Sean Williams is a Canadian illustrator and creative director known for his typographic portraits of musicians, actors, and pop culture influencers. Each type design is hand illustrated and uses text from the celebrity's movie titles, song lyrics, or famous quotes, to create a recognizable face of that person. The list includes Audrey Hepburn, Beyonce, Bob Marley, Elvis, … [Read more...]
The Most Popular Font Types In America
Venngage is a popular online tool that lets you create free infographics for reports, data presentations, promotions, and more. It is used by over 1 million users and 21,000 businesses worldwide. Recently, they analyzed the usage statistics of 50+ fonts they offer on their platform, to see where in the US certain types of fonts are most commonly used. These included serif, sans … [Read more...]
Designer Turns Popular Gadgets Into Letters Of The Alphabet, And They’re Pure Awesome
Brazilian designer Vinicius Araújo has come up with an exceptional typography project which showcases the letters of the alphabet in the shape of well-known gadgets, based on their initials. For example, the letter 'J' has been designed to look like a JBL speaker. The letter 'C' is based on the industrial design of a Canon Camera. The letter ‘L’ has been created using an LG … [Read more...]
Designer Brilliantly Explains Why 7-Eleven’s Symmetrically Flawed Logo Is Not A Design Error
If you've never noticed it before, 7-Eleven's logo uses a mix of upper and lowercase letters (ELEVEn). Also, the 'E' doesn't align with the top edge of the 7 and the center alignment of the logo is off. The design community is abuzz on this topic after a Reddit thread brought these capitalization and symmetrical imperfections to light. … [Read more...]
10 Typography Mistakes That Novice Designers Make
"Typography is an art. Good typography is art." - Paul Rand. Toronto-based designer Meagen Higginbottom, who runs design blog Forth And Create, has shared a list of 10 common typography mistakes that make your designs look amateurish. These include improper kerning and leading, stretched fonts, lack of contrast, using too many fonts, and more. Even if you've spent years in … [Read more...]
Designer Brilliantly Explains Why Google’s Geometrically Flawed Logo Is Not A Design Error
Google's "G" logo is not geometrically perfect. It's not a perfect circle and the color arcs don't align with each other. The internet and the design community are abuzz on this topic after a Reddit thread brought these geometrical imperfections to light. … [Read more...]
This Handy Infographic Helps You Choose The Right Font For Your Brand
Every font has a unique personality and characteristic. When choosing a font for your brand, it is imperative that you choose the one that best reflects the personality of your brand. Different fonts evoke different emotions. Serif fonts portray tradition, reliability, and integrity (which is why they're used by most print media brands). Sans-serif fonts give a modern, … [Read more...]
19 Memes Every Graphic Designer Will Relate To
Having a long day at work? Client giving you a hard time? Boss being a prick? Then indulge in some meme therapy and brighten up your day. Memes stimulate the release of dopamine in your brain and make you forget about work problems and deadline-driven stress. In a study of more than 200 working professionals, scientists found that when co-workers receive memes from you, it … [Read more...]
Clever, Minimal Typographic Logos Of Cities
Vladislav Smolkin is a graphic designer and logo artist based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He specializes in identity and logo design for small and medium-sized companies, and has clients all over the world. Smolkin's forte lies in minimalism. He believes he is able to showcase his talent best using a minimalist style. One of his personal projects is CITIESET - a series of … [Read more...]
20 Typography Rules Every Designer Should Know
Good typography is the difference between amateur and professional design. It arouses the user's interest and ensures that your message gets read. Typography is an art, and though they say art has no rules, there are certain principles you should follow when it comes to typography. Nothing says "amateur" like stretched fonts, lack of kerning, illegible text, and using too … [Read more...]
51 Creative Logos That Use Negative Space Brilliantly
In art and design, negative space is the background space around and between the subject of an image. For example, in a picture of a palm tree against the sky, the shape of the tree is the positive space. The sky and the space between the branches and leaves is the negative space. … [Read more...]
