Will skinnylicious fonts leave you feeling hungry?

What fonts would you pair with words like “light”, “wholesome”, “skinnylicious”, “sensible” and “mild”? These are the adjectives that often accompany low-fat, low-carb options according to science writer David Robson. I’m pretty sure that right now you’re imagining skinny, minimalist sans serif styles like options A and D in the illustration.

I’m reading David Robson’s book The Expectation Effect and in chapter 5 he talks about marketeers using positive reframing to focus the attention on a product being 95% fat free instead of containing 5% fat.

Robson talks about how expectations shape your experiences. This got me thinking about the way the appearance of the words, the fonts, can also frame a message and prime your expectations.

In an article in New Scientist he writes that “If you are craving a satisfying dish but trying to be careful about you weight, few things are more dispiriting than reading the “healthy” options on a food menu.” Surely this also applies to how the words look as well as what they say? Will an ultra-skinny sans serif font prime you to feel satisfied after a pleasurable meal?

More importantly, scientists have shown that if you expect your meal won’t satisfy you, then you’re more likely to feel hungry afterwards. Robson says this is all down to “the sense of…