DESIGNA MAGAZINE DESIGNA ISSUE III 2019 2 | Page 53

Citizen TV and Tuskys were
Awarded at prestigious 4th
World Branding Awards
Citizen TV Senior Manager Catherine Wanyama,
Tuskys CFO Daniel Githumbi, Safaricom's Catherine
Mudachi, Tuskys CEO Dan Githua and Royal Media
Services Group MD, Wachira Waruru
The type writer: Fonts are brand assets
Make fonts your asset, Bruno Maag suggests to brands.
�eir inherent value can help a company communicate
more effectively
Irrespective of the media in which a brand operates,
typography is always a key part of the communication
strategy and means. Brands cannot thrive without fonts;
they are a pillar of their visual identities and just as
important as their logos, colours and imagery.
Many brands have selected, or even commissioned, fonts
to represent them in their communication, but coherent
implementation of fonts across all channels can be a
challenge. If a brand's requirements have not been
properly established before nal selection, rollout will be at
risk. From minor technical problems to compatibility
issues, unsupported languages and, at worst, additional
unexpected licensing or development costs, many
problems may arise if one's font of choice turns out to be
no longer suitable.
Font requirements are not only technical, such as
suitability for use on-screen or language coverage, but also
include the logistics of deploying, distributing, serving,
embedding and updating the font les. It is vital that you
check all of your requirements against the licence or
contract terms of all candidate fonts before entering into
an agreement. Clients are often surprised to nd that the
font they picked cannot be used on the web, embedded
into templates or used by their suppliers in commissioned
work.
Design and branding agencies have a responsibility to
their clients to ensure that the fonts they select on their
behalf meet the brand's requirements beyond the aesthetic
aspect and clients have a responsibility to their agencies to
clearly communicate their needs in the long term. To avoid
later disappointment, all stakeholders will need to be
involved in order to establish the diversity of their
department's requirements.
It is always advantageous to include the relevant font
foundry or distributor in your discussions before a decision
or commitment is made; they can advise you and assess
how well your font of choice will perform against your
requirements so that you can ensure a coherent and
consistent expression for your brand.
Bruno Maag, chairman, Dalton Maag
May
-
June 2019 | D E S I G N A