29 Creative Logo Designs That Use Numbers
Over the past few weeks, we've showcased some brilliant logos that use minimalism, monograms, single-letters, and more. Today's post features 29 clever logos that use numbers and digits in their design. Observe the typography and the use of number shapes to create visual meanings. … [Read more...]
Designer Challenges Herself To Create A Logo In 60 Minutes, Every Day For 60 Days
Karoline Tynes is a freelance graphic designer and economics student based in Oslo, Norway. To develop and promote herself as a designer, she undertook a design challenge in which she had to create a new logo every day for 60 days. The rule was to use a maximum of 60 minutes on each logo, which is why ideation was important. She used Copic markers for sketching, followed by … [Read more...]
23 Memes That Graphic Designers Will Love
Bored at work? Have five minutes to spare before your boss comes back from lunch? If yes, then check out these graphic design memes that every client-bashing, mouse-weilding, Photoshop-loving designer will relate to. … [Read more...]
Clever Typographic Logos That Visualize The Meanings Of Various Words
Morocco-based brand designer Bachir Bachchar has come up with an interesting project titled "66 Smart Words" that showcases typographic logos of common words we use every day. The impressive bit is that the letters of each word have been designed in a way that they form a visual image associated with the meaning of the words themselves (a.k.a. calligrams). … [Read more...]
27 Beautiful Free Fonts For Your Next Design Project
As a designer, no matter how many fonts you own, you always want more. And then there's that heartbreaking moment when you've found a gorgeous typeface, only to see a big green button next to it that says "Buy Now for $75". Let's face it. We designers want freebies. We're drawn to them like a moth to a flame. … [Read more...]
The Homepages Of America’s Fastest Growing Companies Have These Elements In Common
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” – Will Rogers. The homepage of your website is a user/customer’s first impression of your company. You have 0-8 seconds to engage a user, after which the majority of them leave. A one-second delay in your site speed can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. The key ingredients of an effective homepage are speed, … [Read more...]
25 Gorgeous Free Fonts For Your Next Design Project
Fonts are to designers what shoes are to women. They can never have enough of them. And what's better than a beautiful font? A beautiful font that's available for FREE. We've compiled a list of 25 stylish and contemporary fonts that designers will love to get their hands on. Check them out below. … [Read more...]
45 Creative Single-Letter Logos For Design Inspiration
Last week, we showcased 50 monogram logos that merged two or more alphabets to form one unique symbol. Today, we're focussing on logos that use just one alphabet and typographical creativity to form a distinctive brand identity. These are trickier to execute than monogram logos because you just have one letter to play with. Luckily, the designers who crafted these 45 examples … [Read more...]
50 Creative Monogram Logos For Design Inspiration
A monogram is a motif or symbol made by combining two or more letters. The earliest known examples of monograms date back to 350BC when the names of Greek cities used to be engraved on coins. Over the centuries, monograms have been used in religion, architecture and in royal symbols to denote power and authority. … [Read more...]
41 Creative Minimal Logos For Design Inspiration
When it comes to logo design, minimalism can be tricky to achieve. If executed improperly, the logo can come across as too simple or boring. In the process of removing unnecessary elements, you have to ensure that your logo remains memorable and distinctive. … [Read more...]
Gorgeous Animations Of Hand-Lettered Logos Where Every Frame Is Hand-Drawn
Mantas Grauzinis is a freelance illustrator and animator based in Vilnius, Lithuania. He loves good stories and "splashy, smoother than butter movements". His passion for the latter can be observed in a series of slick animations of hand-lettered logos created by him, that are extremely satisfying to watch. … [Read more...]
A Useful Guide To Different Font Formats That Every Designer Should Know
There are many choices of font formats but not a single one works across all browsers. You will have to use multiple font formats to deliver a consistent experience. These include TrueType Font (TTF), OpenType (OTF), Embedded OpenType (EOT), Web Open Font Format (WOFF) and Scalable Vector Graphics font (SVG). … [Read more...]
