

Why? Because like it or not, people associate different emotions and feelings with every font.

The main purpose of the design is to connect with the audience, and fonts play a role in creating that connection. When designers choose a font for any project, the first thing they consider is their audience. While font psychology is used primarily in design (like creating a logo, an advertisement, or movie poster), understanding font psychology can help you choose the right font for your resume. While it’s not a formal college major (yet!), font psychology is the “study” of how fonts can impact our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. That said, you’re likely to see them on a poster or in a graphic that’s meant to get your attention, but not necessarily keep your attention. They are unusual and are generally not used in everyday writing. Decorative Fontsĭecorative fonts are used to get your attention. They look like handwriting or even fancy calligraphy you might find on a formal invitation. That’s why you’re more likely to see sans-serif fonts online and on-screen than anywhere else. The literal translation of “sans-serif” is “without serif.” Which means “these fonts don’t have feet.” Sans-serif fonts are considered more modern than serif fonts, thanks to their streamlined (no feet) look.īecause serifs (specifically the “feet”) are small and thin, they don’t display well on screen. Supposedly, serif fonts make long print passages easier to read because the serifs help your eyes move along the text. That “something” can be described as “feet” or “lines.” These fonts are generally considered “traditional” or “serious.” Serif fonts have something coming off the ends of their letters. There are four font types, and each font falls into one of the four types (categories). However, there aren’t a zillion types of font, only a zillion fonts. And, if you can’t find a font you like, you can download about a zillion more online! You can choose curly, fancy, boring, or plain fonts. If you’ve ever played with any word processing program, you know there are tons of fonts out there. As odd as this sounds, there is a whole psychology behind choosing fonts because the font you choose impacts how humans and machines read and interpret your resume. (We’re looking at you, Comic Sans.)Ĭhoosing a font is more than just picking something that “looks nice” or is the default font of whatever program you use to type your resume.

But a poorly chosen resume font can make or break your chances of being taken seriously as a job seeker. After you’ve gone through the tedious task of carefully compiling your resume and your cover letter, you get to the fun task of figuring out which font should display all of your amazing skills and work experiences.
