How Fonts Shape the Way We See Things

Here’s something people don’t usually notice: fonts are everywhere, and they’re doing a lot more work than you think.

Fonts Have Personalities

Every font has its own mood.
Some are straight-to-business.
Some are fun and bouncy.
Some scream at you.
Some whisper.

Take Arial. It’s the kind of font used for formal letters and serious documents — clean, simple, no drama.

But then you have fonts like Amatic SC or Caveat. They feel lively, handwritten, almost like a doodle from the corner of your notebook. They instantly change the vibe of whatever you’re looking at.

And here’s something cool: brands use this on purpose.

Marketing Uses Fonts to Make You Feel Things

In some ads, the fonts are fun, colourful, and kind of… loud.
These fonts make you feel excited. They make you think, “Ooh, I want that!”

But sometimes, brands go in the opposite direction.
The fonts are sharp, clean, serious.
They’re telling your brain, “This product is long-lasting, trustworthy, worth your money.”

Something as tiny as the shape of a letter can change the entire mood.

Real Life Example: My Trip to Pointe aux Canonniers

Yesterday, on the drive from Curepipe to Pointe aux Canonniers, I tried something:
I started taking pictures of every different font I could find.

And suddenly… it was like my eyes woke up.
Fonts. Everywhere.
Billboards. Stickers. Shop signs. Buses. Random labels.
All screaming different messages.

I was in the car, my dad was driving, and I had a DSLR camera with me.
I set the ISO low so the photos wouldn’t look too bright, and honestly… they came out pretty nice.

When I got home today, I transferred everything from the camera’s memory card to my external hard drive. Then I opened Adobe Capture on my iPad.

And here’s the fun part:
Adobe Capture can actually detect what font is used in a picture.

So I scanned each photo, and it gave me the closest matching fonts.

Here’s the Table of the Photos and Their Fonts

Where Fonts Come From

One last thing: not all fonts are free.

Some fonts cost money because designers create them professionally.
But many fonts — like everything in Google Fonts — are completely free to download and use.

Which means if you want to experiment, you totally can.

I have created a font of my own handwriting. It was quite easy. You can download my font and use it for free here.
Here is the website that can help you do it too.