What is typography and how can it impact my business?

Typography is the art and science of letter and word arrangement which makes a written language easy and appealing to read. The stylistic possibilities when it comes to typographic choices can have a huge impact on your company’s branding or the feel of a sign and the space it inhabits so it is important to know a little bit about this technique that is used in signage design.

At  Behrends, helping you to navigate through the limitless typographical choices is part of what we do. We have been arranging the look and feel of written language for so long that we know intimately well what works and what doesn’t. We can tailor virtually any style to your needs and branded voice while still producing an end-product that is both beautiful and functional. The beauty of our custom metal signage is that regardless of the medium you choose, whether you use raised letters or cut out fonts, whether the sign is lit or not, the application of refined typographical methods based on our decades of experience is what will set your signage apart.

The arrangement of type involves selecting fonts, as well as determining the length of lines, spacing between lines, spacing between letters and words, as well as the style and arrangement of the symbols on the signage. The original Greek word typography is formed from the words “impression” and “to write”, showing that this artistic arrangement is what gives us the form of the writing and that can be (and usually is) more important than what is written. It is important to understand that if something is illegible, or even just frustrating to read, it will get lost on the reader and that frustration can have a negative impact on their impression of the space in which they find the sign. That negative impact reflects poorly on what you want to accomplish there, whether it be for business or the creation of a general experience. Thus, it is important to go with those who know what it takes to execute the message of a sign flawlessly every time.

The art and science of typography has been around almost as long as human civilizations have, as we know them today with archaeological evidence showing that humans have been reusing stamps or casts of identical letters in clay and other mediums to create a uniform look. The idea of moveable print items is what gave birth to the printing press and changed the face of history as we know it. In fact, the printing press (which is really a machine to streamline the previously tedious process of typography) is considered to be the most important invention in history.

The key to good typographical work is to have the reader be completely unaware of the extensive premeditation that went into designing a sign. As such, they can use these signs to get an impression of a business or organization, or be guided seamlessly through a space without a second thought: the goal of every designer when using refined typographical techniques to increase the style and usability of the written word through signage.

Metal Signage Typography