This Clever Pen Tool Technique Shows You How To Place Anchor Points And Curves In Illustrator
The Pen Tool is one of the most powerful tools in Adobe Illustrator and also the hardest to master. You don't always know where the anchor points have to go and where the bezier handles are supposed to be directed. Too many anchor points result in choppy curves and can also cause printing errors. The bezier handles need to be in the right direction and at the right length to … [Read more...]
Smooth, Clean Animations Of Beautiful Hand-Lettered Logos For Design Inspiration
Russian designers Starov Evgeniy (lettering artist) and Alexey Dubnichenko (motion designer) have come up with a series of impressive animations of commercial lettering work they've created over the last year. The objective of this collection is to show lettering logos in a new perspective. … [Read more...]
This Animated Video Brilliantly Explains Layout And Composition In Graphic Design
Layout and composition are the foundation of design. They give your work structure and make it easier to navigate. Without a well-composed layout, your elements would basically fall apart. GCFLearnFree has come up with an excellent animated tutorial on the five basic layout and composition principles that can help transform your work and sharpen your eye for design. Check it … [Read more...]
Work-From-Home Designer Earns $1 Million Selling Fonts and Graphics Online
Nicky Laatz is a designer, entrepreneur and stay-at-home mom who runs her business from her home in Cape Town, South Africa. She creates fonts, graphics, templates, add-ons, etc. and sells them on Creative Market, an online marketplace for community-generated design assets. She's the first person to have crossed $1 million USD in sales on Creative Market. Watch her inspiring … [Read more...]
30 Great Font Combinations For Your Next Design Project
Designers often spend a lot of time deciding which typefaces to pair up and most sites don’t offer a real preview of what the text will look like. To make life easier for everyone, designer Poppie Pack from Canva has created a set of mock-ups that show different headline and body font combinations for a variety of design projects. Pack has also specified the font size and … [Read more...]
How To Convert Your Hand Lettering From Paper To Digital In Adobe Illustrator
Yesterday, we featured Mackey Saturday's 60 second tutorial on how to create a custom logotype. Today, we'll be focusing in depth on the process of converting your hand-lettering to vector, with the help of this brilliant tutorial from designer Jenn Coyle at Hello Brio Studio. Watch below. … [Read more...]
25 Clever Logos Of Common Verbs You Use Every Day
Following up to the previously published 25 adjective logo collection, Spanish designer Lucas Gil-Turner has created a series of impressive logos for the 25 most commonly used verbs in the Oxford English Dictionary. The list was released by Oxford University Press researchers after the analysis of over a billion words. … [Read more...]
Designer Who Created The Instagram Logo Shows You How To Design A Logotype
A logotype is the name of a brand or a company designed in a visually unique way for use by that company. The logos of Google, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Disney, Cadbury, Nokia and Philips are examples of famous logotypes. The wordmarks are created using a custom or an existing typeface. … [Read more...]
10 Clever Typographic Posters Of Scientists And Their Achievements
To celebrate Science Day in India, Mumbai-based graphic designer Kapil Bhagat came up with a series of minimalist typographic posters featuring the names of famous scientists. Each name was designed in a way that it symbolized the invention, theory or achievement that the scientist is famous for. … [Read more...]
25 Clever Logos Of Common Adjectives You Use Every Day
Following up to the previously published 25 nouns logo collection, Spanish designer Lucas Gil-Turner has created a series of impressive logos for the 25 most commonly used adjectives in the Oxford English Dictionary. The list was released by Oxford University Press researchers after the analysis of over a billion words. … [Read more...]
What Different Types Of Fonts Mean And How To Use Them
Every font has a unique personality and purpose. While working on a project, it's imperative to know which font matches the intended tone of communication. Serif fonts portray tradition, sophistication and a formal tone. Sans serif fonts are modern, humanist and neutral. Slab serifs are bold and contemporary. Script fonts are elegant, classic, stylish and formal. … [Read more...]
The Story Behind The World’s Most Controversial Font
Full marks if you knew which font we were referring to, before you landed on this page. Created by designer Vincent Connare, Comic Sans is arguably the world's most contentious font - the subject of innumerable memes and websites. … [Read more...]
