Study Reveals Fonts That Win Elections

WOBURN, Mass., April 1, 2012 – Monotype Imaging Inc. today announced the results of a 22-year study into font choices used by political campaigns throughout the United States. Originally started by Monotype in 1990 in conjunction with the South Henrietta Institute of Technology, the exhaustive study analyzed the fonts used in more than 314,169 municipal and state elections, with the goal of identifying fonts and typographic trends in the winning political campaigns.

“We were surprised not only by the wide choice of typographic styles used in campaigns across the country but also the clear advantage of certain fonts to help their candidates win elections,” said Idee Claire, director of political graphic studies at the South Henrietta Institute of Technology. “This study debunks the myth that it’s all about using red, white and blue colors – it’s far more important to match the right font to the candidate’s position they are seeking.”

The study found these fonts resulted in a minimum 62.5 percent margin of victory when used in a campaign for the following offices:

Mayoral font: Rabenau™

Dog Catcher font: ITC Weber Hand™

Judge font: Akko™

School Board font: School Script Lined

Treasurer font: Carter Sans™

Attorney General fonts: Elegy™ and Goudy Forum Pro

Sanitation District font: Francker™

Coroner font: ITC Chino™