What’s a font? A typeface? And is there a difference?
I've lost count the number of times I've heard the question: "what font is that?" The stickler in me would love to respond: "Shouldn't you technically be asking 'what typeface is that?'" Nowadays, the two terms are used interchangeably. However, in the past, these were two very distinct terms.
Do research before starting to design?
You've been offered to design a brochure for a company. You are given the copy. Told "make it look nice". The artiste in me is tempted to simply start designing right away. But do I start designing right away? NO.
Content is an essential part of any website
No matter what kind of site you have, deciding the content on your site is really deciding what purpose you want your site to have. Many designers think that they don't need to pay attention to the content as long as the design is good. BIG MISTAKE: No matter what kind of site you have, you won't get away with having bad content (or worse, no content).
Typography on the web
Choosing a font for my website was far easier than deciding on a font for a print publication. The selection for the web is limited by the fonts available on the viewer's machines. I can't select a font and then some can't view it — as it was intended — because it's not available on their machine.
Articles
What’s a font? A typeface? And is there a difference?
I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve heard the question: “what...
Podcasts
Twilight steals Nina Ricci's bottle design!Friday’s Creative Review for Successful Graphic Designers There’s only...
Blog
Testing headingsHeading 1 This week’s Design Tip It would take more than a simple e-zine to go over every nuance, mood, and characteristics of a typeface. Choosing a typeface sets the tone of your document and is an important decision. None more so than what you choose for your body copy. That is afterall, the main body of text of your document Heading 2 This week’s... [Read more]
Handling customer complaints or “adjustments”Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers It will happen, not all your clients will like what you do. It’s inevitable. I’m finding that more and more clients don’t really know what they want. They know they like this site and that site, and the colors from this other one. And they “know” what they want, it’s... [Read more]
Always design with the final in mindWednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers It never ceases to amaze me. I received an email from a fellow graphic designer. He wanted my opinion and critique for a project he was doing. He sent me a proof of a flyer he was working on. It had to be 8.5″ x 5.5″ and printed in 2 colors (blue and black). And what was the proof he... [Read more]
Using design principles in your emailsTuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers We never think about it, but maybe we should. Do emails speak louder than the words they contain? I talked about the idea of branding your emails, but what I’m talking about here is the actual content of your email. Should we apply the same design tricks to our emails? Strategies for making your... [Read more]
Branding your emailsTuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers I get emails all the time as I’m sure you do too. Well, last week, I got one that sort of surprised me, and made me think. I got an email from a woman working in a big corporation. Well, the email had one of those stationery background designs that comes with Outlook. She’d selected one that... [Read more]
Blog tools that help you get a loyal fan baseMonday’s Promotion Tip for Graphic Designers You’ve taken the plunge. You’ve started a blog. You are either with Blogger, Movable Type, TypePad, or my favorite, WordPress. Now what? Well, if you are using the blog as a marketing tool for you company, you want to get the word out about who you are and what you do. You want to create... [Read more]
Should you give out prices by the item?Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers I made another fundamental error with the client. Let’s see if you can relate. When a client starts off a job by telling you that he wants the quote to be broken down by component, R-U-N. That is code for he wants to save money by removing stuff if possible. Clients don’t understand... [Read more]
- Testing headings
- Handling customer complaints or “adjustments”
- Always design with the final in mind
- Using design principles in your emails
- Branding your emails
- Blog tools that help you get a loyal fan base
- Should you give out prices by the item?
- Always take screen captures!
- Should you always develop a concept?
- Should you have a brand?
CONNECTIONS
My name is Maria G. Nozza and I'm a freelance graphic designer. I like to think of myself as a left and right brain designer. I love anything to do with the creative side of design (you know... type, color, branding, design theory, etc.) But, on the flip side, I also love marketing and business ('cause you need these in order to make money). Then, I've got a printing background so I love production (which means that I can create designs quickly and that can actually be printed!)