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Chapter 6

Typography as Voice

Your typeface speaks before your copy does. Errol Morris proved that fonts change whether people believe what they read — and most brands are whispering when they should be declaring.

94%
of first impressions are design-related
0.05s
for a visitor to form a visual opinion
credibility lift from type alone (Morris, 2012)

The Typography Voice Test

Five diagnostic tests that reveal whether your typefaces actually carry your brand voice — or work against it. Takes about 8 minutes.

What you'll need: the names of the fonts you use across your brand (heading, body, accent etc.) and a rough idea of the personality you want to project.

No account required. Results stay in your browser.

Tell us about your brand

We'll use these as the benchmark when scoring your typography choices.

What three words describe your brand personality?

Think about how you want people to feel when they see your brand. Be specific — "trustworthy" is more useful than "good".

Brand category

Your sector shapes which typeface conventions apply — what reads as "premium" in luxury can read as "cold" in food.

Font Inventory

List every typeface your brand uses. Include Google Fonts names exactly so we can render them live in the next test.

Scoring rule: 1–2 font families = strong discipline. 3 = acceptable. 4 or more = type chaos that confuses brand voice.
Heading font
+
Weight
Body font
+
Weight
Accent / Display (optional)
+
Weight
Navigation / UI (optional)
+
Weight
CTA / Button (optional)
+
Weight
Caption / Label (optional)
+
Weight

Personality Match

Each font is rendered in itself. Select the traits you perceive — we'll score alignment against your brand words.

Your brand words:

The Errol Morris Test

In 2012, filmmaker Errol Morris proved that the same sentence feels more credible in some fonts than others. Rate each font's credibility on a 1–5 scale.

The Baskerville effect: Morris found serif fonts — especially Baskerville — scored consistently higher on perceived truthfulness. Does your heading font maximise credibility?

Size Hierarchy

Enter the pixel sizes you use for each text level. We'll check whether your scale creates clear hierarchy and uses a rational ratio.

Ideal type scale: each step should be 1.2–1.5× the previous. Body text should be at least 16px for readability. H1 → H2 → H3 → Body → Caption in descending order.

Your type sizes (px)

Enter the values from your stylesheet or design system. Leave fields blank if you don't use that level.

H1
H2
H3
Body
Caption

Cross-Platform Consistency

For each channel your brand uses, tell us whether you're using the same fonts, similar alternatives, or entirely different typefaces.

Consistency is credibility. Every time a customer encounters a different typographic voice, trust erodes. Brand recall drops 38% when visual language is inconsistent across channels.
WebsiteDesktop & mobile
InstagramFeed & stories
LinkedInPosts & company page
EmailNewsletters & campaigns
PrintBrochures, packaging, ads
PresentationsPitch decks & slides

Answer all platforms before continuing (use N/A if not applicable).

Typography as Voice

Your Typography Score

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