--- title: Typography and Its Changing Purpose for Web and Mobile description: Undergoing a rebrand or website launch? One of the most important factors is your choice of typeface. Typography is the first impression for all web users. image: https://www.thriveability.co.uk/hubfs/Blog_Featured-Images/TYPEWRITER-2.jpg --- [![Thrive Logo](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/hubfs/thrive-logo-pink-1.svg)](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/) - [What We Do](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/what-we-do) - [About](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/about-us) - [Approach](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/approach) - [Work](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/work) - [Blog](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/blog) - [Contact](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/contact) Blog # Typography and Its Changing Purpose for Web and Mobile November 29, 2017 9 Minute Read By Sarah Burns ## Your typography choice is what gives web and mobile visitors their first impression of you.  Of course, your website and mobile presence are summed up by your choice of colour, imagery, composition and words. But it's your typography that ultimately impresses - or doesn't impress - your visitors. In 2017, Twitter changed its font from familiar Helvetica Neue to Segoe, and was followed by the BBC who have adopted their own font family, Reith. Reith has replaced the commonly recognised font families of Gill Sans, Arial and, again, Helvetica Neue.  Toady, there are more than 25,000 font families, made up of over 90,000 typefaces. In fact, 49% of these are designed for the web.  ### A Brief History of Typography **1452:** The first movable type created **1500s:** Early in this century, Garamond was designed **1816:** First Sans Serif type created **1820:** First display type produced **1932:** Times New Roman is designed **1952:** The first time type was designed with sftware **1953:** First handdrawn type closely follows **1957:** Helvetica is born **1966:** First joining script produced **1984:** First system font designed **Today:** Typography production has increased 30% in the last two years. (**List Source:** Populated using the Bold & Justified infographic by [CreativeMarket.com](http://www.colourlovers.com/web/blog/2012/02/16/bold-justified-the-huge-world-of-typography-infographic)) ### Please Don't Use... Comic Sans Comic Sans is bashed a lot in the design world. However, a blog on typography cannot avoid its once widespread popularity in the 90s and early 00s.  The font, designed in 1994, is a casual script typeface modeled on the font style used in American comic books. It became criticised by designers when it was seemingly used for ***everything***. It is particularly mocked for being used on serious documents and when talking about formal subjects. Can you believe that hte CERN researcers who finally discovered the Higgs Boson used Comic Sans to announce their discovery?! > Possibly the biggest scientific discovery of our time, the [#Higgs](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Higgs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Boson, announced in glorious MS Comic Sans Font [http://t.co/jDxLkqNx](http://t.co/jDxLkqNx) > > — Colin Eberhardt (@ColinEberhardt) [July 4, 2012](https://twitter.com/ColinEberhardt/status/220429706686771200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Read more about the Comic Sans MS styled announcement via [The Week](http://theweek.com/articles/463196/how-typeface-influences-way-read-think). ### Moving Away From Helvetica Helvetica is universally popular for it's simplicity and clear, readable style. Put simply - it's unoffensive in its neutral design. Being one of the world's most used typefaces could lead you to think it risks the same demise as Comic Sans MS - but we would never hate on it so badly. Aside from its neutrality, Helvetica is a beautifully designed font which can be found on the New York Subway system and across airports, as well as millions of other brands and websites, including versions of the following logos: - American Airlines - Jeep - Toyota - BMW - Target - Microsoft - British Gas - 3M - Evian - Skype - BASF - Motorola (**List Source:** Compiled using [Web Designer Depot](https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/40-excellent-logos-created-with-helvetica/)) It is perhaps this overuse and it's neutrality that is turning some organisations, including Twitter and the BBC away from the font. > BBC's Chief Design Officer, Colin Burns, said at the time: "The existing fonts that the BBC uses were developed last century and work well in print - but they're not always clear enough when they appear in small, digital, spaces, and we're all reading and watching far more on screens and mobiles these days." (Source: [BBC News](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40825885)) If you have questions about your brand, website or how your brand conveys on small screens, please don't hesitate to [get in touch](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/contact). **Find out more like this via [Web Design](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/blog/topic/website-design).** #### Share this post... [mailto:?Subject=Check%20out%20this%20post&Body=https://www.thriveability.co.uk//blog/typography-and-its-changing-purpose-for-web-and-mobile](mailto:?Subject=Check%20out%20this%20post&Body=https://www.thriveability.co.uk//blog/typography-and-its-changing-purpose-for-web-and-mobile) Ready to talk? ## Whether you need a new website, a branding refresh, or a marketing strategy, the first step is a conversation. We'll give you an honest view of where you are and what's worth doing next. ## You may also like to read... December 1, 2021 #### [What is a Hero Image in Website Design? ](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/blog/what-is-a-hero-image-in-website-design) Your hero image is crucial to the impact your website has on first-time and repeat visitors. January 11, 2016 #### [4 Tips to Generate Leads and Build on Your Current Marketing Strategy](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/blog/4-tips-to-generate-leads-and-build-on-your-current-marketing-strategy) Lead generation should be the main goal of most business marketing strategies. However, generating a nice flow of warm leads can be hard,... November 24, 2017 #### [Why Your HTTPS and SSL Are Crucial to Your Website Security and Attracting Visitors](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/blog/why-your-https-and-ssl-are-crucial-to-your-website-security-and-attracting-visitors) Let's face it, you barely understand coding, but you need to ask these questions of your developer to ensure your website security is up to... ![hubspot-logo-white](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/hubfs/2021%20Assets/Partner%20Logos/hubspot-logo-white.svg "hubspot-logo-white") ![google-partner-logo-white](https://www.thriveability.co.uk/hubfs/2021%20Assets/Partner%20Logos/google-partner-logo-white.svg "google-partner-logo-white") Copyright © Thrive Marketing Limited 2026 [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/thrivehq?trk=top_nav_home/) [hello@thriveability.co.uk](mailto:hello@thriveability.co.uk) [01325 778 786](tel:01325%20778%20786)