Best Professional Fonts For Logos, Website, And Resume in 2023
The font has a very important role in pretty much every place where texts are used. Here are some of the best professional fonts for logos, websites, and resumes.
The fonts that we use in our work have a psychological effect on how people perceive and understand the work. This is why deep thought is needed before selecting the fonts for your logos, website, resume, or anything you create from the list of best professional fonts available in the market.
Professional doesn’t mean boring by any means, so let’s find out what echoes the perception of professionalism in various aspects.
Basic Font Psychology
Before we head on to the main discussion of the best professional fonts for various purposes let’s get to know some basics about how our minds perceive and process fonts.
The moment we see a font the three main aspects of our brain processes would be weight, spacing, and size. The weight of the font is the thickness of the font. The spacing is how far apart the letters are spaced. The size of a font is pretty much self-explanatory. Now that we are clear with the terms let’s see how our brain associates fonts with these traits.
Weight
Light fonts are associated with beauty and femininity. This is why we could see such designs in beauty products like Olay, Glow & Lovely, etc. Whereas heavier fonts are associated with boldness and masculinity which can be observed in brands like Harley Davidson.
Spacing
When logos use fonts that are separated with a lot of spacing, then our brain relates to emotions like individuality, spaciousness, and relaxation. But at the same time if the font is connected, then the brain associates the logo with feelings of unity, a sense of family, precision, and so on. This is how the spacing comes into effect in the best professional fonts.
Size
The size of the font is also crucial and so when a tall font is used by a brand, then the person seeing it associates the brand with aspiration or the want to achieve. At the same time if the font size is small and heavy and then our brain might perceive it as stable. Obviously, these are just basic comparisons and if you want to know things deeper about font psychology then make sure you read this article.
Context
The nail that holds all of this knowledge together in its implementation is the context where we use it. The brain makes such judgments and immediately searches for the context. So if you are using a thin font to depict how meaty your new burger is, then it does not make any sense and comes off as a poor choice. So make sure to use the right font in the right context. If not there will be no point in selecting the best professional fonts for any of your work.
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Best Professional Fonts for Logos:
A logo of a brand says a lot about what they are about, their style, approach, and so on. Top companies have the best professional fonts at their disposal. Some companies even have the resources to create a new font but still, resort to using existing fonts. Let’s take a look at the most used categories of best professional fonts by companies.
Sans Serif Fonts
The first Sans Serif typeface was developed by William Caslon IV of England in 1816. Though it did not earn immediate popularity San Serif fonts started getting popular with the rise of modernism due to their minimal approach. The name itself explains its minimal nature as the word ‘serif’ means a small projection finishing off a stroke in the letter which makes a font decorative. The word ‘sans’ means without, and so the decorative approach is avoided here. Let’s take a look at a few examples to understand why Sans Serif is one of the best professional fonts out there.
Helvetica
Believe it or not, the typeface Helvetica has a documentary film running 80 minutes about it. Helvetica is one of the best professional fonts used by a variety of leading companies such as Jeep, Harley Davidson, Microsoft, American Apparel, Oral B, and so on.
Obviously, each brand would have made some tweaks to the original design. But still, the point to be noted here is that the brands using this font do not belong to a single category. For example, we have ‘Jeep’ which is an automobile company and we have ‘Microsoft’ which is a tech-based company.
The reason why it fits across various categories is that it is very legible which is important to any logo. It is clear and bold but the major reason for its success is believed to be its neutrality. This makes it possible for the font to be relevant and suitable in various contexts which is suitable for each brand.
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Univers
Another font universally used by many types of brands is Univers. Unlike Helvetica, Univers is universal not because of its neutral nature but rather due to the way it was created. Frutiger designed this font and was not a very big fan of purely geometric fonts. Thus a visual sensitivity between the thick and thin lines is created which gives a lot of nuanced meaning to the logos based on the usage.
eBay uses Univers in lowercase and is suitable for an online shopping brand’s logo. At the same time, Univers is used in uppercase for ‘Western Union’ but is still able to match the brand it represents. Another parallel to this example can be the logos of ‘UNICEF; and ‘Harman’. This unique nature makes Univers one of the best professional fonts which are versatile.
I used these examples to highlight certain aspects of Sans Serif font and logo design in general. It is clear to understand now that Sans Serif fonts create a psychological effect of being modern, progressive, clean, and in turn making the people associate feelings like honesty and sensibility for the brand itself.
If your brand is looking to portray such emotions then other Sans Serif fonts to consider would be Futura, Myriad, Aileron, Glober, Krona One, and Exo which are a few of the best professional fonts available.
Serif Fonts
We already saw what the word Serif stands for and so it is clear that it is a decorative type font. Serif fonts are usually used when the brand is needed to stand out from the crowd. Though the origin of these fonts has citations to the 15th century, Firmin Didot and Giambattista Bodoni created Bodoni and Didot fonts in the 18th century which have become very popular.
