Fonts

Fonts

The following are some good rules to apply when working with fonts.

Mix Case Font Upper Case Font Typeface Size Consistency

Use mix case Font:

Control captions.
Data
Control choice descriptions.
Text.
Messages.
Menu descriptions.
Button Descriptions.

Use upper case Font:

Title.
Section Headings.
Subsection headings.

Typeface:

Use simple, readable fonts such as any sans serif or Times Roman
Use no more than two families, compatible in terms of line thickness, capital letter height, etc.
Assign a separate purpose to each family.
Allow one family to dominate.
Use no more than two styles of the same family and no more than two weights.
Use bold only when you want to call attention or create a hierarchy.

Size:

Use no more than three sizes.
Many systems use 12 point for menus and 10 point for windows.
Never change established type sizes to squeeze in more text.

Consistency:

Establish a consistent hierarchy and convention for using typefaces, styles, and sizes.
Use standard system fonts to achieve consistency.