Your Neue Best Friend
You are fucking up.
I know it, you know it, your teachers know it, your friends know it, and if somehow you have clients, your clients know it. You’re still trying to be special, creative, and different.
Do all that, but make it legible for God’s sake! And make it beautiful. It’s truly not that hard.
Just stop overthinking it.
While it can be tempting to opt for “funky”, trendy fonts in an attempt to stand out, this approach can often lead to a cluttered design that muddles your message and makes you look like a jackass.
Here’s your new mantra, ok?
When in doubt, go Grotesk.
Use this font. Neue Haas Grotesk.
It’s insanely versatile and ridiculously capable of accommodating whatever you’re designing. I promise. It's a typeface that doesn't scream for attention. Instead, if used with restraint, it shows you know what you’re doing. Even if you don’t.
Neue Haas Grotesk has 16 weights. Bold, italic, regular, hairline, light, and a shit ton more. This means you can create infinite stylistic combinations of weight and point size.
Theoretically, you could use this single family of fonts for all your designs and consistently produce clean, aesthetically pleasing work.
Now, you’re not gonna use this singular typeface for every project for your entire design career, but for crying out loud.. for now.. make it your default.
Think of it as Helvetica, but better. Warmer. Slightly less pretentious (not by much). Just better.
Helvetica might be the poster child for versatile, clean typefaces, but Neue Haas Grotesk takes that reputation and elevates it.
And here's a little secret for those of you who absolutely insist on being different. Take a look at Neue Montreal by Pangram Pangram.
This typeface is everything you love about Neue Haas but cut for the cool kids (like you) who need to be just a little different.
Next time you find yourself searching through all your “cool fonts,”, remember your new mantra.
You'll be making a decision that safeguards your design's clarity, enhances its aesthetics, and ultimately, amplifies your message, all while keeping you from looking like a complete dilettante.
dilettante.
[ dil-i-tahnt, dil-i-tahnt, -tahn-tey, -tan-tee ]
noun, plural dil·et·tantes, dil·et·tan·ti
1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
2. a lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.
