Do you need to use any commercial typography for your business? 

Is typography really that important? Yes, it is, very much so. Through it we understand better what is being transmitted. We have more information if the message goes together with a logo, advertising or any other type of design. 

What's more, designers (whether in conventional advertising or digital media), worry to the point of addiction about finding the fonts that make their design a wonderful and also understandable art.

So, if you're interested in knowing how to make your designs look as professional as possible, so that your graphic communication conveys everything it contains, you'll need to consider the best quality commercial typography.

What is business typography?

Business fonts or commercial typography is the term related to the fonts used for commercial creations. 

They are styles of letters that are used to communicate or convey messages beyond what is written, that is, in a more graphic way.

Commercial typography goes far beyond simple letters or letter styles, since everything that composes it must be analysed depending on the context in which it is to be used.

Currently, there are two fundamental contexts for commercial typography: the physical one, also known as Offline context, that is, the printed media, and the digital or Online context, to be displayed on screens.

The most common styles of commercial typography

Not all fonts are the same. 

Nowadays there are a large number of typographies for different purposes, but they can all be summed up in 4 main types. 

1. Serif fonts

These are typographies of Romanesque origin. They are associated with values such as institutionalism, traditionalism and seriousness. 

They stand out for details (serif) that stand out from their main structure. They may be small terminal lines or ornaments that give them a more elegant style. 

They are also fonts that are well accepted by the audience thanks to their ease of reading.

It's common to see them in printed editions of newspapers or in official documents of governmental entities. This is because they were the first fonts that were used in these areas.

2. Sans Serif fonts

They are widely used in digital environments as they don't contain terminals (serif) in their structure.

These fonts are most commonly used in commercial or advertising environments, as their principles are modernity, neutrality and security. 

In addition, they are better than their serif counterparts for minimalist environments and achieve great results.

3. Script fonts

These are the types of fonts that are commonly known as italic, i.e. they imitate manual calligraphy. 

Script fonts have more pronounced curves and more humanised structures. 

4. Monitor (display) fonts - creative or decorative

These are fonts with a more personalised, fun style and without as many restrictions as the previous types. 

They are used in environments where attracting attention is essential. 

However, unlike the previous types studied, they sacrifice some legibility, so they are not recommended for continuous reading. 

Importance of commercial typography in design

Why is typography important in design? Here are 2 fundamental reasons:

• To express clarity in what you want to convey, which turns into effectiveness on the objectives you are looking for. Therefore, a commercial font must be simple and perfectly legible.

• To make the design more attractive, in order to capture the audience's attention in a decisive moment. Bad typography can ruin any advertising campaign, physical or digital. 

Tips for choosing the best commercial typography

When we want to design, we must pay special attention to the typography that will be used. To do this, it's necessary to take into account certain recommendations so that what you want to convey, has the expected result.

So here are 3 important tips for you to choose the best commercial typography for your design. 

Remember, half of the success of any advertising campaign lies in the font you use, as it will set the visual tone of the message.

1. Easy to read and in tune with what you want to convey.

Two things that go together as one piece of advice.

When it comes to design, the lettering should be easy to understand or read so that the audience's attention is quickly captured. 

Regarding harmony, the font should be able to be introduced into the design without altering the essence of the message, i.e. it should not be forced.

When selecting a font, it's advisable to ensure that there is a balance between readability and harmony. 

2. It shouldn't confuse the audience

When advertising mistakes are made, sometimes the audience states that there are elements in the typography that tend to confuse them.

Remember that in addition to conveying the message, typography allows more relevant information to stand out. 

One of the best strategies is to refrain from using a diversity of fonts in the same message. This, in addition to exhausting attention, can divert the purpose of a campaign or design.

3. Easily adaptable to any size of advertising.

This is one of the most important recommendations, the text size, so that there's not too much space and so the content is not forced. 

This advice is aligned to the previous one, as the font size needs to be proportional to the space where it will be used. 

Too large or forced texts could cause the audience to be overwhelmed and ignore the message being conveyed. 

Likewise, it's convenient to use different font sizes to guide or organise the reading, with larger fonts having more weight, but without losing other information within the same message.

The best commercial fonts for 2024

To finish this interesting material, we're going to summarise the best commercial typographies that you can find this 2024.

All of them are used for different purposes and are very popular, both in offline and online advertising. Our purpose is to give you up to 7 opportunities to get inspired and to get it right the first time with what you want to convey. 

1. Arial - the most widely used in digital environments

How many of us are not familiar with the Arial font? It's one of the most widely used fonts in today's leading office software, so it also works as a font of commercial interest.

