---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can do a good ad without good…"
description: "\"You can do a good ad without good typography, but you can't do a great ad without good typography.\" — Herb Lubalin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png"
---

#  You can do a good ad without good typography, but you…

![“You can do a good ad without good typography, but you can't do a great ad without good typography.” quote by Herb Lubalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png)

> “You can do a good ad without good typography, but you can't do a great ad without good typography.”

[Herb Lubalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-lubalin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Great advertising requires strong typography; it shapes perception and impact.

**In simple terms:** Good typography is essential for great ads.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize typography in design work.

Themes

design typography advertising

Mood

creative analytical

Type

instructional practical

When to use this quote

- marketing campaigns
- print media
- digital ads

Key Concepts

visual communication branding

Questions to Reflect On

- How does typography influence your brand?
- What balance between copy and type works best?

A Different Perspective

Typography alone cannot compensate for weak messaging.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ad Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ad-good-3863785/) [Ads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ads/) [Advertisers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertisers/) [Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Good Ad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ad-3863784/) [Good Typography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-typography-597230/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Graphic design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-design/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Typefaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typefaces/) [Typography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typography/) [Typography Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typography-great-2118816/)

## Related quotes

> [I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-learned-about-serif-and-san-serif-typefaces-about-varying-the/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [Simplicity, wit, and good typography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/simplicity-wit-and-good-typography/)

[Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/)

> [“Good typography can help your reader devote less attention to the mechanics of reading and more attention to your message. Conversely, bad typography can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-butterick/good-typography-can-help-your-reader-devote-less-attention-to-the/)

[Matthew Butterick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-butterick/)

> [Good typography, first, makes words readable. At its best, it does something more: it helps express the animating spirit of the ideas behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/good-typography-first-makes-words-readable-at-its-best-it-does/)

[Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/)

> [A good ad should be like a good sermon: It must not only comfort the afflicted, it also must afflict the comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-fitz-gibbon/a-good-ad-should-be-like-a-good-sermon-it-must-not-only-comfort-the/)

[Bernice Fitz-Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-fitz-gibbon/)

> [I think daily deals are a good idea. Any ad people view as content is a good ad, and that's true for daily-deal ads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cohler/i-think-daily-deals-are-a-good-idea-any-ad-people-view-as-content-is/)

[Matt Cohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cohler/)

> [A good ad is one simple idea, with humanity in it, that connects with consumers, that represents the value system of a company and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donny-deutsch/a-good-ad-is-one-simple-idea-with-humanity-in-it-that-connects-with/)

[Donny Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donny-deutsch/)

> [A good ad which is not run never produces sales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-burnett/a-good-ad-which-is-not-run-never-produces-sales/)

[Leo Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-burnett/)

> [“A good ad leads to a two-way conversation where your audience is listening to you because you are listening to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja-agnihotri/a-good-ad-leads-to-a-two-way-conversation-where-your-audience-is/)

[Pooja Agnihotri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja-agnihotri/)

> [Most people have no idea how much goes into designing a typeface. Twenty-six letters in the alphabet, usually with two versions of each, upper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/most-people-have-no-idea-how-much-goes-into-designing-a-typeface/)

[Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/)

> [If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-i-had-never-dropped-in-on-that-single-course-in-college-the-mac-2/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was stone carvers in ancient Rome, scribes in the Middle Ages, all the way through Gutenberg to the present day. That's a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/it-was-stone-carvers-in-ancient-rome-scribes-in-the-middle-ages-all/)

[Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/)

> [I make solutions that nobody wants to problems that don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-lustig/i-make-solutions-that-nobody-wants-to-problems-that-don-t-exist/)

[Alvin Lustig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-lustig/)

> [If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-i-had-never-dropped-in-on-that-single-course-in-college-the-mac/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/)

[Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/)

## More by Herb Lubalin

> [Typography can be as exciting as illustration and photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/typography-can-be-as-exciting-as-illustration-and-photography/)

[Herb Lubalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-lubalin/)

> [Sometimes you sacrifice legibility to increase impact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/sometimes-you-sacrifice-legibility-to-increase-impact/)

[Herb Lubalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-lubalin/)

> [The better people communicate, the greater will be the need for better typography-expressive typography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/the-better-people-communicate-the-greater-will-be-the-need-for-better/)

[Herb Lubalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-lubalin/)

[Explore all 4 Herb Lubalin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-lubalin/)

## More Ads quotes

> [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/)

[Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/)

> [As a Fundamentalist I had discovered while I was in college that it is possible to dismiss the entire Church as having gone off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard-3rd-duke-of-norfolk/as-a-fundamentalist-i-had-discovered-while-i-was-in-college-that-it/)

[Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard-3rd-duke-of-norfolk/)

> [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/)

[Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/)

> [One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/)

[Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/)

> [What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period. That's it. Animal protein is bad for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/what-every-human-being-should-do-is-eat-a-vegetarian-diet-based-on/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/)

[Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/)

> [Donald Trump threatened to file a defamation suit against me for running a TV ad that consisted only entirely of his own words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-threatened-to-file-a-defamation-suit-against-me-for/)

[Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/)

> [There is nothing personal about a personal ad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/there-is-nothing-personal-about-a-personal-ad/)

[Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/)

> [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/)

[Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/)

> [I am terrible at memorizing things. Hence, ad-libbing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-weatherly/i-am-terrible-at-memorizing-things-hence-ad-libbing/)

[Michael Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-weatherly/)

> [In a recent attack ad, the NRA claims that President Obama cares about his own children more than he cares about other children. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/in-a-recent-attack-ad-the-nra-claims-that-president-obama-cares-about/)

[Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/)

> [Nothing's going to keep me from making music. If I were in the want-ads in the back of the paper or playing to six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/nothing-s-going-to-keep-me-from-making-music-if-i-were-in-the-want/)

[Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/)

> [For me, being on set is no different than being at a dinner table or riding the subway next to someone; inevitably their life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-mahoney/for-me-being-on-set-is-no-different-than-being-at-a-dinner-table-or/)

[Victoria Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-mahoney/)

> [We assumed the customers were smart and that they'll buy what they like, not what the ads tell them to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-rosso/we-assumed-the-customers-were-smart-and-that-they-ll-buy-what-they/)

[Renzo Rosso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-rosso/)

[Browse all 856 Ads quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ads/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You can do a good ad without good typography, but you can't do a great ad without good typography.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Herb Lubalin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typography-but-you-can-t-do-a-great/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ads"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typography-but-you-can-t-do-a-great/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/herb-lubalin-73636_ads_you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typogr_1239471.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You can do a good ad without good typography, but you can't do a great ad without good typography.” — Herb Lubalin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Herb Lubalin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-lubalin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "You can do a good ad...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typography-but-you-can-t-do-a-great/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-lubalin/you-can-do-a-good-ad-without-good-typography-but-you-can-t-do-a-great/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
