What is a Dingbat Font?

Have you ever heard of what a dingbat is before? In case you haven’t, at its basic definition, it is a form of typesetting that is usually used for making box frames (commonly used in text user interfaces) or as section breaks (dinkus). Because of that, this typesetting usually takes the form of symbols that can be used for many needs.

To be more elaborate, this typesetting is used as signature marks to ensure that the texts on each page will be written in proper order. In computers, this typesetting comes with distinctive fonts that take up alphabetical or numeric characters.

How to Use These Fonts

For their unique properties, dingbat fonts can be used for different kinds of uses. Read the explanation below on how you can use this typesetting for any kind of need!

Decorative uses

As far as this typesetting goes, one of the most enduring uses for this typesetting is decorative use. If so, how is it used in many uses? If you want to look for an example, try to see an example of a wedding invitation.

If you can see, there can some fancy-looking decorations or symbols that are used as text separators or to box in the texts. That’s how this typesetting is used for decorative uses!

Apart from wedding invitations, these decorations can be used in so many other examples that do need some decoration. With them, you don’t have to worry on your projects looking too bland as long as you used these decorations properly.

Bullets

Sometimes you have to put your texts into proper order. From the top down to the bottom, you need bullets to sort them out neatly based on a particular category. Also, do you know that bullet can be categorized as a form of typesetting?

That’s right! With their varied symbols and icons, bullets can be used not only as bullets for sorting things out, but also to spice up your design choices.

Even better, some bullets are now categorized as emoticons as well in Unicode, which makes them accessible and usable on almost any computer now.

Navigational icons

The fonts can also be used for making navigational icons in many important guides and devices. In fact, we have already used so many smartphone apps that use these fonts to make the apps readable and easy to use.

Some guides such as venue location guides and many others can use navigational icons from this typesetting to clarify their guides to the viewers. By doing it this way, readers can understand the meaning of certain symbols that navigate them in the guides.

Pictograph

A pictograph, or pictogram, is a form of a graphic symbol used to illustrate something by its visual resemblance to a certain object. If you need examples, pictographs are commonly seen in traffic signs that regulate your use of roads for different activities.

Road signs, traffic signs, posters, and other forms of visual signs use pictograph to convey their intentions as clear as possible to the viewers. By having a visual resemblance to a certain object, the designers of these signs hope that people can avoid unwanted accidents through these signs.

With just relying on its visual qualities, pictographs don’t have to use any letters or words to convey their meanings. This makes the process of using pictographs for certain activities easier because you don’t have to write or say anything to the people you’d like to tell.

User interface buttons

For website and app designers, a good and enjoyable user interface (UI) is everything. Without a good UI, there is no way that users are going to enjoy their experience while using or surfing that particular website or app.

And without a good UI, the number of a website’s visitors may plummet or will never reach the desired number of visitors. To counter this, using comprehensive symbols for user interface buttons can significantly improve the users’ experiences (UX) while using the website.

The UX can be improved by using symbols that can clearly navigate the users when they visit the website and placing them properly. With this typesetting, users don’t have to worry about feeling lost in the website because of the lack of proper UI icons.

Conclusion

Despite that dingbat fonts emphasize more visual aspects than letterings, they are nonetheless essential for so many uses to create the best designs. Now, do you happen to be looking for new design materials for your projects? We at Envato Elements are ready to help you with our offered items here, and contact us immediately if you’re interested!