Have you ever thought a font looked “friendly” or “fancy”? Or did you feel that Comic Sans was somehow unserious? You’re not imagining it.
Fonts have personality, and we react to them more than we think. My work explores how the shape of letters can subtly influence our feelings.
When we read, we don’t just process the words. We also assimilate typography, which can influence how we interpret a message and even what we think of the person who wrote it.
Researchers demonstrated this in a 2018 study using simulated text conversations. They presented participants with an ambiguous message (e.g., “That’s what I do”) and modified the typography. A happy font seemed to encourage readers to interpret the message positively, while a harsher one led to a more negative reading.
A similar pattern is observed in email communication. In a 2014 study, the same email sent in Times New Roman made the sender seem formal and professional, while the more playful font, Kristen ITC, made it seem more polite and even more attractive. Just as a voice defines the tone of a conversation, a typeface defines the tone of the page.
Research also shows that we process words more quickly when the font matches our intended meaning. In an experiment published in 1989, people recognized the word “slow” more quickly when it appeared in Cooper Black, a typeface associated with heaviness and slowness, but took longer when the same word was displayed in Palatino Italic, which conveys lightness and speed.
A 2021 study found a similar priming effect in brand logos. After seeing a logo with a specific font, participants more quickly identified words that matched the qualities suggested by that design. When the style of the letter aligns with the message, our brains seem to function more efficiently.
But how is it possible to deduce the meaning of fonts?
The answer is a combination of factors. Some qualities are intrinsic to the physical characteristics of typography. Thick, straight lines indicate robustness, while curves tend to be softer or more accessible. Some associations may even have evolutionary roots.
Various studies have shown that people reliably link curved shapes with positivity and angular shapes with threat or negativity. A 2016 review of this research traces this pattern to survival mechanisms.
Sharp, angular shapes in the environment can indicate danger, so our visual system has evolved to detect and prioritize them quickly. This bias also seems to extend to our perception of typefaces, making angular fonts seem harsher or more alarming, while curved ones seem warmer and more pleasant.
Other typographic personalities were shaped by history and use. Take Times New Roman, originally designed in the 1930s for the British newspaper The Times. Over time, its connection to journalism has deepened, making Times New Roman synonymous with professionalism and formality today.
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The influence of fonts becomes even more evident when it is chosen poorly. An example is CERN, the European organization for nuclear research, which in 2012 used the Comic Sans font to announce the discovery of the Higgs boson (also called the “God particle”).
The decision generated widespread criticism, as the Comic Sans font is generally considered playful and informal, something unbecoming of one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time.
Those who work in design, communication and marketing are well aware of this phenomenon and use it deliberately. Think about the last time you bought a product whose box was not visible. What convinced you if the product itself was not visible? Probably the packaging.
Designers choose fonts and images that convey the qualities they think you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for screws for a DIY project, you’re more likely to rely on packaging with thick, bold lettering that demonstrates strength and sturdiness. If you choose a perfume to give as a gift, a delicate, flowery font could suggest elegance and femininity even before you smell it.
In a 2006 study, people were shown a range of fonts and asked where they felt most appropriate.
Serif fonts such as Times New Roman and Cambria, recognizable by their small trailing strokes, were considered best suited for business documents. Monospaced typefaces such as Courier New, in which each character occupies the same space, were considered more suitable for technical materials and computer code.
This article is set in Baskerville, and it is no coincidence. Baskerville, like Goudy Old Style and other classic typefaces, is often considered professional, reliable and high quality. These are the qualities that The Conversation seeks to convey to its readers. The same principle applies to any professionally designed website. Each font has been chosen to create the right impression.
Fonts can also shape our musical experience. An album cover with rounded letters, for example, can make music more enjoyable. Designers also adapt typefaces to the genre: playful, curved fonts appear on hippie music covers, conveying joy and peace, while sharp, angular lettering is common on punk albums, indicating anger and aggression.
Sometimes we don’t know exactly why a font conveys a certain feeling. In a 2023 article, I reviewed studies from the last century that asked people to rate how they perceived different typefaces.
This extensive data collection revealed some surprising patterns. For example, condensed typefaces, which have letters close together, tend to convey a feeling of sadness more than other typefaces.
Thick lines reliably indicated strength, but the opposite was not true: thin lines were not consistently judged as weak. Instead, perceptions of weakness were more strongly associated with irregular strokes and high contrast, common characteristics in fonts that resemble handwriting.
Why do they do that? I’m afraid I don’t have the answer. The next time you pick up a book, browse a web page, or look at a label, look at the source. Those subtle lines and curves do more than you think, subtly shaping your experience.
*Andrea Piovesan is a Professor of Psychology at Edge Hill University.
This text was originally published in The Conversation
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