It's classified as a Sans Serif font and was developed by the Monotype Foundation, through Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, in 1982. 

It represented a response to the popularity and high cost of the Helvetica font (created by competitors), which Microsoft at the same time wanted to include among its Windows fonts.

Its most important features: 

• Increased legibility at various resolutions.

• Designed for computer environments.

• Same proportion and weight as Helvetica.

2. Bodoni

A typography with a very modern style (despite the fact that it was created centuries ago).

Bodoni is a Serif font created in the 18th century by the designer Giambattista Bodoni, inspired by another English font called Baskerville.

Bodoni is a font that has a combination of thin lines with thick lines, creating various contrasts in the letters and resulting in a very clean design. 

Among other highlights we can mention the following:

• They are also known as Didona designs.

• Elegant design.

• Especially good to highlight headings or for creations that call for luxury.

• It can also be used for logos that emphasise a new, modern feel.

This font, however, is not optimised for small resolutions because it could create confusion due to the alternating strokes. For this purpose, it has a special typeface family, such as Bodoni Old Face and ITC Bodoni, for sizes 6 and 12.

3. Futura - the most popular one

Considered one of the most beautiful fonts that can appear in advertising. 

Sans Serif style, it was created in 1927 under the inspiration of designer Paul Renner from another font: Avenir. It was introduced by a foundation specialising in typography and used throughout most of the 20th century.

And you can tell that it's a commercial font, as advertisements of big car companies such as Opel or Ikea shops use it in their logos.

More than just one single font, Futura already has a large family of fonts (or bodies) and among other characteristics we can find:

• It has its foundation of creation in geometry, as its letters combine geometric shapes such as circles, triangles and perfect squares.

• It has been the inspiration for other fonts known today.

• It's easy to read, especially in texts of Western origin.

4. Frutiger

Continuing with the family of fonts that don't have endings (Sans Serif), we continue with the Frutiger font.

Its name comes from its creator, Adrian Frutiger, of Swiss origin and one of the most acclaimed typographers of the last century. It first appeared in 1976.

Its most important aspect is that it was created for all the indications or signs that would be placed in the new Paris air terminal, the famous Charles De Gaulle airport.

Its most outstanding aspects:

• No rounded or closed endings.

• In capital letters, the rounded letter strokes protrude slightly from the horizontal alignment, at the top and bottom.

• Thinner strokes in lower case and slightly thicker strokes in upper case.

• Improved style for reading at greater distances.

• Wide family of fonts and even typographies with symbols.

This font is now widely used in signage, as a corporate brand font and also for graphic design.

5. Garamond

It's the best known font in the world of typography, particularly as a style for printed books, being one of the representatives of the Serif typography (with terminals).

A roman typeface, it was created by the typographer Claude Garamond in the 16th century and is of French origin. It also owes its name to the surname of its creator and is one of the most influential fonts today.

In the 20th century, companies that were responsible for reproducing typography took many of the catalogues created by typographers who were Garamond's heirs. 

Its most up-to-date, digital version is from 1998. It allows companies that use it as a commercial font to convey messages in a traditional, more conservative style.

6. Helvetica - the best one for headlines

We've already seen with Arial one of the fonts derived from this typography. 

Helvetica is a Sans Serif font designed in 1957 and has its origin in Switzerland, in the so-called Haas Foundation. 

Just as this font was the inspiration for Arial, Helvetica comes from an earlier font, created in 1896, of German origin and called Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk.

In the 20th century, it was used as a style font for modernist trends, especially for the corporate identity of many companies at the time.

It's a font type that performs best in highlighting headings, thanks to a wide and uniform width, especially in capital letters. However, small sizes can make it difficult to read. 

7. Myriad

It's one of the best-known commercial fonts, especially for those who love Apple products. 

And yes, Myriad is the Apple font, their corporate identity. However, many institutions around the world also use it for the same purpose.

With a humanist cut and Sans Serif type, it was created and launched in the same year (1992), initially for Adobe Systems.

Its descriptive aspects make it stand out as a rounded, narrow and long font in terms of its height, which gives it a characteristic stylised look. 

In addition, it has a consistent stroke and no ornamentation at all.

Nowadays it has a large number of variations, reeditions and updates, which differ in particular in the strokes and glyphs, making it more suitable for graphic use on screens.

Did you know about all these aspects of commercial fonts?

We hope you increase your knowledge of commercial typography and the best fonts you can find for 2022. 

If you are going to create a campaign, evaluate the environment and the goals you need to achieve by mixing design and typography.

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