Bodoni
We just discussed the difference in thick and thin lines used in a font and Bodoni takes that concept to extreme levels to create a bold statement wherever it is used.
Bodoni is used by brands like Vogue and Calvin Klein. It is a font that can be used to make a bold fashion statement due to the dramatic representation it brings with its design.
Didot
Didot is very similar to Bodoni font and it makes use of the variation of thick and thin lines but in addition to that, it also establishes a sense of luxury with its design. It was even rated as the most expensive font by the audience.
Didot is used in famous brands like Giorgio Armani and Zara. Remember when I said professional does not mean boring? This is the pure definition of that as these two fonts create so much drama with their designs.
Serif fonts tend to create a feeling of authority and grandeur that makes them one of the best professional fonts for fashion. Apart from that, the other psychological effect Serif fonts create is the feeling of trust due to its heritage design that makes the brand seem to be established and respected.
If you feel Serif fonts would be a great match for your brand, then the few best professional fonts you should consider under the Serif category are Garamond, Walk On, Hermann, Recoleta, Blacker, and Gabriela Stencil.
Script Fonts
There is still one more Serif type to be seen but let’s take a break and take a look at something fresh for a change. Script fonts that are inspired by the fluid strokes of handwriting capture the beauty of calligraphy. Let’s focus on a few examples, but this time let’s focus on the brands and their logos.
Elegance and Sophistication
Cadillac and Ford use script-based fonts for their logos and the feeling they evoke is pure elegance. On any given day if you look at a Cadillac you would be able to feel the elegance in their vehicles and their logo clearly echoes that elegance with the help of script fonts. Apart from the elegance the font style also screams sophistication.
Feminism and Care
Barbie is one brand that clearly uses a script design for their logo and we can clearly see how aptly it matches with the feminist style of their brand. Johnson & Johnson also uses a similar style for their logo and it conveys the feeling of special care which is closely associated with what babies need, ‘care’. Since it feels like it’s handwritten, it gives us the feeling that the product is also made with a personal touch and care.
Food Products
By now all of us would have heard about how Cadbury spent over 1 million euros (Source: Republic World) to rebrand their logo. The new logo was almost identical to the old one with a few exceptions. It almost seemed like Cadbury did not want to alienate their base with a total revamp and kept it simple. Another food product that has a script-based font is Coco-Cola. Script fonts are believed to be associated with the feeling of youth and amusement which works well for any products that are targeted for children like Cadbury and soft drinks like Coco-Cola.
So if you are a brand that would like to represent any of the above-mentioned emotions then script-based fonts would be your way to go. So basically script fonts are used to emote feelings like elegance, personal attachment, or even creativity. Brands like Instagram use a script-based font in their name. Pinterest used to have a script-based font but it was recently changed. This is because the handwritten feel connects our thoughts with doodling and from there to creativity.
Slab Serif Fonts
Given the fact that we have already seen Serif fonts, you would have a good idea about Slab Serif fonts. Yes, you guessed it right. Slab Serif fonts are serif type fonts that are heavy by design (i.e) they are thick. This type of font rose to fame in the 19th century when printed advertisements grew rapidly.
Claredon Bold
Volvo makes use of the Slab Serif font type Claredon Bold which has a very heavy design. This is used to establish emotions such as confidence and solidity which can be related to the brand. Honda is another automotive company that used Slab Serif font type to establish such a point.
ITC Lubalin Graph
It is believed that Slab Serif can be a good choice when your brand is looking to create an impact in the market with their new idea or a product like how IBM did. This design is believed to convey a lot of energy due to its serifs that have a lot of intensity compared to the usual.
What makes Slab Serif fonts one of the best professional fonts is that they can be used with full confidence when a bold new statement has to be made. For example, take a look at the I Love New York logo created by Milton Glaser. It was created to promote tourism in New York. It carried the attitude the statement needed and it became a huge phenomenon. Now it is so famous that we can see similar signs in our neighborhood.
The absence of delicacy from the Serif fonts makes the Salb Serif fonts very macho. So they are often used by Electronic companies like Sony and automotive companies like how we saw earlier. A few of the Slab Serif fonts that you can try are Baltica, Rockwell, Campfire, Empires, Blondie, and more that you can check here.
Display and Decorative Fonts
We already saw Serif fonts to be the decorative type and saw Slab Serif be the bolder and heavier version of it. But what if we take it a notch higher? Then we get the Display and Decorative Fonts which can be used in their own unique ways.
These fonts are all highly customizable and so mostly unique from each other. So each brand makes enough changes to represent the personality of their business in their logo.
A few brands that use such fonts in their logos are Disney, Fanta, McDonald’s, Lego, and so on. The one common element in these highly different logos is that they are all typography-based designs. The display fonts are one of the best professional fonts not just for logos, but also for posters, billboards, etc. Here’s a list of options including fonts like Bourton, Jokerman, Gigi that you can use if you are interested.
