Your marketing message is delivered wrapped in fonts.

The fonts you choose — and the way you combine them — will affect how your message and your business are perceived.

That’s why it’s crucial to spend some time searching for and combining unique, readable fonts to represent your business.

When searching for fonts to represent your brand, be sure to:

Know your ideal customer. Do the work necessary to get to know the people you are trying to communicate with. What drives them? Why do they need what your business offers? What is their age group, gender? Knowing these details will help you make appropriate font choices.

Look for readable fonts first. A font may be beautiful, but if it’s not easy to read, you’re defeating the purpose. Reject any fonts that are too script-y, too condensed, too funky.

Remember x-height. Understanding x-height will help you choose readable fonts and be more successful and combining them.

Choose fonts that are available for online and offline use. Some fonts are web-only, some still haven’t been converted to use on the web (although their numbers are diminishing). To keep your brand consistent across print and the web, choose fonts that you can use in both places.

Think about your brand personality. When you are clear about how you want your business to be perceived, it’s easier to find fonts to tell the story.

Watch this video for more on choose and combining fonts — even if you’re not a designer.