The power of words is undeniable. But it’s not just what you’re saying that matters in digital marketing, but how it looks. Learn how typography can impact how users interact with and understand your brand so you can fully harness the UX design process.
In the world of web design, so many elements work together to create a powerful user experience (UX) that delivers. Typography is one some consider a secondary consideration, but it definitely brings some real “main character energy” when it comes to maximizing your UX. This hidden force goes beyond simply choosing a font that looks good – it has the power to shape how a UX user perceives and behaves.
How does typography influence people?
Read on to learn more about the psychological and visual impact of typography from the mouths of our web & UI/UX design experts.
Lifting the Veil: The Psychology Behind Typography
Typography isn’t just a nice visual – it’s an important part of any UX strategy because it psychologically triggers us in many ways.
Why is typography important in UX design?
#1: Attention & Perception
Our brains are hard-wired to find the most important visuals first, which is why we’re attracted to imagery, video, bright colours, and typography. A bold font style provides a visual cue to pay attention so your eyes move to those bolded words and script typography before they move on to the rest. You can strategically use bold typography to highlight your most important text, like headlines, calls-to-action, etc.
#2: Cognitive Understanding
Research shows that text presented in a legible, bold manner is much easier to read and understand than large blocks of uniform text. So, if you have a message you want users to engage with and understand, using bolder types of typography can help them engage and retain it for later.
#3: Emotional Impact
Visuals can help stir emotions in users, and that includes the look of your font. When you choose a bold font, you’re evoking strength, confidence, and excitement. Or, by finding a bold, elegant font, you can create those feelings of sophistication while still maximizing user energy. You can actually shape the way people feel by the typography you choose.
#4: Establishing Trust
Typography impacts your user experience design, making it easier to create positive experiences while establishing trust and credibility. You still need to create site content that’s well-researched and responsible, but typography and other site design elements help deepen that trust over time.
The New York Times Experiment: Proof Typography Works
The New York Times tested the power of typography by asking 45,000+ participants to answer a simple question – “Do we live in an era of unprecedented safety?”
However, they showed users the prompt with different font types and found a substantial difference between answers across types. Baskerville, a font designed with readability, balance, and high contrast in mind, saw a 1.5% increase in respondents agreeing. So they leaned more positively when nothing was different beyond the typeface.
How We Harness the Power of Bold Typography
How can typography enhance user experience in user interfaces?
As a modern web design agency, we collaborate with our clients and use our expertise to choose the right typography for their brand. Here’s what we consider as we pick viable options to leverage typography impacts to their fullest:
#1: Branded Font Selection
Not every font is meant for every brand because the tone and intent of your site influence which choice is “best.” We work with you to understand your brand identity and target audience so we can combine those factors with design best practices and psychology to pick our ideal choice.
Your business focus matters. If you want to build authority, we’ll choose a different font than if you want to exude elegance or tradition.
#2: Typography to Guide the Eye
With the right font selected, bold typography helps guide the user’s eye across your site and develop a clear visual hierarchy. By directing the gaze through using bold fonts, we show users exactly what they need to see first – think headlines, key points, calls-to-action, and important sub-headings.
#3: Consistency Across All Devices
Users aren’t always browsing from their computers, smartphones, or tablets – they might even switch between all three! With the right responsive design techniques, we ensure that your bold typography scales to every screen size for maximum impact and UX.
#4: Inclusivity & Accessibility
Bold typography doesn’t just influence user behaviour and experiences – it’s an accessibility fundamental! Since bold typography can increase legibility for visually impaired users, you’re creating a more inclusive site experience. Research-backed guidelines are followed to ensure that text remains easily readable and digestible for all users, even those with low vision and colour blindness.
#5: Consistency
User-centred websites should keep the types of fonts they display to a minimum, so we work to choose 1 or 2 that perfectly fit our client’s needs. If you have any more than three different fonts on your site, you’re more likely to create a clashing design and lose the impact of your bold type. We can still play with other elements within the typeface, like weights and styles.
The Impact of Bold Typography on User Experience
How does font affect user experience?
In a world filled with countless distractions and constant information overload, using bold typography the right way can make all the difference. Use this psychological strategy to elevate a website’s performance and deliver a consistently better user experience. Over time, even these tiny details can make a big difference in how much you sell and how deep your customer relationships will go.
Ready to start picking out fonts? Our Hamilton site design company is ready to start building your dreams boldly. Our designers and UX writers offer everything you need to create a stronger digital presence, from site design & SEO content to website maintenance plans.
Contact us to learn more and get a free cost estimate.