Taglines
We’re not yet done with logos as many tend to have a tagline somewhere next to them. McDonald’s, the recent example that was used too has a tagline that says ‘I’m lovin’ it’. The important point to notice is that the font used for that will be very different from the font used for the logo. This is to make sure that both do not blend making it all bland or the tagline getting unnoticed. It is vital to choose another font that would go well with the logo font but still stay distinct visually for the tagline.
Best Professional Fonts for Website
We have seen so many interesting fonts that one could use in different circumstances and not just in logos. So now let’s move on to the next topic of the best professional fonts for websites.
We had so many factors to consider when it came to fonts for logos. Likewise, when it comes to websites the audience who are targeted matters. So if your website is targeting a female audience then appropriate fonts can be chosen. If your website is targeting a younger audience then a selection can be made accordingly.
One key factor to keep in mind irrespective of the target audience is the readability of the font. Since websites are read on various screens by the users in the digital format, San Serif fonts are preferred. Also do not include too many varieties of fonts throughout the article. Instead have a maximum of three font designs for the headline, subheadings, and content respectively. The same goes for the font color and font size.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 best professional fonts for your websites in no particular order
1) Oswald
Oswald font has a simple and sophisticated look to it that makes it one of the best professional fonts. It can be used in websites focusing on business or any topic for that matter. This font is named after its creator Oswald Bruce Cooper.
2) Roboto
Roboto is a font created specifically for android devices by Google. Hence it is a very readable font on digital screens. Like many other fonts, Roboto also has a lot of variants which provides a lot of options and remains a good choice.
3) Open Sans
Open Sans is one of the best professional fonts you could use because of its ability to showcase reliability and quality by its design. Those are two qualities any person running a business or service would want their customer feeling. It is also said to blend well with fonts like Raleway, Montserrat, Lato, etc.
4) Montserrat
Montserrat is a geometric Sans Serif type font that was designed by an Argentina designer named Julieta Ulanovsky. Julieta was inspired by signage of the same name in her neighborhood (Buenos Aires). This font is said to be very effective among the youth demographic.
5) Merriweather
Merriweather is another font that was designed especially for being used on digital screens. It is designed in a way that even when the font size is reduced considerably, it remains readable. It would be a good option to use for sites targeting mobile device users.
6) Libre Baskerville
Libre Baskerville is a font that has specifically been optimized for usage in the body (content) of a website. If you’re writing on topics that require readers to trust your words, then this is said to be very effective.
7) Playfair Display
Playfair Display provides a very modern look to the websites that use it. It is also said to work great with articles focusing on the female demographic as an audience. If you’re looking to use Playfair Display for your titles and headlines then Georgia font is believed to blend well along with it when used as the body font.
8) Lato
Lato is a font that will suit well with business-related work as it has a very professional look. If you are creating content for real estate or tourism, then this would be the best choice as Lato font looks very elegant next to images of landscapes.
9) Arvo
Arvo font is very versatile in nature as it has both the classical and modern variants that can be used. For this reason, Arvo becomes the obvious choice across many industries.
10) Helvetica
Helvetica makes the list yet again and it remains one of the best professional fonts for any purpose due to its neutrality. Hence Helvetica is one the most popular and widely appreciated fonts one can use.
Here are a few honorable mentions as the top 10 were just my preferences. Many could have a different taste when it comes to formating their websites. So here we go, Dosis & Exo for their ability to fit well with tech-based content because of its futuristic look, Quicksand for its appeal among the younger audience, Poppins as it is a popular choice among web developers, Tisa for its readability, and Alegreya for its calligraphic touch.
Best Professional Fonts for Resume
Moving on to our last topic, the best professional fonts to use in a Resume. Resumes have really evolved over the past few years and are no longer boring. Just like how there is WordPress to develop good-looking content for your websites, we can use platforms like Canva to create a great resume with the fonts that match and go along with the design. If you feel like you do not want to use a template or be generic then definitely you can always use your own creativity when it comes to making your resume. Check out this article for a complete guide on creating a good resume.
There are obviously a few factors to keep in mind when creating a resume. Font size is important and one should not try to cramp in too much information compromising on readability. Try to maintain the size at 10 or 12 as they are the preferred values. The font we use depends on the type of job you are applying for.
If you are a fashion designer then using Didot or Bodoni in your resume would be a good choice. The Garamond font will suit your resume if you are applying for a designer or creative role. If you are applying for a corporate job then Lato would capture the essence perfectly.
The Trebuchet MS or Garamond would be a good option for artists. Verdana would be a good option if you have too much content in your resume to fit in. Some conventional fonts you could try are Calibri, Georgia, Helvetica, Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri. These fonts would fit well across many domains.
Conclusion
The most important thing to keep in mind is that it’s not only about the font used in a resume that would make your resume effective. Likewise, the logo and web content also do not just become good because of a good font selection. From these options of best professional fonts across all categories, your decision is just like adding a topping to your work that should already be great. So with that said stay creative and keep creating the best content that one can see on the internet.
