How to Choose the Right Fonts in your Branding
When you are designing anything that involves text, it can be daunting to choose from the myriad options that are available. Fortunately, there are guidelines to guide you through the selection process:
Firstly, you need to be familiar with font families. That includes families from Old Style such as Bembo, which originated during the Italian Renaissance and was used by a famed printer of the times Aldus Manutius, to Modern, of which Helvetica is a good example, and everything in between.
Using too many fonts results in a cluttered look that is sillier than slick. Take a look at the following:
It looks clumsier than cool! The golden rule is to use two fonts, three at most. Here’s an example:
Rather than combining two similar fonts, opt for a serif font paired with a sans serif option. In the previous example, we have used two fonts – Times New Roman, which is a serif-typeface, and Calibri, which is a sans-serif-typeface.
When using a combination of two fonts, ensure there is a strong contrast between the two. Otherwise, it won’t add to the readability. And it won’t appear nice either. Again, we can get a good idea about this from the example above.
Having said that, make sure that the two fonts have a similar ‘mood’ or feel, and reflect the same era or time period.
When using two fonts from the same family, they should appear to have different weights – the one seeming heavier than the other.
Some fonts, although popular, are best avoided. These include options such as Comic Sans, Papyrus, Curlz, Viner Hand and Kristen. Keep in mind, every font conveys an emotion. If you wish to convey a serious tone, Comic Sans isn’t really the right choice.
Platforms such as DaFont provide a seemingly endless array of fonts from which to choose. However, when choosing fonts for your website, you need to use Google Fonts.
Although these guidelines provide assistance and advice, you also need to experiment with various options and combinations to find a ‘feel’ that best fits your brand and your marketing strategy.
10 Tools to Help With Creativity
These days there are many online tools that are designed to help you channel your creativity. The bonus is that these web-based services are easy to use and don’t require knowledge of complicated graphics programs. It couldn’t be simpler to design and create aesthetically beautiful images, products and design schemes. Here are 10 tools to help with creativity
1. Wordoid
Wordoid is an innovative site that helps you develop a catchy name for your new product, service, business enterprise or domain. All you do is enter in your specifications and Wordoid will generate several relevant names and their domain availability.
2. Tagul
Tagul enables you to create eye-catching word clouds. This service also enables you to print these word clouds on a range of products including postcards, mugs and clothing.
Color Scheme Designer does exactly what the name suggests: it helps you develop an effective color scheme based on any color that you select. There are a range of possible options, from complementary to analogic schemes.
4. Patternizer
Patternizer is a web tool that helps you to create colorful effective patterns with ease. The easy to use slide bars and menus enable you to design custom patterns to suit your preferences.
5. PicMonkey
PicMonkey provides fun and funky ways to edit your favorite photographs. Whether you want to touch up, edit, create a photo montage, or design an incredible image, this is the tool to use.
6. Easel.ly
Easel ly is a great way to design and create effective visual ideas which you can then share. From posters to charts and diagrams, this is a great way to give your ideas a visual format.
7. Piktochart
PiktoChart enables you to create eye-catching infographics. You can select from the wide range of available themes, and then edit any or all of the elements to customize your infographic.
8. ReciteThis
Recite This takes any quote and turns it into a visual creation. Simple type in the wording of your choice and select a wide range of backgrounds and formats.
9. PinWords
Pin Words helps you to pin words to your favorite images. It’s the simplest way to effectively add your personal stamp to photos and images to create something striking and beautiful.
10. Designspiration
Designspiration is a great way to share all visual sources of inspiration that lead to great design. You can search, save and organize an endless array of photographs, typography, illustrations and images.
Web Design: White Is The New Black
When designing a blog or website, there are several key things that you need to keep in mind. One of the most important considerations is color. And it’s not about being pretty, it’s about enhancing readability. So what are the design tips when it comes to designing the color scheme of a readable website?
The simple answer is: black text on a white background works best. The high contrast between black and white makes text much easier to read. However, this is only true for black on white. Reverse type (i.e. white type on a black background) should be avoided. Even if your branding includes a lot of black, when working in a digital environment, you should simply use black as a highlight color rather than a full-screen background color otherwise, you will annoy a lot of visitors.
Recent studies have confirmed this. A wide variation of color combinations were tested to see which were the most readable. As a general trend, a darker color on a paler background was more readable than the reverse. The most readable combination was undeniably proven to be black text on a white background.
This is particularly true for paragraph text. Focusing on white text strains a reader’s eyes and makes the text more difficult to read. Using black text on a pale background makes it easier for readers to focus on the text, absorb the meaning of the words and get a comprehensive understanding of the subject of the paragraph. It has been proven that people read more accurately when they read black on white, which is what you want when they’re reading your website.
Using black text on a white background is also an effective way of making the best of whitespace. Whitespace is any portion of a website that is completely blank, such as a white background. Whitespace is important because, when it comes to web sign, less is more. Utilizing whitespace as a design element can help you create simple, elegant designs that are more readable and keep viewers on your site for longer periods of time.
All in all, black text on a white background enhances readability, aligns with key web design theories and is the best option for an effective website. When building your next website, please keep this blog post in mind - white is the new black.
Registering Dot Luxury Domains
The .Luxury is an all new generic domain extension which aims to speak directly with luxury buyers who are looking for high-end and ultra luxurious products. The new .luxury domain aims to help luxury brands further their status as luxury brands but we sincerely doubt it will make a difference.
Recent reports suggest that the ‘who’s-who’ of the luxury industry such as Gucci, Chanel, Bulgari and more are registering a dot luxury domains. This new .Luxury domain can, perhaps, bring the luxury industry’s fragmented online presence together and give it a common name and a centralized presence.
The organization responsible for the domain name launched a system that allowed generic top-level domain names in 2012. Initially, most top-level domains had only .com at the end of their URL. Now in the initial sunrise period of the .luxury registration, more than 500 luxury brands have already registered and secured their .luxury domain name. Presently, in the rush hour period, non-trademarked brands have applied for registration – for a premium price. If the domain name gets more than a single entry, it will be auctioned to the highest bidder. From September 19th, the .Luxury domain will be available to general public on a first-come-first-served basis.
The .Luxury Company is offering a dedicated platform for all luxury brands to collaborate and interact with one another. It has also laid down certain strict rules and regulations that prohibit and penalize counterfeiting and cyber squatting.
Regardless of the luxury product you deal in – haute couture clothes, exotic cars, superyachts, or stylish home furnishings – does a .Luxury website tell your consumers that you are the best at what you do? We don't think so. Luxury is about experience, customization and above all relationships. Having a .luxury at the end of your name does not make you luxury. But, like all other luxury brands out there, we might have to get on board with this new trend and secure our domain. It would be terrible for someone else to manage luxeinacity.luxury. I would simply have nightmares...
If you want to learn more in order to make up your own mind, visit http://www.dotluxury.com/.