Typefaces come in different forms. The most common forms seen on the web are regular, bold and italic. But there’s a trending typeface that designers should use on their user interfaces more often.

When used correctly, light typefaces can give you a clear and beautiful effect on your text. However, when used wrong, it can make your text hard for users to read. Here are some do’s and don’ts for using light typefaces.

Do Use It to Contrast Headings from Body Text

When headings and body text don’t have enough contrast with each other, they can clash. A heading and body text do contrast in size, but that’s not enough if you want to make your text easy to read. A light typeface can give your text that extra contrast it needs to help users quickly distinguish between the two.

If there’s not enough contrast, a heading and body text can easily bleed together. You could also use a lighter text color to enhance the contrast, but color blind users might not notice a difference. That’s where a light typeface can come in handy.

If you have subheadings, you should either use a lighter font weight or color to enhance the contrast between all three. Use a lighter color on one, light typeface on another and regular typeface on the other. Play around with the contrast to see which type of text looks better with which style.

Do Use It to Make Headings Look Less Garish

Headings in a regular or bold typeface can look garish because of the high color intensity around the letters. A light typeface can thin out the font weight and diminish the color intensity. The result is a colorful heading that doesn’t overwhelm the user’s eyes.

Do Use It to Make Your Website Look More Modern

One way to show users that your website is modern and up-to-date is to use a light typeface. Users who visit your site will get the impression that your brand is hip and trendy if you use a light typeface right. However, don’t go crazy and use it on everything because of its appeal. You should never compromise readability for aesthetics sake.

Do Use It to Save Ink When Printing Documents

Light typefaces aren’t just useful for websites, but documents too. If your user has to print a document off your website, such as a receipt, contract, ticket or coupon, use a light typeface so they don’t use too much of their printer ink. You can also save ink by using a light typeface on any documents you create.

Don’t Use Light Typefaces for Small Body Text

Users can have trouble reading light typefaces on small body text because of how faint it looks. If you want to use a light typeface on body text, make sure the size of your body text is at least a medium size and has strong color contrast with the background. You want to make your text look appealing, but you don’t want to sacrifice readability for it.

Don’t Use It with a Light Color on a Light Background

Light typefaces are already light as it is. Using it with a light color on a light background is a recipe for readability problems. Instead, make sure there’s high color contrast between the text and background. When using light typefaces, color contrast is very important.

Don’t Use Thin or Extra Light in Small or Medium Text Sizes

Some fonts not only have a light typeface, but they also have a thin or extra light typeface. You should not use this in small or medium-sized text otherwise, it’ll look faint. Only use it in large text sizes so that users can read the thin or extra light typeface without any struggle.

Don’t Use a Light Typeface on Everything

A light typeface is like a spice. Use it to enhance your text just like you would use a spice to enhance the flavor of food. Too much of it and you’ll lose the special effect it has. Balance it out and use different typeface styles together for the best results.

Final Thoughts

Light typefaces can give your text beauty and clarity when you use it right. No matter what typeface you use, you should always make your text easy to read. Some older users could have trouble seeing and reading a light typeface even if you follow these do’s and don’ts.

Make sure your light typeface is at a readable size, and that your users can adjust the font size if they choose. Bad readability is a big problem on the web that designers shouldn’t take lightly. Do your part by keeping in mind these best practices when you use light typefaces.

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