How Color and Typography Influence Your Storytelling
Using color and typography to captivate your audience.
Color is a language.
Typography is a language.
In order to learn it, you need time, the right information, and practice.
Here, I’m going to show you how colors and typography affect the story you tell.
Color is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence moods, and provoke psychological reactions.
Understanding how to use colors requires that you understand color psychology.
Color psychology involves understanding how different colors affect human behavior.
Colors have symbolic meanings in different cultures, and these meanings have evolved over the years.
When you think of YouTube, you think of the color red. It stimulates passion, excitement, and love, in the context of being excited when watching a video from your favorite creator. In another context, you’ll realize that red is also used to signify danger. One color, different meanings.
The purpose of that demonstration was to let you know that one color can have many meanings according to the situation in which it is used.
So when using color, set the mode in which you want the viewer to feel. In the context of romanticism, red is used to stimulate the body and mind to increase circulation.
Colors play an important role in communication, and how the information communicated is received by the audience and how it is perceived by the audience depends on their culture.
You can understand how a person would feel about a certain color by studying them (audience analysis). Google will only give you the good stuff about colors if you only read the first answer given to you.
Feelings towards colors are often deeply rooted in personal experiences and culture. Colors have a powerful effect on emotions and can be used to create a desired impression for a brand.
When choosing brand colors, consider these things:
1. The audience (their culture)
2. You (what do you like)
3. Is it necessary?
Colors are used to communicate too.
Take the basic traffic light example; red to stop, green to go, yellow signaling caution. We also use colors to express our emotions like wearing black when we’re feeling sad or wearing red when you’re feeling passionate.
These meanings might be in the conscious mind of who uses it but it’s rooted in their subconscious. They influence buying behavior in marketing and advertising.
Restaurants use bright colors (especially fast-food restaurants) to stimulate appetites. Luxury brands use black and gold to create a sense of exclusivity.
When next you see a color you like, take a moment to think about what it means to you and try to understand why they used that particular color.
How does it make you feel? What associations do you have with that color?
By understanding these things, you can use color to your advantage.
To summarize, color is a powerful tool that can be used to communicate, influence, and persuade. By understanding it, you can create a strong and memorable brand that resonates with your target audience.
Typography, much like color, is a language in itself.
Bold typography can be used to signify danger as well as make statements that cause thoughts to wiggle.
Typography is a broad topic to cover and we have designers that specialize in creating typography.
In the hierarchy of storytelling, color often sets the initial mood, but typography brings the words to life. The fonts chosen can convey various emotions and meanings.
For example, a sleek and modern sans-serif font might evoke a sense of simplicity, modernism, and forward-thinking. Just like bold typography not only grabs attention but signifies urgency or importance.
On the other hand, elegant and flowing scripts fonts evoke a sense of female energy (not always), sophistication or romance.
The real magic happens when there’s interplay between color and typography. A vibrant color palette coupled with bold typography can create a story that lasts centuries.
Muted colors with a clean and minimalistic font communicate simplicity and modernity. Just as you wouldn’t randomly throw together clashing colors, you shouldn’t do the same with typography.
I recommend a minimum of 3 fonts in one design.
This is to ensure consistency across designs and ensures a cohesive and polished look. This consistency reinforces your brand identity and prompts effective communication. In the end, type isn’t just about words; it’s about how those words are presented.
The kerning (spacing between letters), the leading (spacing between lines) impact readability and make a design visually appealing. Experimenting with type allows you to fine-tune the unity between the text and design.
I’ve not had any personal experiences with typography and so I cannot confirm it is a cultural and personal experience.
But I know different fonts evoke different emotions depending on how they are used.
Thank you for reading this far.
See you soon!
