Design that appeals to women

As now I am aware of the demographic in which I attempt to specifically target I decided to conduct some further research into designs that appeal to females.

Type selections can imply masculinity or femininity.

The most important considerations when it comes to gender are slant, stroke and details.Most people quickly associated letters with distinct curves and slant to be feminine, include typefaces from the cursive and script categories. Some might even go the extra step to include italics in the feminine-feeling category.

The stroke of a letter can also imply gender. Thin strokes are often thought to be lighter and more feminine than bolder letterforms. Using this technique, a designer can develop masculine and feminine styles using a single font family by using different parts of a font family.

Finally, a designer should really look at the smallest parts of a typeface. Serifs tend to have a masculine edge, particularly those with very square edges. On the flip side, serifs with rounded and curved edges and imply a more feminine display.

This same principle applies to other strokes and ornamentation as well. More frilly lines and tails are more appealing to women, as are bubbly letters. Feminine font styles, especially those seen on sites for weddings, baby items and crafts, tend to rely on heavy ornamentation. Blocky styles and sharp or pointy accents reflect a masculine tone.

Breakdown

Old English – Masculine
Script – Feminine
Cursive – Feminine
Slab serif – Masculine
Hard-edges serifs – Masculine
Curved-edge serifs – Feminine
Tall thin, condensed styles – Masculine
Thick strokes – Masculine
Thin strokes – Feminine



Shapes

Hard corners and edges are representative of shapes that have more appeal for men – think squares, triangles and trapezoids. Ninety-degree angles are also a popular technique or visual cue.

Shapes with quite the opposite look appeal to women. Think about curves and delicate detailing – circles, wavy lines and soft repeating patterns.

The styles of shapes that tend to include more dimension have a feminine appeal, whereas flat, raw forms are more masculine. Strong lines and dark color blocks can also indicate a masculine tone, whereas thin lines (very much as in letterforms) and light strokes indicate a more female look.

Colour

The darkest colors that have the deepest hues, exude the most masculine undertones – think blacks, navy, dark greens or reds, purples or oranges. If white type will show easily on a background of the color, it likely has a masculine tone.

Pastels are generally considered more feminine. So are any other colors with more muted tones – pinks, yellows and greens and blues all fall into this category.