What the Font?

WTF took on a whole new meaning in the studio this week when I was “art directed” by several clients who requested certain fonts be used in their projects. See below for examples of their choices for headline, italic, and kiddo fonts along with my alternate suggestions:

Though I implicitly follow client guidelines when specific fonts are part of a corporate identity, I cringe when a client chooses a font simply because it’s in the default pull-down menu of Microsoft Word on their PC. Well, first I oblige. Then I cringe.

Everyone benefits if a client tells me their aesthetic goal and out of my library of thousands of unique fonts, I can make the best professional recommendation. I feel less constrained and even though the differences in fonts styles may be subtle, the end result will be a piece customized to each client. It’s a win-win. And I always want my clients to feel like winners!