What should I include in the preschool monthly/yearly newsletter?

Web Typography: How do you decide which combination of fonts to include in a publication (magazine, newsletter, etc). Are there any aesthetic guidelines?

• Answer:

  A very complex topic made easy: there are two big families of fonts: serif and sans-serif (sans=without).  What's a 'serif'? This should help: Serif fonts are more classic, they were invented in the Roman Empire. They are great for long texts and extended paragraphs. Aesthetically speaking they are very conservative and it's the typical family font that you should choose when designing the image (website, business cards, stationery, etc.) for a lawyer. Look at the Mercedes-Benz brand: The font reflects both the nature of the company and their customers. Sans-Serif fonts are much more modern (well, not that much, but certainly more recent than Serif Fonts). This family (that includes the famous Arial font) is more dynamic and perceived as contemporary. The italics add an extra sense of speed and look more dynamic.Look at the Nikon brand: Readability Serifs lead the eye from letter to letter so, at least in theory, they are easier to read in long texts. Take a look at any book, and chances are that you'll pick one with a serif font in the body of the text. Combinations A good combination is to use Sans-Serif types for titles, headings, etc. and the Serif type for the long paragraphs (the typical "Arial" headers and "Times New Roman" for the rest of the text). On-screen display When designing for web pages, serif types look not as clean as sans-serif that are much better for these kind of display. Fonts such as Verdana or Tahoma were designed specifically to be very readable on screen. Today more designs prefer using Arial or Helvetica fonts instead of Tahoma or Verdana that now look too '90s. That said, today even in a web page a Serif font looks good thanks to improved screens such as the Apple's Retina displays. It mostly depends now on the perception that you need to create for a particular project. Sick and tired of Times New Roman & Arial? Sometimes from a designer point of view, you can find a mostly-serif or sans-serif type with little variations to avoid overused fonts; e.g. instead of Times New Roman you could use Palatino, Georgia, Garamond or Baskerville as good alternatives, the same applies for the nice-yet-over-used Arial, you may use Futura or Gill Sans. Comic Sans It's quite simple a no-no.  Never, as in NEVER, use Comic-Sans for any serious project: e.g. a Presentation for a Client, a College Report, etc.  Even if you will design a comic you may find much better alternatives. Decorative fonts Just a word of caution: There are other fonts that may fit into the Decorative category. Basically if it is not serif nor sans-serif it is decorative and, as the name says, they are used to decorate. They are good for logos and for single words or very short phrases, exceptionally even in short paragraphs, but they are terrible for long paragraphs. The problem with decorative fonts is, also,  that the may look old very quickly in some cases. Here you can find a sampler of decorative fonts. Some are more legible than others and yes, there are hybrid-fonts that mix characteristics of both serif and sans-serif fonts. Where can I find some great and free fonts? Check sites like http://www.dafont.com or http://www.fontsquirrel.com/ or  http://www.google.com/fonts that offer a huge selection of free fonts. Having in mind these general guidelines you can find legible and fresh alternatives to your documents and design and even add a little flash to your logos choosing a decorative font that you find in line with the message you want to convey.