Need some suggestions to talk my boss out of Arial for a textbook-like publication!

amazingjen788 August 2007 · 14:15

Hi all- this is all new to me so please forgive my ignorance up front.

I've been tasked with laying out a 100-page textbook-like publication (research based) on student achievement... I don't have much of a design background at all.

I chose Perpetua Titling for my headers, Garamond for my text body- and used some different versions of Garamond for my pull out boxes- back to perpetua for pullout quotes.

My boss likes it for the most part- but she is a big fan of Arial, as all of our materials that preceded this particular project (handouts, powerpoints, workbooks, etc.) have used Arial. For everything. It's always been one of my least favorites, and really looks amateur in a textbook format.

I'm using the newest Indesign, but I don't have time to keep playing with the type as much as I would like, so I found you all. I'm hoping you have some suggestions that could make her happy (but for real, how much of a "brand" can you build on an Arial font?)

Thank you so much in advance! I can't wait for your thoughts! Jen

brandons

At the very least you could use Helvetica and hope she doesn't notice.

Stephen Coles

Many of these Helvetica alternatives might fit the bill.

Good luck!

Print her a set of pages showing every letter and number in Akzidenz, Neue Helvetica, Meta, and Arial, side by side, about 18p high. There’s nothing like comparing Arial with fonts that are actually drawn well to make one realize how ugly it really is—the devil is in the details.

MHSmith

Arial or Helvetica?

Helvetica vs Arial

Oh, and just in case your boss also likes it:

Ban Comic Sans

amazingjen78

Thanks, all- If we went with something comparable to the Helvetica- what's a good secondary type for the pullouts?

Don McCahill

You might point out to her that in print, sans serif gets read 30% less than a serif font. (Colin Wheildon's research)

Dr Wouter Soudan

Commissioners are sometimes quite fussy and always ignorant about fonts. So don’t try to persuade them. Especially if they are 45+ women. No sexist intentions there, just mere experience. If a commissioner has the time to quarrel over fonts and to infringe on your design, likely he or she is someone fitting the Peter principle. Be pragmatic, ignore the pedantry, do as you please and get the approval of someone higher in rank, someone with no explicit opinions about fonts, but who'll sure acknowledge the designer knows for the best. He/she will really see the difference, especially if you say him/her Arial is a discount wholesale product, lacking each and every distinction.

Gary Long

For 100 pages you really want a serif typeface. But stick to one face and one version of it for the body text, headers, pull quotes, etc. With italics and size variations you can achieve contrast. If you want a contasting face for certain elements, use a good sans.

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