What is Typography?
The fonts and text styling that define a brand's written visual identity. Consistent typography across ads, website, and packaging builds brand recognition. Sans-serif dominates DTC; serif signals luxury.
Typography in ad creative
Typography is a silent brand signal. Sans-serif fonts (Inter, Helvetica, Montserrat) communicate modern, clean, and approachable. Serif fonts (Playfair, Garamond, Fraunces) signal luxury, tradition, and sophistication. Bold display fonts (Impact, Bebas) drive urgency and attention. Your ad typography should match your website and packaging typography. Inconsistent fonts across touchpoints fracture brand recognition and make your ads look unprofessional.
Readability rules for ads
Text on images must pass the "thumbnail test": readable at 150x150 pixels (the size of a mobile feed thumbnail). Minimum font size: 24px for headlines on 1080px-wide images. Maximum 7 words per text line. High contrast between text and background (use a semi-transparent overlay on busy images). Limit to 2 font families per ad (one for headlines, one for body). Left-align body text, center-align headlines and CTAs.
Font pairing for brands
Classic pairings that work: display serif headline + clean sans-serif body (Playfair + Inter), geometric sans headline + humanist sans body (Montserrat + Open Sans), bold sans headline + light sans body (Bebas + Lato). Your brand should have one heading font and one body font. AI tools apply your brand fonts to every generation automatically, pulling from your Brand DNA profile. No more recreating typography settings in every new design tool.