By Dr. Wan Khatina Nawawi
Typography shapes trust. This article explores how MAVCOM and BNM regulate font and layout to protect consumers and why it matters.
Typography is often dismissed as a matter of taste or branding; something left to the graphic designers or marketing teams. But in the world of regulation and consumer protection, typography is far more than aesthetic. It is structure. It is intention. And at times, it is compliance.
In regulated sectors such as the aviation and financial services, typography can mean the difference between clarity and confusion, between informed decision-making and consumer harm. In an environment where trust is hard-won and easily lost, how information is presented matters. Not just what is said, but how it looks when it is said.
The invisible infrastructure of trust
When we think about regulatory communication, we often focus on the content: the legal language, the financial terms, the policy disclaimers. But we don’t think enough about how that content appears. Is it legible? Is it readable without effort? Is it clear enough to be understood by someone without legal or financial training?
Typography is the invisible infrastructure that shapes these answers. Before a consumer can read, compare, or decide, they must first see the information; not merely see it, but process it effortlessly.
Good typography removes friction. Bad typography creates it. And in regulated communications, friction can become failure.
MAVCOM: When font becomes a compliance issue
The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) makes this point explicit in its 2024 Guidance on Advertisement of Air Fare. The guidance goes beyond the usual rules about what must be disclosed and delves into how that information must be presented.
For MAVCOM, typography is a regulatory concern. Airlines are expected to ensure that disclaimers and qualifying information are prominent, readable, and not obscured by poor layout, small font size, or low-contrast colours. In other words, if consumers can’t see or understand the disclaimer, it might as well not be there. And that would be a problem.
Consider how often we encounter fare advertisements that display low prices in large bold text while hiding key conditions such as travel periods, exclusions, or additional fees in a pale grey footnote. This is not just poor design. It can mislead. MAVCOM rightly treats it as a potential breach of the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code 2016 (MACPC).
Typography, in this context, becomes evidence. It can demonstrate either compliance or non-compliance.
BNM: Designing for disclosure, not just content but also clarity
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has taken a similarly clear approach. Recognising that consumers are often overwhelmed by brochures filled with jargon and unreadable fine print, BNM did not simply mandate more disclosures. Instead, it began regulating how those disclosures are visually presented.
Its 2024 Policy Document on Product Transparency and Disclosure sets out expectations that go beyond the words themselves. The policy requires that key information such as fees, risks, and terms be delivered in a format that is both structured and typographically accessible. Typography is treated as a tool for understanding, not just decoration.
Font sizes must be large enough to be legible. Disclaimers must not be hidden using pale colours or cramped formatting. On digital platforms, key terms must appear clearly and immediately without excessive scrolling or being placed behind expandable sections or footnotes that are hard to tap. The Product Disclosure Sheet (PDS), which is now mandatory for all retail financial products, must allow for meaningful comparison through clear layout, consistent headings, and proper spacing.
BNM’s approach is especially relevant in the digital environment. As more consumers access financial services through websites and mobile apps, visual clarity on smaller screens has become a regulatory priority. Typography is no longer a matter of taste or branding. It plays a central role in ensuring fair and transparent outcomes for consumers, and regulators are paying attention.
Three pillars: clarity, credibility, compliance
1. Clarity
Typography should support effortless reading. That means:
- Choosing readable typefaces (I admit a personal love for Helvetica).
- Using appropriate font sizes — especially for disclaimers.
- Avoiding clutter: no dense blocks of text, no light grey on white.
Clarity is not about simplicity for its own sake. It’s about removing barriers to understanding, especially for those with low literacy, visual impairments, or simply limited time and attention.
2. Credibility
Typography shapes perception. A serious message in a childish font undermines its own authority. Sloppy layout creates doubt. Inconsistent use of typefaces signals carelessness.
On the other hand, thoughtful typography, clean lines, aligned margins, balanced hierarchy, builds trust. It tells the reader: we are professionals. We respect your time. We want you to understand.
In regulated communication, this kind of visual credibility is essential. It reinforces the reliability of the message and the integrity of the institution behind it.
3. Compliance
Perhaps most critically, typography plays a role in meeting legal obligations. If material terms are hidden in unreadable footnotes, a disclosure may fail the “fair and transparent” test. If price details are intentionally downplayed through design, it could amount to a deceptive practice.
We are now in an era where design can mislead, and regulators are catching up. Whether it’s MAVCOM warning against hard-to-read disclaimers or global regulators scrutinising dark patterns online, typography is increasingly being viewed as part of the compliance landscape.
From form to function
We often hear that consumers should “read the fine print.” But that presumes the fine print is readable. And more importantly, that it is presented in a way that respects the reader’s right to understand.
Typography is not a decorative layer applied after the message is written. It is the message. It gives shape to content. It helps the reader navigate, filter, and decide. And in regulated contexts, it either fulfils the duty to inform or falls short.
Toward a typographically responsible culture
There is a growing case for regulators to embed typographic guidelines within consumer protection frameworks across more sectors. This includes aviation, finance, insurance, telecommunications, utilities, and retail.
Organisations also have a role to play. Training should extend beyond legal and compliance teams. Designers, marketers, and communications professionals must also understand how typography shapes the way information is received and understood.
Indeed, legibility is a form of accountability. Compliance does not begin with the legal clause. It begins with whether the consumer can read and understand what is in front of them.