56 Text Design Fails That Might Make You Facepalm

Reading something shouldn't leave you feel like you've been flung around in a washing machine and then hung out to dry. But too often, designers get carried away when trying to get a message across. There are loads of ways typography can ruin an otherwise great design...

Perhaps it's a poor choice of font, or someone's attempt at playing Cupid with fonts that are simply incompatible. Then there are those who don't believe in the "less is more" rule, and try to cram as many words as possible into a small space.

"Typography that is difficult to read renders the message ineffective. Overly decorative fonts, poor colour contrast, or excessively small type sizes can all hinder readability," explains Melanie Downing, Creative Director/Owner of The Design Hive. "Prioritise clarity by choosing legible fonts and ensuring sufficient contrast between text and background. Avoid placing light-coloured text on busy or vibrant backgrounds, and stick to a minimum font size that is readable on all devices."

The experts over at U.K-based design studio, Infinity Creative agree. To them, "readability is Queen." As the site notes, you could have the world’s most powerful message… but if your audience can’t read it, it may as well be invisible ink.

The Infinity Creative team also cautions against what they call "Font Gluttony" or using too many fonts at the same time. Doing so can create visual overwhelm, inconsistency, confusion and pure chaos. "It makes your brand feel amateur rather than aligned," they explain.

It's best to stick to a core set of 3–4 fonts, say the experts. Using this rule would look something like this: A headline font that lets your brand personality shine, a clean, simple and legible font for the body of the text, and an optional accent font that you can use for special touches.

"Once you’ve picked your magic trio, use them consistently across your branding," advises the Infinity Creative site. "Think of them as your signature spell ingredients — repeat them in every potion (aka design) and your audience will start to [recognize] your vibe instantly."

You should always make sure the fonts you choose work well together. "Selecting fonts that clash in style or tone can confuse the audience and weaken the design’s cohesiveness," explains Downing. "For instance, combining a highly decorative script font with a bold geometric font may create unnecessary tension."

The trick is to select fonts with similar characteristics or complementary styles, they say.

If you've ever misread or struggled to read a sign or sentence because the letter-spacing was all whack, you might understand how important kerning is. That spacing between letters, characters or words often goes unnoticed when done right. But when done wrong it totally shows.

"Letters that are either crammed together like a panicked hug or spaced so far apart they feel like strangers at a networking event" is a cardinal sin when it comes to text design, warns the Infinity Creative crew.

The same applies to the spaces between lines. There's a fine line between too much and too little space.

"Tightly spaced lines of text, known as leading, can make reading strenuous, particularly in longer passages," says Downing. "When text lines are too close together, the reader’s eye has difficulty distinguishing where one line ends and the next begins."

The expert suggests adjusting the line spacing to create a more comfortable reading experience. She says that a general rule is to set leading at about 120–150% of the font size. However, Downing notes that this may vary depending on the font and context.