I decided to sample multiple different fonts to see which one(s) appear(s) more effective than others. I picked the word 'Soundcheck' to be the sample word to test the fonts with. Even if one font does not work well for one specific feature of the magazine, it may work well elsewhere. For example, one font may not be effective enough for the masthead or article title, but may work well for the sell lines or strapline.
This first choice is written in the font Cambria. This font appears very basic and similar to traditional fonts such as Times New Roman. Due to this, it would not stand out amongst other publications if this font was used for the masthead/sell lines/article titles etc. Because I still believe that this font is simplistic and easy to read, this font is a possible candidate for the font I could use for the main body of the article.
This font is Times New Roman. The font is well known for being basic and simplistic, yet being formal and professional. This font would be a good one to use for my magazine because of these two factors, however I believe this font is too formal, and brings no/little life to any publication. This may be used in the 'Advertisement' on the contents page, but not for any masthead/sell line/article body etc.
This font is 'Avenir Black'. This font appears very basic and is written in sans-serif. The font is very bold and stands out on the page, yet it still appears too basic and I do not think it would work very effectively as a font for a masthead, article title or main body text. This font, however, is a possibility for the strapline underneath the title. It would not be the main focus for the readers of the article but would still stand out enough to let the reader know that this piece of additional information is worth reading.
This font is 'Avenir Next Condensed Medium'. This font is very basic, and very similar to fonts such as 'Arial Narrow'. It is also sans-serif, but (unlike the previous font) is not bold, and is instead narrow. This makes it a strong possibility for the font I use for the main body of the article too. Because it is sans-serif, it will be easier to read. Since the font itself is quite a nice-looking font, yet equally professional-looking, this may be a good font to use whenever I am undecided on a definite font to use. I am fairly sure I will be using this font for the main body text at least.
This font is 'Copperplate Gothic Bold'. In my opinion, I believe that this font is good for titles etc. however looks rather unprofessional due to the fact that it is completely in block capitals and also features a serif-style design that, as discussed previously, detracts from the otherwise professional look of a magazine. Furthermore, the typeface appears slightly stretched, and too wide to achieve the overall look of the magazine, with the publication aiming for a design which features lots of information in a relatively confined space.
This font is 'Chalkduster'. This font is very rough, but casual at the same time. It does not aim to be 100% formal, which causes it to stand out from other fonts such as the one above. This may be a good option to pick should I wish to feature a rougher artist, perhaps on the contents page. The font is light-hearted but generates a rough, darker texture than aforementioned fonts, making it a sensible option for the magazine, as the artists featured in the magazine are supposed to be intimidating to the competition.
This font is 'Franklin Gothic Medium'. This font, in my opinion, is a very nice font. It is very formal, making it a strong candidate for the font which I use in the main body of text. The only downside to the font is the fact that it may be too formal, and the text will not be enjoyable to read. Many of the fonts which are used for the main body of text include serifs on them. While it is true that sans-serif fonts are easier to read, it would boost the overall professional look of the magazine if the convention of the serif article text was included.
This font is 'Didot'. This font is very similar to Times New Roman and Cambria, yet the larger, more obvious serifs cause this one to stand out more compared to them. The serifs are more apparent, yet do not detract from the simplicity of this font. While I do not think that it causes the font to stand out enough that it would be a good font to use for sell lines/article titles etc. it may be an option for the main article body text. This way, the article text would not stand out too much, but would stand out just enough to give the article some interest.
This font is 'Marker Felt'. This font is a very powerful font, and is very bold. This would be a good font to use for the advertisement. It is not as powerful as 'Avenir Black', mentioned above, which means not entirely all of the focus will be drawn to the advertisement, but enough so that it is acknowledged. The font is very casual and should not be taken seriously, which is the reason why it would be used for a more informal part of the magazine such as the advertisement, rather than more serious parts such as the contents page or the articles themselves.
This font is 'Trajan Pro'. This font may be a good font to use for the masthead. It is powerful and effective, however comparatively simplistic. The font is entirely in capitals, which may work for the masthead and article title, however is not likely to work if placed anywhere else within the magazine. Overall, I feel that this font may be a suitable font to use, however if I were to use it, I would use it in very few instances, such as the masthead and possibly article titles.
