Typography
Overview
Typography plays a crucial role in shaping Foxit’s brand identity, creating a distinctive and consistent visual language that reinforces our verbal identity. Our chosen typefaces enhance clarity, recognition, and professionalism across all communications.
The Foxit typefaces are carefully selected to ensure a balance between personality and functionality, supporting the brand’s approachable yet confident tone. Consistent and proper use of these fonts helps maintain the integrity of our visual identity while amplifying our message. Adhering to these typography guidelines ensures every communication feels unmistakably Foxit, strengthening recognition and trust in our brand.
Barlow
Barlow is a versatile sans-serif typeface with a range of available weights that makes it ideal for creating impactful headlines and special typographic elements. Designed with legibility in mind, Barlow performs exceptionally well at larger scales, making it a perfect choice for attention-grabbing headlines or key messages. To maintain readability and visual harmony, Barlow should not be used for large runs of body copy or small text, such as legal disclaimers. Instead, its strengths lie in its ability to provide visual interest and dynamic layouts when used thoughtfully with varying weights and scales.
Restrictions
Barlow Condensed: The use of this style is prohibited due to its reduced legibility caused by its narrower letterforms. Condensed text can be harder to read, especially in applications requiring high clarity such as headlines or visually dense layouts.
Barlow Semi Condensed: While less restrictive than Condensed, this style is still not recommended for branding applications. Its narrower proportions may compromise clarity and consistency, especially in highly visible design elements.
Do: Use font weights to emphasize key words.
Don’t: Use any version of Barlow condensed.
Open Sans
Open Sans is Foxit’s go-to font for professional communications and body copy. It should be used for digital presentations, annotations, footnotes, and more. Its clean, modern design ensures clarity and readability across various platforms and devices, making it a reliable choice for conveying information with precision and professionalism. Additionally, Open Sans is designed with global usability in mind, supporting a wide range of languages and character sets. Its superior legibility on screens makes it ideal for digital formats and ensures consistency across different media.
Web Compatibility: Open Sans is widely available for web use, making it an excellent option for online applications. If available, always select Open Sans for web typography to maintain brand consistency.
Condensed Restriction: Use of the condensed version of Open Sans is not permitted. While it may be visually appealing in certain contexts, its reduced letter spacing negatively impacts readability, especially in extended blocks of text or at smaller sizes.
Web Safe Font
In cases where Open Sans is unavailable, Tahoma is the preferred web-safe alternative for Foxit’s communications. Tahoma is a sans serif typeface known for its clean, straightforward design and excellent readability across digital platforms. Its design ensures a consistent, professional appearance that aligns with the Foxit brand’s emphasis on clarity and usability. Tahoma’s strong legibility at various sizes makes it a reliable choice for maintaining brand integrity in digital applications when the primary font is inaccessible.
Web Compatibility: Open Sans is widely available for web use, making it an excellent option for online applications. If available, always select Open Sans for web typography to maintain brand consistency.
Condensed Restriction: Use of the condensed version of Open Sans is not permitted. While it may be visually appealing in certain contexts, its reduced letter spacing negatively impacts readability, especially in extended blocks of text or at smaller sizes.
Typography Hierarchy
This section provides guidance on the structure and styling of headlines, lead text, eyebrows, subheadlines, body text, and CTAs to maintain clarity and consistency in Foxit’s communications. Each element plays a distinct role in creating a cohesive and engaging layout while ensuring readability and brand recognition.
All Caps: The use of all caps is prohibited, since it significantly reduces readability and slow down reading speed due to the lack of word shape variation. All caps can convey an unintended tone of aggression or urgency, which is not aligned with the approachable and professional voice of our brand.
Exception: All caps may only be used for eyebrows, the limit is three words to maintain clarity and avoid overwhelming the design.
Headlines: Must always be title cased and can vary in font weight to create visual interest.
Eyebrows: Limited to three words maximum and styled in all caps for emphasis.
CTAs: Restricted to three words maximum and must use Open Sans semibold font weight for optimal legibility.
Do: Use title case on headlines.
Don’t: Use all caps on headlines.
Line Spacing
Appropriate line spacing is key to maintaining readability and a cohesive visual flow in our designs. It ensures text feels open and inviting while aligning with the overall tone of professionalism in our brand communications.
Headlines and Titles: Use line spacing of 110% to 120% of the font size to create an impactful, cohesive look.
Example Size
Spacing
36px
40 - 43px
36pt
40.8 - 43.2pt
0.5 inch
0.55 - 0.6 inch
Body Text Line Spacing: For body text, use line spacing of 120% to 145% of the font size to ensure optimal readability.
Example Size
Spacing
16px
19 - 23px
12pt
14.4 - 17.4pt
0.2 inch
0.24 - 0.29 inch
Line spacing should always complement the typeface and font size used in the design, ensuring a harmonious and polished look across all formats. For precise conversions between units, note that 1 inch = 96px, and 1 point = 1.333px.
Alignment
Appropriate line spacing is key to maintaining readability and a cohesive visual flow in our designs. It ensures text feels open and inviting while aligning with the overall tone of professionalism in our brand communications.
Do: Left Align
Do: Center Align
Warning: Right Align
Left-aligned text is preferred because it follows the natural human reading pattern, making it easier to read and digest information.
Center-aligned text is acceptable for various content types, especially in designs requiring balance and symmetry, but ensure it remains readable.
Right-aligned text is not ideal but may be used for special cases where it enhances the design or serves a functional purpose.