Typefaces are everywhere. That billboard. The tissue box. The pen you stole from the last hotel the company sent you to. Do you know your Goudy and your Garamond? Meta or Trade Gothic? The impact type can have on mood can't be underestimated. To a designer, Goudy is to burlap as Garamond is to silk.
The number of typefaces available is hard to even comprehend. Think truckloads of telephone books. The downside of this abundance is that misuse abounds. Quite sad, considering that type has a major presence and a subtle but potent ability to convey tone and personality. Consequently, an unreadable or inappropriate typeface has just as much potential to distract from a beautiful logo design as it does to enhance it.
So how does the humble designer find the golden needle in the haystack -- ie, the right type for the logo design?
1. Gather the largest library of available typefaces that you can access.
2. Consider what the brand needs to communicate and identify the brand's fundamental attributes.
3. Browse typefaces and select a few that communicate the attributes.
4. Conduct type studies, examining how the type works with the letterforms of the brand name.
5. Consider creating a custom typeface, or adapting one to make it unique to the client.
6. Find complementary typefaces that work as a secondary typeface with the primary selection.
7. Review the typeface and gather feedback from other designers.
8. Integrate typefaces into the logo concepts so that you can show them in the first presentation to the client.
To get up-to-date on the latest in type, spend some time with the I Love Typography blog.