This font is 'Chalkboard'. This is one of the most informal fonts I have tested so far. This font is not very suitable for a main article body text, due to the fact it is very child-like, which also limits it's likelihood of appearing in other places of the magazine. The font may be a good font to use in the advertisement on the contents page and possibly for the page numbers within the contents page images, however not a lot of other places.
This font is 'Imprint MT Shadow'. At first glance, I do not think that this font goes particularly well with the term 'Soundcheck', and therefore would not do well if it were to be placed as the font used for the masthead. It uses a lot of serifs in its typeface, which also reduces it's chances of being used too frequently within the magazine. It's too bold and too heavily serifed to be used as a main body article text, and would cause the overall look of the magazine to be unprofessional.
This font is 'Monaco'. Out of all the fonts which I have sampled so far, this one is possibly my least favourite of them all. It is sans-serif, which instantly reduces its chances of appearing in many key locations of the magazine. The only location which may be suitable for such a simplistic and uninteresting font may be the page references within the contents page images. The font is also very stretched and feature fairly large gaps between each letter.
This font is 'Apple Gothic'. This font is also very simplistic and is sans-serif. Unlike the last font, the letters are spaced closer together, which produces a more concise, compressed feel to the magazine which I hoped to achieve. The font is also quite large, with each letter being particularly curved/straight. A letter is either very curvy or very straight, emphasising the font as a whole. The font is also less bold than the previous font, increasing it's simplicity. Combined with the shape of each letter, the simplicity cause this font to be one of my favourites which I could use for various different texts such as the strapline, sell lines, article title and possibly even main body text.
This font is 'American Typewriter'. As the name suggests, this font is modelled on a typewriter-style typeface. This font is not very bold. The simplicity of this font, the serifs and the lack of emphasis would mean that this font would not be a good choice to pick for the texts that require more emphasis, such as sell lines, main sell lines, article titles etc. The only text style which this font may be suitable for would be the main article body text, however even then the typewriter similarities may be off-putting to some readers. Perhaps this font would be a good font to use for a pull quote or strapline.
This font is 'Oriya MN'. In my opinion, this is my favourite font which I have chosen so far. It is simplistic yet effective at the same time, due to the fact that its thickness differs at different places within the font. This means that the font is not too emphatic, but still powerful enough to cause some effect. In all capitals, I believe that this font would be the perfect font to use for the masthead of the magazine. I could modify the text slightly using Adobe Photoshop so that it stand out even further or has a certain outstanding feature to it rather than merely plain text.
This font is 'Futura'. Like previous fonts I have sampled, this one also appears very basic and uninteresting. It is sans-serif, which makes it easier to read, however has no appealing features to it other than its simplicity and strong font style. This may be a possible option for the sell lines, but this font is not as powerful as other fonts which I have considered to use for the sell lines, and I will most likely use others instead, saving this font as a last resort.
This font is 'Rockwell'. This is fairly similar to the 'American Typewriter' style font in the sense that the letters are spaced apart more than I would like, and I would like my magazine's font style to be compressed, effective and not too plain. This font achieves none of these characteristics and would, in my opinion, look out-of-place and unprofessional when compared to the rest of my magazine.
This font is 'Engravers MT'. This font is a strong contender for the font that I will use for my masthead due to the fact that it is entirely in capitals, which would cause it to stand out. It is heavily serifed, which is excusable for the masthead design. This font would work well as a larger font, and not as a smaller one placed as main body font or strapline font. In my opinion, this font does not look powerful enough to be used as a main sell line, or any sell line in general, and would work better as a large, one-off font such as the masthead or the title of the articles.
This font is 'Kino MT'. This is a font which stood out to me because of its unique design and its simplistic design. It is a typeface which is able to remain fairly minimalistic and simple whilst still being able to be 'unique' and provide a certain original edge to my magazine. Because the typeface is relatively condensed, I believe that it would not work well as a masthead or article title; and, because of it's unique typeface it would also not work very well as a main body article text. Because of this, I believe this font would be optimal to be used for an article strapline.
This font is 'Avenir Next Condensed' with a 'Heavy Italic' style added to it. This font is perfect for sell lines/main sell lines due to the perfect mixture of both simplicity and effectiveness. The bold and italics cause the font to stand out on a page, yet the sans-serif and basic design keep it simplistic. This would ensure that the font is not too overpowering but powerful enough to leave a lasting impression on the reader. If the background is dark, a white typeface with a black stroke effect would show the emphasis of the font, yet still enable it to stand out compared to the background.
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