23 Really Bad Font Choices
December 10, 2009byDouglas Bonneville
Font choicescan make or break a message. In the 23 examples we created below, we broke the message on purpose to highlight how on a conscious or subconscious level,poor typeface choicesnegatively affect the message in the copy.
Typefaces have personalities. If their personalities don’t match the essence of your business or message or text, you can create a conflict which distracts your audience.
We had fun below creating some absurd and extreme examples of bad font choices to make a point, but they are based – at least in spirit – on examples we’ve come across over the years. Hyperbole? Indeed. Fun? Of course!
So browse through these lovingly-typeset typographic wonders and consider font choices a little more closely on your next design project.
NOTE: Please put your coffee down before reading the commentary. You’ve been warned.
“Softer please…I said softer. SOFTER! SOFT…AHH-GATHA!!!”
Like, maybe we could, like go for a ride later? Or like, right now? M’kay?
Typographer you are not.
I can see it now. Ashley is going to fill out my tax forms with multi-colored pen. Maybe even one of the metallic kind that bleed through the page, but look all shiny on the front.
I find your request…difficult. Just give me a minute, k?
Yoga mats, bamboo incense sticks, and mirror walls…could be dangerous.
Seem’s like Amanda is hiding something. An ulterior motive?
We could deduce that Dr. Fangser Brown gives each client an application of his own unique style of cosmetic upgrading.
Ok, this example here is simply…a disconnect. There is no connection whatever between the personality and expected usage of the font with the business name or the industry of the business. Honestly now – how many times have you seen that before? How many times on the way to work today? How many examples in today’s mail?
Hmm…I don’t feel so comfortable. This font sends the exact opposite feeling of a fluffy pillow. Angular, harsh, and generally uncomfy.
I’ll let you ponder this one…
No.
This is an entirely offensive and inappropriate font choice.
What a shocking suggestion! Is it safe? Can I take my hair-dryer in to warm up the water?
Thank goodness we found a Computer Shack that was still open tonight! I need a new wall wart power supply for my Texas Instruments TRS-80, as well as a 50 pack of C-size batteries for my remote control toy tank!
“Mommy, I don’t like this park. Why does there have to be old, yucky, band-aids all over the slide?”
This is gonna hurt. I know it.
I think maybe we misapplied a little something here…
Hadst thou not heardest of thither new-fangled tecknologies? A wee fowl didst tell me just now. But pray tell, what exactly is “Web 2.o”? And wither dirst it goe?
This is wrong on all the right levels to indicate that an article titled like this is not worth a click.
A lawyer who thinks he’s a comic – what a joke!
Four Ways To Avoid Death By PowerPoint
In modern business, if there’s a presentation, there’s a PowerPoint with it. (Or, one of the programs that resemble it.) It’s almost as if we’ve forgotten how to present without one. Unfortunately, this has led to a lot of dull, rote presentations – as well as felony-level PowerPoint abuse. As David Ogilvy famously quipped, “most people use PowerPoint like a drunk uses a lamppost – for support rather than for illumination.”
The victims? Those of us in the audience. Presenters put too much information on slides, distract their audiences with bad clip art and tinyfont, and read directly from their own presentations instead of conversing with stories and ideas.
For presenters who want to be distinctive, the tide has definitely turned back. Old school is once again new. It can be fresh to deliver without a PowerPoint at all. It’s akin to getting a handwritten thank you card rather than a cursory email – it feels special.
We may not have a choice about whether to use slides. However, when there is an option, get creative. How could you deliver without a PowerPoint, or use it in a very limited or unusual way? If you want you – and your message – to stand out, challenge yourself to try some of these ideas.
Mix up your media.
We all learn in different ways, so mix up the media and engage your audience through various senses. See how you can illustrate your points through photos, music, demos, and videos. It can even be helpful to provide something tangible for your audience to hold in their hands. I once saw a speaker pass around a watch his grandfather had made to illustrate the diversity of entrepreneurship in our society.
There’s also the option of incorporating social media into a presentation.Some studies claimthat posting during a presentation increases engagement from the audience.
If you’re giving a formal presentation, prepare a title slide with your contact information on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn so people can add you to their networks while they wait for your presentation to begin. Also create a Twitter hashtag for your presentation, and make some key phrases on your slides tweetable (140 characters or less).
Intersperse content with discussion, group exercises, and reflection time.
Research suggeststhat the human attention span is getting shorter – and now may be as little as five minutes. If you want to keep people invested, creating audience engagement is crucial. Most presentations resemble monologues, and gradually numb an audience to what you’re trying to say. An interactive presentation is an engaging one, so ask questions (perhaps using polling technology) and design group exercises that get people talking.
Just make sure the audience participation makes sense. “Plan your presentation first and then look to see where it would be valuable to have the audience contribute,”sayspresentation trainer, Olivia Mitchell. “Look for situations where people can add real value. Audience participation should never be just for the sake of it – people will see right through this and turn-off.”
One of my favorite tips is to incorporate reflection time. Providing silence is a gift that busy professionals rarely get. Have audience members simply think about a concept for a bit, or spend more time with a longer strategy question.
Use eye-catching software.
According to research,90%of information transmitted to the brain is visual. In addition, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. That means that your presentations need to be visually captivating.
If you like organizing your presentation in PowerPoint, but feel like it’s not creating the eye-catching effect you desire, it’s worth checking out new presentation software that maximizes the visual experience.
Preziis a cloud-based presentation software that jettisons the typical linear, slide-based approach to presenting. Instead, Prezi supports a more natural flow of ideas. It’s highly visual, in a unique way, so it’s different than the normal presentation by its very design.
Use props.
The ideas you want to convey may best be presented by the power of your storytelling alone – supported by a prop or two.
I mentioned the watch example above. Presentation expert Carmine Gallomentionsone TED talk in which a 37-year-old Harvard brain scientist, who had suffered alife altering stroke, donned latex gloves andused a real human brain to demonstrate what happened to her.
Using props may not be the most effective or relevant approach for all circumstances, but this example shows that sometimes using a physical object can be more impactful than any computer slide.