FONTS

serif or sans serif?

Times New Roman is a serif font

Ariel is a sans serif font

Serif

Serif fonts help people read long blocks of text. The feet help your eye move from one character to the next, linking them together in your brain.

Sans Serif

Sans serif fonts, in which each character is independent from its neighbors, are good for reading shorter pieces of information, such as titles and labels.

Choosing Fonts

• Once you know what kinds of fonts you want to use, it's time to pick the actual fonts. Because PowerPoint comes with a wide variety of fonts, you don't have to stick with just Times New Roman or Arial. But you do have to pick the three or four fonts that you want to use in your presentation and stick to them.

• Why only three or four? Fonts, like colors and sounds, should be used to trigger a reaction or thought from your presentation. By sticking to just a few fonts, you make it easier for your audience to catch clues on what you are sharing.

Main Content Font

• Your first font choice should be the main content font, which you will use for most of your presentation's text. This is the font you will use for your bullet points, for example, and if you are presenting charts and graphics, this is the font you will use to explain or comment on the slide elements.

• I like to stick with a fairly plain serif font for my main content font, but I don't like to use Times New Roman. Instead, I use a font out of the Bookman family, which I find a little easier to read at large point sizes than Times New Roman. My second choice is usually Garamond or Century Schoolbook. Each of these choices scales well, each is available on most machines, and each has a slightly different feel from the standard Times New Roman.

Titles, Labels, and Captions

• The next choice is for the titles, labels, and captions. This font should be a little less formal than the content font, but still very readable at all font sizes. Because you will be using it for both large text (titles) and small text (labels), it is a good idea to check the font out in both sizes before you choose.

• This is where sans serif fonts are quite handy. For this group, choose a non-display sans serif font that is easy to read, widely available, and that prints and animates cleanly. Many people use Arial here, which works, but is rather ordinary. I prefer some of the sans serif fonts with just a little flair, such as Tunga, Tahoma, or Trebuchet. I don't like Comic Sans. It is overused, overly informal, and can get pretty ugly in certain circumstances.

Choosing Font Size

• What is big enough? If you are giving a presentation using a projection system, regular slide text should never be smaller than a 16-point character. I try never to go smaller than 18-point, but I know that isn't always possible. Labels and captions should never be smaller than 14-

point, and bigger is better. Labels on charts don't do much good if they can't be read.