Insomniac Drivel » fonts

8 ways web design is changing the graphic design industry

Brandon Chowning — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:12:47 +0000

In the last ten or more years, web design has become one of the most prevalent design professions and

skills in the world. It’s nearly impossible to be hired as a new graphic designer these days without having some sort of background in…….

read the full article here

Tattoos & Type: Typographical Tattoos

Brandon Chowning — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:37:10 +0000

The Skin Project

I love TYPE. Typography in print, typography on the web.. i love it all. Typography is one of my favorite parts of design and it is one of those things you can find in unlikely places. Sometimes on an old store sign, or a business card, the back of a food package or even on someones body. I recently read about the “Skin Project,” short story being published in a single edition – its 2,095 words tattooed randomly on the skin of 2,095 participants – the words are scattered all over the planet on various body parts, all black and in classic book fonts. “Skin Project”, written by Shelly Jackson and is still in the production process. If you would like to be involved with the project – visit the Skin Project website to learn more.

Read the full article here

Turn Any Font Into a Sketch Font

Brandon Chowning — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:26:34 +0000

There are some popular sketchy fonts available that are great for grungy and hand-drawn designs and illustrations. My problem is, I want to be able to use this sketchy style in any font. Turn’s out, it is actually really easy to do in Illustrator. Moreover, you can create a Graphic Style and easily apply the style to other editable fonts!

Read the full article here

Notes

This tutorial was created with Illustrator CS4, but you should be able to create the tutorial in other Illustrator CS versions

6 ways to make your design look more professional

Brandon Chowning — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:48 +0000

article originally posted at http://graphicdesignblender.com/ways-to-make-your-design-look-more-professional

The question

I have met with my fair share of inexperienced graphic designers who are searching for their place in this enormous industry. Many have asked me what they can do to design at a more professional level.

The answers

While there are a lot of answers to this question would most likely deal with the research or creative process, I have chosen to highlight a number of things beginning (or advanced) designers can do in order to make their design LOOK more professional. These tips are all about aesthetics and the final overall feel of your design piece. They include simplicity, contrast, texture, depth, gradation, and consistency.After reading the list, let us know what you would add by leaving a comment.

1. Simplicity.

A fallacy of many new designers is to add too much to their design. Too many drop shadows, borders, colors, etc. I bring up this point first for a reason. As you read through the rest of this list, please remember that not each of these tips should be used in the same project or every time you work on a project. Use them sparingly and tastefully.

One designer who exemplifies simplicity in design is an acquaintance of mine, Brian Hoff. A glimps of his work is found above. Visit his portfolio or his blog and you will see the beauty in simplicity that he so successfully executes.

2. Contrast.

Something that all new designers need to learn (and experienced designers need to remember) is that our eyes are wired to notice areas of high contrast first. Have you ever noticed how the appearance of our eyes is engineered? We all have a dark pupil and iris surrounded by the white of our eyes. Likewise, have you noticed that the first place to look at someone when you are talking to them happens to be their eyes. Not a coincidence. Contrast attracts attention.

By using contrast in your design, it will be not only more professional but more effective in communicating its message.

3. Texture.

Now this is a dangerous one. In my opinion texture can be used quite frequently to add the extra boost your design needs. This, of course, should be done in extremely subtle ways. Heavy or extreme textures can detract from the main content of the piece but, if used wisely, it can also make your design look slightly more professional.

Why is texture so effective? Because it mimmicks real life. It is very unusual for us to look at an object in the world that has no texture to it. Chris Spooner, a very influential and skilled designer, is a great example of a designer who uses texture well to make things more interesting and professional. Check out Chris’s blog and portfolio to see what I mean.

4. Depth.

Let’s think some more about the way we see things in real life. Go ahead look down at your keyboard sitting on your desk. Or maybe out the window at a tree or a fence. Each item you look at overlaps something else. The keyboard overlaps the desk. The window glass overlaps the tree and the tree overlaps the fence.

If you want your design to be more professional and realistic, add depth. Subtle ways to add depth to your design include:

light drop shadows
subtle blurring
overlapping shapes and objects
loss of saturation or definition
what else would you add?

