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Dixie's Opinion about Fonts
Fonts for Business Letters
Is it so important to know what fonts to use for writing business letters? Maybe not vitally important, Dixie says but if you want your business letter to look good you should at least be aware of the basics in using fonts.It is widely known that the accepted standard in using fonts for business letters is Times New Roman, size 12 (11 if that can help your long letter be squeezed into one page. But be careful not to overdo the squeezing: it's better to have a 2-paged letter than a 1-pager whose words crawl over each other.)
Dixie's advice is when in doubt use the standard. But if you like to experiment and not just follow the rules, Dixie urges you to read further.
More about Fonts
Fonts and Typefaces
Both fonts and typefaces are usually defined as a design for a set of characters. Dixie understands why it is so easy to mix them up as most of us humans do. If you consider this distinction important, then remember that typeface represents one aspect of a font, and a font is the combination of typeface and other qualities, such as size, weight, italics, spacing, etc.On the other hand, these two words are so close in meaning that as Dixie says we can easily put up with not knowing that Times Roman is a typeface, and not font.
Serif versus Sans-Serif
Strictly speaking, serif and sans-serif are two general categories of typefaces. But again, it's ok if you want to call them fonts.So, what is a serif? It is a small line added as embellishment to the basic form of a character. Serif typefaces/fonts, of which Times Roman is the most common, are very effective when utilized in sequences of words longer than one line. Those little extensions of letters that hook one character into the next one help the eye in making words. Serif typefaces also resemble the cursive characters all of us learned in primary school.
"Now you see why Times New Roman is a standard for writing business letters, right?" asks Dixie.
Anyone could have guessed by now that sans-serif typefaces/fonts do not have those lines at the end of the characters. While serif fonts have an old-fashioned, classical, conservative and formal look, sans-serif fonts look more modern and informal. They are best used in titles of any kinds and not in the body text, at least not in the body of the business letter.
At least this is what the rules say. But you already know what Dixie thinks about breaking rules: if you have a certain purpose in mind, do not be afraid to break a rule to attain your purpose. Just try not to overdo!
Related Topics
Paper for Business Letters Business Envelopes Folding a Business Letter
