Each font has its own personality!

Aevyer by Gustav Nordebrink.

Emotions play a big role in so many aspects of our lives. From the things we collect to the things we throw away, we all have emotions attached. Even in the way we write, the way we use words, and the way we use language, we all express some emotion. Today we will discuss how changing fonts can affect our emotions.

One of the largest distributors of commercial fonts, MyFonts, claims there are roughly 130,000 fonts available. This claim does not appear to have custom fonts that are made specifically for a company or brand.

No matter what the numbers are, the emotion evoked and associated with various fonts will always be present. The following are three examples of how fonts affect us.

The example will be created using the Canva tool by

Canva Team

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1. Happy Valentin’s Day

Imagine the doorbell ringing on Valentine’s Day. You see, someone has left a letter at your doorstep. When you open it to read it, it looks like this:

Font used Brittany and Lovely. The author created this design in Canva.

You’ll feel ecstasy looking at this, won’t you? Your mood will be lifted by elation, love, and overall happy emotions. Awww, how romantic!

Now, the scenario is the same as when you opened this letter, which is:

Font used Charu Chandan Blood Drip. The author created this design in Canva.

Do you experience the same feeling of love as you did earlier? Alternatively, you start out feeling anxious and afraid.

Both scenarios convey the same message: You will always be mine. Happy Valentine’s Day! Even though the message is the same, the font changes the feeling, right?

2. Georgia Southern University Graduate Certificate

The University’s degree certification is familiar to those who have completed a bachelor’s degree. The picture below shows the Georgia Southern University Graduate Certificate in a frame.

Georgia Southern Univeristy degree graduation frame. Image from Diploma Frame.

Let’s take a moment to think about the things you have sacrificed: parties, family time, etc. Having spent quite hefty amounts of your parents’ money on tuition and lifestyle, staying up countless hours to complete assignments, finally you earned your Bachelor’s degree. Then you received your graduation certificate, which looks like this:

Georgia Southern University degree graduation frame with fonts DM Shining Star. The author created this design in Canva.

How angry and frustrated will you be? The WOW-ness of graduating won’t be the same, right?

Despite all your arduous work, certificates left you feeling unbold and unbrave. To me, it makes me feel like a 5 year old professor’s kid is responsible.

Now, let’s change the feeling entirely.

Georgia Southern University degree graduation frame with Charu Chandan Blood Drip fonr. The author created this design in Canva.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this is quite scary, right?

Furthermore, if you add some color, the emotion completely changes.

Georgia Southern University degree graduation frame with DM Shining Star font and red color. The author created this design in Canva.

All the scenarios convey the same message: You have completed your bachelor’s degree, and here is proof. However, when the font (and color) are changed, we get a completely different impression(emotion).

3. iPhone 14 Pro

Apple unveiled its iPhone 14 Pro recently, and if you go to their website, you get a sense of its bold and powerful design.

A screenshot from Apple’s website using the original SF Pro Text font. The author created this mockup in Canva.

Now let’s change the feelings.

Snapshot of apple website with EFCO Brookshire font. The author created this mockup in Canva.

If you change the font, do you get the same emotional hit as the original? For me, it feels like I am about to purchase a vintage iPhone 14 pro.

As I mentioned before, I am not a font expert and I have no solid knowledge of the psychological behavior associated with fonts. However, this is a post about how changing the fonts affects how I feel, and I am quite sure the same happens to you as well.

Takeaway

Each font influences our emotions when we relate it to our design, and each font connects us emotionally to the information it’s meant to convey. Therefore, you need to choose your fonts carefully and according to context because it affects the emotions of your audience.