5. Gradation.

Adding a very subtle and clean gradient to your design piece can be very effective. Now, I’m not talking about the seven-color neon gradients here, Im talking about the monochromatic (centered around one color) gradient that is barely noticeable. Notice, for example, the gradients used in the header of this page. The large black area is actually a gradient from dark grey to black, the blue area- a gadient from dark blue to darker blue.

Gradients should be used sparingly to add depth, interest, and an extra element of professionalism to your design.

6. Consistency.

This may very well be the most important principle of them all. Ensuring consistency in your design will give it a cohesive, “finished” look. Be sure to repeat elements, use a limited color palette, and limit fonts to a maximum of two. Then use those elements throughout the piece. This will make your design more impressive and a little more professional.

Conclusion

There is a lot of design clutter that you have to break through in this day of rapid technology and an ever-present internet. The graphic design industry is larger than ever and will continue to grow. If you want to make your design more professional, I suggest the above steps amongst others.

27 Classic & Elegant Serif Fonts

Brandon Chowning — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:34:49 +0000

article originally posted at http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/10/11/classic-elegant-serif-fonts/

“There are now about as many different varieties of letters as there are different kinds of fools.” Eric Gill

Choosing a font for a project isn’t always an easy task but hopefully this list of professional classic and elegant serif fonts will make the task a little easier… or maybe not.

Cheltenham Old Style No 2

New Century Schoolbook Roman

Berthold Baskerville Book Regular

Scala Pro-Regular

Garamond Premier

Bembo

Times New Roman MTStd

Adobe Caslon

Bodoni

Goudy 38

More Typography & Font Resources:

How graphic design can solve problems and save lives

Brandon Chowning — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:45:55 +0000

article originally posted on Graphic Design Blender by Preston Lee

Does graphic design really solve problems?

“What problems do graphic designers solve?” That was a recent question that I got from a reader in response to an article here on Graphic Design Blender. He continues his question by adding, “If you’re at an airport will you be more likely to find your terminal if the signs are designed with Helvetica, than if they were designed with Papyrus? Isn’t the only difference that one looks nicer than the other?” This post answers the above questions.

In short, my answer be a resounding “YES!” I would like to examine a very popular example in which graphic design solved a big problem.

The U.S. Highway System

As early as the year 2004, the Federal Highway Administration allowed for individual states to start using a font named Clearview in place of its predecessor Highway Gothic in order to (according to the researchers and designers behind the new font) “increas[e] the legibility and recognition of road sign[s]“.

The new font has now been accepted nationwide as the standard for highway signs due to legibility tests and faster reaction times proven in studies that have been conducted. You can read all about the new Clearview typeface, the research behind it and its implementation at Clearviewhwy.com. You might also enjoy reading an article written in the New York Times about the change in typeface.

Overall, the change in typeface helped in the following ways: (statistics taken from clearviewhwy.com)

Improved nighttime sign reading distance by up to 16 percent.
For drivers traveling at 45 mph, that legibility enhancement could easily translate into 80 extra feet of reading distance, or a substantial 1.2 seconds of additional reading time.
The research revealed that when the upper/lowercase Clearview-Condensed is compared to the most commonly used all-capital-letter typeface, There was a 14 percent increase in recognition when viewed by older drivers at night, with no loss of legibility.

More Examples

There are many examples where graphic design solves a problem or makes the user experience better. While, the above scenario was a very specific situation, there are thousands upon thousands of everyday problem-solving experiences that graphic designers face. Below are some examples of problems designers may need to solve:

A company needs to redesign its logo in order to be more up-to-date or to appeal more to its target audience.
A large corporation wants to reduce clutter in their web site in order to make it more easy for visitors to navigate.
A big city wants to update its maps of the subway system in order to facilitate easier subway travel.
A brand new company wants to create a logo that will be used to facilitate brand equity and boost sales.
A writer wants to make his book more interesting by adding meaningful images and a powerful layout to his book.
What other situations would you add to the list?

You be the judge

There are thousands of visual, experiential, and informational problems to be solved every day as a graphic designer. I would like to know what you think: Does graphic design really solve problems? Or, as the reader here on GDB put it, ” Isn’t the only difference that one [design] looks nicer than the other?”