New month, new face here at Jen Cloes Designs! I am a female entrepreneur turned graphic design newbie and Jen’s assistant. When creating my first designs with Jen I dove right in with confidence but little expertise. I knew what eye-catching designs looked like and was determined to show my creative side. While I am proud of what I have created with a small amount of typography know-how, I quickly learned that creativity can often break typographical rules.
As you grow your business, I don’t want you to continue to make the same mistakes I did. Here are my top three tips I have learned that will uplevel your typography skills from the beginning as well as help you create brand recognition.
Tip #1
Create a hierarchy to your fonts.
What do you want your audience to see first, second, etcetera? Whatever it is, make it POP! Any good marketing strategy uses hooks and buzzwords to lure your audience in. While I am not a fan of buzzwords to sell your product, I am a fan of BOLD statements to tell your audience what you want them to know first and what you want them to remember most.
When creating any advertisement for your business, think about the keywords or phrases you want to emphasize. Be sure to show them off. You can do this by using contrasting font sizes, weights, and/or styles.
Tip #2
Readability is more important than creativity.
Sometimes you have to reign in your creative brain and SIMPLIFY. I am notorious for overthinking. Especially in the beginning creativity needs to be trumped by the rules. Keep the focus on the real message and not how fancy it can be. While it may be enticing to add block colors, multiple fonts, and/or patterns, don’t. Instead, use repetition to your advantage. Use the same font for headings or keywords. Creating consistency with your typography helps create consistency for your brand.
Tip #3
Know how to use your brand colors.
There is more than just knowing your brand colors. Create a color block before you start any design. Each color should have a designated “job.” Often my overthinking would get “creative” and try to combine multiple colors to make a statement rather than letting my type make the impact. Just like using contrasting size and weight for your type, assign a color from your color palette to certain areas to add focus and hierarchy. Be aware of how your type color reads on the color block. HINT: Contrast is usually your best friend!
