Typography and Headline Fonts: Choosing the Perfect Font for Your Book Design
Trying to find that perfect headline font for a new page design project? Understanding typography and headline fonts is crucial for creating professional book layouts. Beyond the style, design, and overall vibe, what other characteristics should be considered as you start testing options for your typography and headline fonts selection?
What do I mean by headline fonts in typography?
In my library of fonts (I use Adobe’s font library), I categorize my fonts in many ways. This helps me sort and review options based on my needs for any given project. These categories include text fonts for the body of the book. Script fonts replicate a handwritten letter or signature. Display fonts work for a dynamic title on a book cover. Headline fonts handle all of the headings, subheadings, and titles inside the pages of the book.
These headline fonts tend to be the workhorses of complicated page design projects. Effective typography and headline fonts require access and licenses to some good quality fonts.
You’ll see the value when facing a complex workbook with various elements. Chapter numbers and titles, subheadings within the chapter, and other applications throughout sidebar elements create formatting challenges. Each requires a unique style to fit into the hierarchy of information throughout the book.
Typography considerations: Weighing all of the font weights
First, think about how many levels of headings you have in your book. Make sure the font has enough weights to accommodate:
- part numbers and titles
- chapter numbers and titles
- A heads, B heads, C heads
- table titles and heads
- figure numbers and titles
- even the running headers and folios
These all might need a certain size and weight. This helps set them apart visually from the other elements on the page.
Headline font italics: Don’t forget the italics
What happens when you come across a B head that has an italicized word or phrase? Your font’s family might not include a semibold italic weight. You certainly don’t want to get caught skewing text in order to fake an italic. Make sure there are italics in as many of the weights if possible. Chances are, you’ll end up needing them.
Typography tips: Skip the all-caps headline font options?
There are some attractive headline fonts that only come in all caps. These may be suitable for chapter numbers, figure numbers, or other small bits of text. I find them really limiting when applied to an A head, the title, or larger portions of text. All caps have a certain loudness. They often carry an unintended urgency associated to them. They’re also more difficult to read in longer headings or phrases.
How headline fonts work with typography: Plays nicely with others
Lastly, ensure the headline font pairs well with the other fonts in your layout. This includes the body text—likely a serif font you rely on frequently. It also includes possibly a secondary text font, such as a sans serif. These work for longer blocks of ancillary text like tables, figure captions, or workbook activities. Does your headline font complement these elements? Is everything balanced and functional?
Prioritize function over form when needed. Apply restraint as a designer or author. Focus on the hierarchy of content and typography basics. This ensures your book looks and functions effectively for your audience.
Check out our page design services to see how we can utilize creative fonts for your next book.
