Judging from some of the emails and documents I see, I think many people really don't care what fonts they use. Some people have to move the furniture around frequently, and I find that I reach a point where I can't stand the font I use for most things, and have to change it. I get bored. The fonts chosen for websites, books, documents, email – all are an integral part of the way the information will be perceived. They help set a mood and feeling.
Years ago I loved Comic Sans and used it everywhere I could. I went through a Georgia phase, and for quite awhile used Trebuchet MS (still do for many things). But of late I've been drawn to Century Gothic, which has a much lighter feel than the name implies. I am definitely not a fan of Times New Roman.
When I first took classes in Photoshop Elements and we played around with design, I was amazed to discover the number of fonts available.
The Software Usability Research Lab at Wichita State University did a study on "Perception of Fonts: Perceived Personality Traits and Uses" to determine if certain personalities and uses are associated with various fonts. You can read it here.
I don't know that I agree with some of their findings, but I wonder what it says about me that the top results don't include my Century Gothic font favorite.
Jan, I'm with you. I get bored and have to change fonts too. Like you, I used to love Comic Sans and Trebuchet. I stuck with Arial (simple and clean) for many years, and recently changed to Calibri for a little more "personality."
My graphic designer chose Nightmares 6 for my business logo, etc. Awful name, awesome font!
Posted by: Kim Murray | Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 12:32 PM
Great font on your logo, Kim, and your website is very easy to navigate!
I also checked out Calibri (didn't know that one is in Word's list) and it reminds me a little bit of Trebuchet. It's nice to have so many choices!
Jan
Posted by: janbeasley | Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 12:48 PM