: How do I choose the most appropriate font for a professional document? I've written many documents at school, but there is one thing I'm always struggling with: Font types. I never know which

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Short answer: If the font is easily readable, then it's fine. I wouldn't obsess over this.

I'm sure psychologists and marketing people and psychics are convinced that choice of font has profound implications on the effect your material has on readers. Personally, I doubt it. Unless the font is unusual enough to stand out, unless readers see the font and immediately say to themselves, "Hey, that looks like blood is dripping from the letters" or "Oh, cute, how each letter looks like a different animal" or whatever, most people just won't notice or care.

You do want your text to be readable. Serif fonts are generally thought to be a little prettier. If the text is small, though, a sans-serif font can be easier to read. Elaborate decorative fonts can be nice for a title, but they get very tedious when used for the main text.

I'd add: Avoid using a large number of different fonts in one document. It can be attractive to have one font for the main text and another font for headings. It can be useful to have one font for the running narrative and a different font for block quotes or examples or some other text that you want to distinguish. But don't go crazy. I've seen people put 15 different fonts in one document for no apparent reason. Rule of thumb: Don't have more than 3 fonts unless there's some truly special case.

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