When “Wine” Turns Into “Urine” – The Importance of Testing Your Typography

Always check your sign design from a distance! At first glance, this sign has a great font choice—classy, on trend, and full of character. But step back a few feet, and those elegant thin strokes start to fade away, leaving you with something very different than what you intended. In this case, the word “Wine” unfortunately morphs into “Urine.” Not exactly the message you want outside your shop!

This is a perfect reminder that typography isn’t just about choosing a beautiful font—it’s about how it functions in real-world settings. Legibility at different sizes and distances is critical. And this doesn’t just apply to signs. Logos, too, can suffer from unintended misreads if you don’t test across different scales and contexts. Design for beauty, yes—but always design for clarity.