Sturdy Fonts for Keynote
May 24, 2010
I’m traveling this week, so I’ll take this time to right a serious wrong that has gotten out of control. If you use Keynote, chances are much of the text in your slides is in Gill Sans. Why? Because Gill Sans, named after Eric Gill, is the default font for Keynote (possibly chosen by Steve Jobs himself – he likes to get involved in font decisions). Unfortunately, Gill Sans looks really bad in lower case. Gill Sans caps, properly spaced, look elegant and museum-like. Gill Sans lower case pretty much never looks good in any application. It’s too wide, it’s too decorative, and it gets in the way of your message. I love Keynote, and I think anyone who likes Powerpoint will really like Keynote much better, but I want everyone to switch default fonts.
Gil Sans is great for titles in all-caps
Gil Sans lower case is a disaster.
Here’s how …
Step 1: Choose your fonts. Do not use more than two fonts for an entire presentation. You shouldn’t need more than two: a headline and a body text. They can certainly be different weights of the same font family, or they can come from two related families. You may want something special for certain effects, but please try to keep things simple. Unless you have training in typography, mixing fonts is like mixing drinks – your results are not likely to be tasty and could give someone font poisoning.
My suggestions, depending on what you have available or are willing to buy are …
SANS-SERIF TITLES
- Adobe Myriad (my number one choice by far)
- Frutiger
- Univers (not Helvetica)
- Stone Sans
- Verdana
- Meta
- Popular, by Font Bureau (I use this on my business cards)
- Gill Sans (only use all-caps)
SANS-SERIF TEXT
- Myriad (again, my first choice)
- Franklin Gothic
- Interstate, by Font Bureau
- Agency, by Font Bureau
- Meta
- Verdana
SERIF TITLES
- Georgia
- Silica, by Stone Type Foundry
- Serifa
- Stone Serif (wide but good)
- Adobe Garamond
- Bureau Roman, by Font Bureau
- Tekton (by yours truly)
SERIF TEXT
- Georgia
- Bodoni (Either Detroit Bodoni by Font Bureau or Bauer Bodoni from Adobe)
- Adobe Garamond
- Bureau Roman, by Font Bureau
- Miller Headline, by Font Bureau
Step 2: Change your title font. Since Keynote has only one default font, you’ll have to change your titles on your title slides separately. The best way to do this is to start with a single blank master slide (I make my own grid), add a title, choose the font, and then whenever you make a new master slide just copy that one (hold down option and drag) and then your new title slide will have your new title font automatically.
Step 3: Change your default font. Now go to any master and click the text icon. Yuck – there’s the Gill Sans again. Now, with the text box highlighted, choose a better font. Then, with the text box still highlighted, go to the Format menu and choose Advanced > Define Text for All Masters. That’s it. Now, every time you click on the text icon, you’ll get the new font, and you will get your message across more clearly.
This has been a public service announcement by The Power of Pull. Please remember: friends don’t let friends use Gill Sans lower case.
