How to Avoid Font Fiascos
Choosing fonts for your presentation can be fun – and is an important design choice – but needs to be done deliberately with the requirements of the viewer in mind. Designers who choose poorly will find themselves faced with one of the most common slideshow problems: a font fiasco.
Font fiascos happen when designers choose either incompatible or ill-suited slideshow fonts. Here are several rules that will help you choose the best fonts possible for your presentation.
Use System Fonts
Fonts are a frequent problem when combining slides from multiple sources. Not all fonts will translate easily between computers, because just like programs, fonts are a piece of software that must be installed. When text looks good on your computer but looks pixelated or hard to read on another, a missing font file may be to blame.
The way to avoid this problem is by using common, system fonts that are present on almost all computers.
These fonts are installed with the Windows operating system, so typically all PC computers have these fonts in their fonts folder. Even Apple computers come with most of these system fonts installed. These include common fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman and others. This means that these fonts will print and display correctly without problems or errors, no matter which PC they are used on. This makes them the safest and the best font choices.
Serif vs. Sans Serif
From a design standpoint, there are two important classes of fonts: serif and sans serif.
Serif fonts, such as Times or Times New Roman, are best for up-close reading and printed material. They are characterized by the slight flourishes (or serifs) used at the edges of the strokes of the printed letters. These fonts are common in newspapers and books and, naturally, work well for newsletters or printed handouts.
Sans Serif fonts (meaning, those without serifs) are good for screens and reading at a distance. This makes them ideal for slideshows and it’s why you see Arial used so often when it comes to PowerPoint fonts. To make your slides pop, it’s best to stick to very readable Arial and use other design elements like color and contrast to create good visual design.
Focus on Readability
While Sans Serif fonts like Arial may seem like an uninspired design choice, when preparing for a critical presentation, there is nothing wrong with playing it safe. When it comes to fonts, our rule is: Function Over Form. Slideshows must be readable, above all. If you absolutely need to use a special font – look into PowerPoint’s EMBED FONTS feature to avoid a font fiasco!
Keep in mind that there are plenty of ways to enhance visual design value other than fonts.
Looking for further tips on font selection for your next presentation? Let the informational video above be your guide.
