Typophile

Complimentary Font

infrared

Hi,

complete newbie to the site - my first post in fact ;o) Stumbled across it while looking for a solution to a problem which you may be able to help me with - yes you!

OK, I'm redesigning my company logo, after years of freelancing in my spare time I decided to take the plunge and start out working for myself full-time. The logo I'm currently using was knocked up just before I sent out my first ever invoice, to actually go on the invoice letterhead itself and as such was a bit of a rush job. I'm now looking to change the image and have created something i think is a bit more classier and, well "designed" (i hope)!

Anyway, this is what I'm going for - I target mainly large businesses who do alot of advertising and producing literature (brochures, catalogues etc) and therefore want to portray myself as a serious, professional in the design industry.

"What has all this got to do with me", you may be asking yourself? Well - I need to find a complimentary typeface to go with this logo. I have tried so many that now I am utterly confused and fed up trying to decide so I thought I'd throw it out there to some other pro's and see what you guys come up with.

This font will be used for the details on my stationery as well as the main body copy for any promotional literature in the future. I want something classy yet modern-ish (maybe?) that plays well with Bank Gothic and is easily legible. Open to serif/sans serif suggestions - have ruled nothing out yet.

Any thoughts and comments on the logo also appreciated. Cant wait to hear some thoughts...

Patricia Fabricant

I think you need to tighten the space between the F and the R a tad.

infrared

now that you mention it - yes, it could do with a little squeeze ;o)
What do you think of the spacing between the RAR?

Patricia Fabricant

Could go a hair tighter but it doesn't bother me as is.

infrared

But any suggestions on a suitable compliment typeface?

Stephen Coles

Stratum, Eric Olson's improvement on Bank Gothic. Or his less rigid Klavika.

Quincunx

To stay in that style a bit, you could also do Sansa, from OurType.
Sansa Soft was also released a while ago, which features a bit more.. well, soft forms. ;)

mondoB

An edgy option is Emigre's Cholla Wide with oldstyle figures. Or, if you want a clean, neutral wide-ish sans serif, try FF Bau with oldstyle figures, similar in feel to ITC Franklin Gothic. Or FF DIN, or Adobe Folio, or Univers.

Nick Shinn

Conservative, corporate, extended: Univers 53.
And it's complementary, not complimentary.

I like your logo a lot, but question the type. The cyrillic R is too commie for your target market. The logo is subtle and classy, but the wordmark ain't.
I don't think you need a symbol AND a wordmark.
Why not have the company name in understated boldface of the main company typeface?

infrared

Hi peeps!

Sorry i haven't been answering any posts - been v.busy with work so no time to play with my own stuff ;o( but much appreciated all the same ;o)

I had already been looking at Univers and Din, but i definitely like Bau, especially the numbers, hmmm. More food for thought, not sure if i done myself any favours offering this out there, just gives me even more to choose from, lol

Nick, thanks for pointing out the spelling, i live by my spellchecker and crumble without it unfortunately. Interesting thoughts though. I kind of liked the idea of having both symbol and wordmark so i could use either or both depending on the area of application, but I will have a play with your suggestion, am always happy to receive constructive advice ;o)

But hey, if any of you suddenly sit bolt upright in your sleep with divine inspiration for a suitable font, scribble it down because i would love to hear them - might leave this open for a while, not because i'm indecisive or anything but...

Don McCahill

Damn, you mean complementary. I thought you were giving fonts away.

infrared

haha no, but i'll happily take some suggestions for one :oD

Captured from web.archive.org on 20 Mar 2015. view this capture