes it look disconnected.
Quick spacing fixes:
- Increase line height for better readability (1.4-1.6 times your font size)
- Add proper margins between text blocks
- Use consistent spacing throughout your design
- Check kerning on large text (especially between letters like "AV" or "To")
The Squint Test
Step back from your design and squint. Do you see clear blocks of text with proper breathing room? Or does everything blur together into a gray mess?
If it's a gray mess, you need more spacing.
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Mistake #5: Unreadable Color Combinations
Yellow text on white backgrounds. Light gray on slightly lighter gray. I've seen it all, and I've been guilty of some crimes myself.
Readability always trumps aesthetics. Always.
Contrast is king: Your text needs enough contrast to be easily readable, especially for people with vision issues.
I use online contrast checkers now. WebAIM has a great one that tells you if your color combo passes accessibility standards.
Safe color combinations:
- Dark text on light backgrounds
- Light text on dark backgrounds
- High contrast ratios (at least 4.5:1 for normal text)
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Mistake #6: Inconsistent Alignment
Pick an alignment and stick with it. Centered headlines with left-aligned body text and right-aligned captions? That's not creative, it's chaotic.
I learned this lesson during a magazine layout project. My art director made me redo every page because my text alignment was all over the place. "Consistency creates professionalism," she said.
She was absolutely right.
Alignment rules:
- Left-aligned text is easiest to read for long blocks
- Centered text works for headlines and short phrases
- Right-aligned text is tricky and rarely necessary
- Justified text can look professional but watch out for weird spacing
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Mistake #7: Neglecting Mobile Typography
Here's something that bit me hard: designing beautiful typography for desktop and forgetting about mobile users.
Text that looks perfect at 24px on a monitor becomes unreadable at the same size on a phone screen.
Mobile typography essentials:
- Minimum 16px font size for body text
- Shorter line lengths (45-65 characters max)
- More spacing between clickable elements
- Test on actual devices, not just browser developer tools
I now design mobile-first for typography. It's easier to scale up than scale down.
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Mistake #8: Overusing Text Effects
Drop shadows, gradients, outlines, embossing. I went through a phase where I added effects to everything.
The result? Text that looked like it belonged on a 1990s website.
When text effects work:
- Subtle drop shadows for text on busy backgrounds
- Simple gradients for large display text
- Minimal outlines for contrast issues
When they don't:
- Everything else
Less is more. Way more.
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Mistake #9: Inappropriate Font Personalities
Fonts have personalities just like people. Using a playful, bubbly font for a law firm's website sends the wrong message.
I once designed a funeral home brochure using a light, airy font. The client gently explained that the tone was completely wrong for their business.
Match font personality to content:
- Serious/Professional: Clean sans-serifs like Helvetica or Proxima Nova
- Traditional/Elegant: Classic serifs like Garamond or Minion Pro
- Creative/Playful: Custom or display fonts, but use sparingly
- Modern/Tech: Geometric sans-serifs like Montserrat or Futura
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The One-Hour Typography Audit
Want to instantly improve your designs? Spend an hour auditing your typography choices.
Check these elements:
- Font choices (are they appropriate for your message?)
- Hierarchy (can you quickly identify what's most important?)
- Spacing (does everything have room to breathe?)
- Alignment (is it consistent throughout?)
- Readability (can your grandmother read it easily?)
Fix these five things, and your designs will immediately look more professional.
Tools That Actually Help
Google Fonts: Free, web-safe, and constantly updated. I use it for 90% of my projects now.
Adobe Fonts: If you have Creative Cloud, you get access to thousands of professional fonts.
Font Squirrel: Great for finding free commercial fonts that don't look free.
WhatFont browser extension: Helps you identify fonts on websites you admire.
Typography Rules You Can Break
Rules exist to be broken, but you need to understand them first.
Rules you can bend:
- Using more than two fonts (if you really know what you're doing)
- Mixing serif and sans-serif in unexpected ways
- Playing with unconventional alignment for artistic effect
Rules you should never break:
- Sacrificing readability for style
- Ignoring your audience and brand personality
- Creating inconsistent hierarchies
Building Your Typography Skills
Start paying attention to typography everywhere. Restaurant menus, book covers, movie posters, websites. What works? What doesn't?
Keep a collection of typography examples you love. I have a Pinterest board with hundreds of examples that inspire me.
Practice with real content, not Lorem Ipsum. Actual text reveals problems that placeholder text hides.
The Client Education Challenge
Sometimes clients request changes that you know will hurt the design. "Make the logo bigger" is classic, but "use this font because it's my favorite" can be just as damaging.
I've learned to explain typography choices in business terms. Instead of saying "Helvetica is more readable," I say "This font choice will help your customers find information faster, which increases conversions."
Speak their language, not designer language.
Final Thoughts
Typography isn't just about making things look pretty. It's about communication, hierarchy, and user experience.
Every font choice you make sends a message. Every spacing decision affects readability. Every alignment choice impacts the flow of information.
The good news? Typography skills improve with practice and attention. Start noticing good typography in the wild. Question your font choices before finalizing designs. Test readability with real users.
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