Beginner's Corner

We’ve already discussed when we started this series on typography that typography may very well be one of the most important elements in any design. How do you know if your typography is strong enough? It should answer the following criteria:

• Lends to the design, not taking away from it.
• Easy to read and comprehend.
• Makes an impact and draws attention as needed.

You may be thinking, that SOUNDS easy but it can’t possibly be. How do you actually accomplish ALL those things in a single design?

Typography is funny that way. To ensure that it’s ADDING to your design, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does it really EXPRESS what I want it to say?
• Can it be read easily from a distance?
• If I’ve used “Fancy” fonts, am I sure they are at least 16pt? Large enough to read?

Now that we’ve determined what your text should accomplish, let’s take a step back and discuss some other types of fonts. We’ve briefly mentioned that any “fancy” fonts would need to be large enough to read, so what does that entail? What are these “fancy” fonts I’m referring to?

To me, “fancy” fonts refer to anything that is not either simply Serif or Sans Serif.

DaFont.com, one of my favorite sites for typography inspiration, has several categories of these type faces, ranging from Grunge, Comic Book to Scripts and Calligraphy. Let’s look at a few of these (the fonts I’m showcasing here are avialable on Dafont.com!)

Western Fonts

One important thing to note when you’re looking at free fonts, watch the licensing laws they were released under. You will find that information on DaFont on the right side of the screen. Some are only free for personal use, others are simply free.

Script Fonts

We’re gonna end here for today in an effort to avoid overloading you with information. We will pick up this topic and continue!

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Rule 1: The Family Comes First. For continuity in a design, attempt to rely on a single font family. To avoid being backed into a corner, choose a family that has a variety of weights and faces.

Rule 2: Use Diversity. While working within the family is the first place to start with any design, adding a distinctive typeface can create additional visual hierarchy and interest. Be cautious however, when adding additional fonts limit the selection. Very rarely would you ever want any Remember that Counterpoint and Contrast are stronger than harmony. The least risky, out of family contrast is combining a serif and sans serif font.
 

Rule 3: Combine similiar proportions. The reason you can’t easily mix Helvetica and Times together is the difference in letter proportions. These fonts combined look awkward, not coherent. On the other side, a combination of Arial and Times would work well, because the letter proportions are similar. Be aware of the x-height of the letter’s you are combining.

Can you tell which one is Arial/Times or Helvetica/Times?

The top sample is the correctly proportioned combination of Arial and Times, the bottom example is the unproprtionate combination of Helvetica and Times.
 

Rule 4: Limit combinations. Don’t use a font if you don’t have too. There is a fine line between diversity and font clutter.  Each typeface should provide a definite and specific purpose within the piece you are designing, if it doesn’t it’s chaos that’s not necessary and should be replaced with a previously used font.

While I firmly believe every rule is made to be broken, I also believe you must have a firm grasp of the rules before you can break them!  Enjoy your type design!

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A margin is the area around the outside edge of the page in terms of graphic design. This area can be from top to bottom or left to right. The amount of white space you leave in your margins will determine the overall feel to your layout.

Designers should see margins as one of the most important elements on the page. How is that possible? Though one of the elements of the “subconscious”, a well placed margin will lend a tone to the rest of the layout.  The tone? A wide spacious margin will make the layout feel open and airy. A narrow margin will cause the page to seem heavy and dense.

Let’s examine this theory visually. If you are creating a magazine layout for a client, how do you determine how big your margins should be?

While it may seem like keeping  a small margin gives you more active room to work with, is it really better for the reader? Can their eyes take in all the lines, graphics and movement without the “break” of whitespace?

Let’s look at an example.  The following two layouts are composed of the same elements and basic design. However, I’m sure you can immediately tell a difference between the 2 compositions. Which are you more likely to stop and look at? Which one is more comfortable on the eyes?

Chances are, the second layout will appeal to you more as a reader. However, as you can see, the downside of the extra margin is less active area which means the full layout may require more pages as a result.

Tight Margins:

A little looser:

Is there middle ground? Absolutely. If space constraints are an issue, and for most clients they will be, try to compromise. Add an extra margin on the left and right or top and bottom but not all the way around.

This will not only give “space” to the reader, but it will spruce up your design and lend a creative flair to your work!

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The first request was for a series on color basics.

Color Schemes for Beginners

Broadly defined, a color scheme is a group of colors you put together. Where it gets a little more complicated is knowing if you have a good one or not.

If you’re just starting out in design all the color options may be a little scary. How do you decide what colors to use? What makes a "good" color scheme?

Start with 1. That’s right. Read it again. Decide on 1 color to be the basis of your design. Seen a photo somewhere with a color that jumped out at you? Well, now you can put it to good use!

Once you have your base color, you have yet again several options as you decide how to build your scheme around it. Once you know the rules, you’ll no longer have to "think" through the process as much. It will begin to come naturally.

Before we can dive into color schemes you must first have a  clear understanding of the color wheel and what it represents:

A basic color wheel begins with the 3 primary colors (you probably learned these in elementary school). Red. Yellow. Blue.

Next, we add the "secondary" colors. These colors are the bold colors created when combing 2 of the primaries. Orange. Green. Violet (Purple).
 

As you can see from the wheel, combining Red + Yellow = Orange, Yellow + Blue=Green and Blue + Red=Violet.

Now, let’s take it a step further by adding the "tiertiaries" (or 3rd tier). Red-Orange. Yellow-Orange. Yellow-Green. Blue-Green. Blue-Violet. Red-Violet.
 

Now we have the basic color wheel:

What good is it? The color wheel is the basic foundation for creating  3 foundational harmonious color schemes.

Complimentary:  Complimentary colors are simply those that are found on opposite sides of the color wheel.

Examples:

Purple + Yellow (My High School Colors!)
              

Green + Red (Christmas Anyone?)

Blue + Orange
           

Split Complimentary: Split Complimentary schemes are 3 colors. The main selection grouped with the 2 colors that are found on either side of the complimentary.
 

Examples:

Purple + Yellow-Green and Yellow-Orange
               

Red + Blue-Green and Yellow-Green
               

Blue + Yellow-Orange and Red-Orange

Analogous: Analogous colors refer to the 3 colors that appear side-by-side in any portion of the color wheel.

Example:

Red + Red-Violet and Red-Orange
             

Orange + Red-Orange and Red
             

Green + Blue-Green and Yellow-Green

 
As I continue with this series, we’ll explore some other easy color schemes and terms.  I’ll be posting a new "Beginner’s Post" once a week. Please let me know if there is a topic you’d like to learn more about!
 

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