How do I choose the right font for my dissertation?

One of the most important elements in the design of your dissertation is the font choice. After all, your dissertation largely consists of text and it is important that the text is easy to read. There are an awful lot of fonts available, so how do you make a choice? Below we explain a bit about the different types of fonts to get you started.

What is the difference between a Serif and a Sans-Serif font?

Fonts are divided into different categories; the two most common categories are Serif and Sans-Serif fonts. You have undoubtedly heard about these terms before, but what exactly is the difference? 

The difference is in the small features at the ends of the letters. With a Serif font, the ends of the letters contain a small foot, while in the Sans-Serif font this is not the case. You can clearly see the difference in the image below.

Whether you choose a Serif or a Sans-Serif font depends on what kind of look you want your dissertation to have. A Serif font gives a classic look while a Sans-Serif font gives a modern look. Below is an example of some Serif and some Sans-Serif fonts.

Ultimately, the choice of font for your dissertation is mainly about personal preference. It may be that you have been using a specific font for years. As a result, you have become accustomed to that font and you would therefore like to use it for your dissertation.

What font size should I use for my dissertation?

Apart from choosing the right font, it is also important that you look at the size of the font. If the font of your dissertation is too small, then the text may not be easy to read, which you want the prevent from happening. On the other hand, a font that is too large can look unprofessional, which is also something you want to avoid. As you can read above, both a font that is too small or too large can negatively affect the message of your text. So how do you choose the perfect font size?

We recommend using a font size of around 10pt for the main text of your dissertation and 8pt for the captions of figures/tables. If you prefer a slightly larger font then that is of course possible, but we advise you not to opt for a smaller font because then the text will no longer be legible.

Other tips

Even though the final font choice is mostly personal preference, there are a number of things you can take into account:

• Tip 1. Variants of the font.
  A font often has multiple variants such as italic, bold, light and so on. Not every font has the same number of variants. Because every dissertation contains italic and bold, it is important that you choose a font that has at least a normal, italic and bold variant.
  
• Tip 2. The costs of a specific font.
  Not every font can be used for free and unfortunately some fonts can be very expensive. It is therefore wise to pay close attention to this when choosing a font. If you have found a font that you would like to use, you can always ask us if we already have it. If we do not have the font, we will let you know how expensive the font is and we will look at similar fonts that are available for free.