If the typographical setup is bad, no amount of lines or other art or color elements will make it better. The fonts you choose in your project sets the tone for overall feel of the piece: don't pick the first font you like; think about what voice it should have and the best way to communicate this to those who will be reading it. You can have a lot of fun with the basic well-designed fonts: Helvetica, Times Roman or Garamond, but there are tons of others than are professional looking as well. These fonts are familiar to most people to read and are available on most computers. But there are tons of fonts out there, and some are gorgeous and very artistic.

It takes a while to get to know a font, and a small sample can be hard to visualize for an entire piece. A good way to see how something will look is to create a few examples using the different fonts. Stand back from them and see if they look they way you want. Practice and try a few new ones; remember this is how your audience will read your words. Ask others how the words look; is the message clear, easy to read and easy on the eyes?

Choose the color of your font carefully as well. While it might be pretty, is it hard to see? Does it stand out from the background, or does it fade into it? There are also many ‘art elements’ that can be added to enhance a font: shadowing, highlighting, bolding and shading, and I know the artists and designers know even more tricks. Choosing the basic font can be an important choice and embellishing it can enhance it that much more.

Don’t lose your message in your words; let them augment what you have to say and what you want your clients to read.