Typographical trust issues : The impact of font types on trust in the context of online banking websites

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine if font choices affect how text and sender are perceived in the context of online banking websites. Large amounts of money are invested to produce effective design units; therefore, graphic designers need to be aware of how their font choices impact the readers’ perception of text. This study aimed to raise awareness around the impact of fonts and to create a helpful report that can guide designers in their font choices. Previous research on the subject argues that typography is a critical tool in visual communication, and that selecting an appropriate typeface is very important. Studies have shown how readers are aware of the difference in appropriateness between different font and text matches. Shaikh, Chaparro and Fox (2006) found serif and sans serif fonts to be the most appropriate in most situations while scripts were appropriate only for scrapbooking and e-greetings and modern display fonts were perceived as rude or coarse. The methods used in the present study were a Literature Study, two Focus Groups, a Quantitative Web Survey and two Visual Content Analyses. The results show that font choices do affect perception of the sender in this context. The most appropriate fonts were strict and structured, but not boring, non-decorative and had a medium x-height in relation to cap height.