Design Tips

Limit your typefaces.

Limit your typefaces, and don’t get carried away with using lots of different fonts. Instead, select one or two fonts, three at the very maximum, deciding which font will be used for the header text and which will be used for the body copy. Opting for a font ‘family’ helps to take the headache out of matching and pairing different fonts, with basic, black, narrow, and bold variations of the same font to choose from.

Gaining control over your fonts eliminates the need to trial different combinations to find out what works and what doesn’t, and adds consistency throughout a single document or a series of projects.

Respect White space.

White space—also referred to as “negative space”— is the areas of a design that do not include any design elements. The space is, effectively, empty.

Many beginning designers feel the need to pack every pixel with some type of “design” and overlook the value of white space. But white space serves many important purposes in a design, foremost being giving elements of the design room to breathe. Negative space can also help highlight specific content or specific parts of a design.

It can also make elements of a design easier to discern. This is why typography is more legible when upper and lowercase letters are used since negative space is more varied around lowercase letters, which allows people to interpret them more quickly.

Get colour clever.

Close your eyes for a moment and picture a colour. Now, think about how that colour makes you feel. Colours are emotive and often have strong associations to experiences, in fact ‘colour theory’ highlights the connection colours have with human behaviour.

Because a colour can communicate so much through its hue, start with a great colour palette. Try sticking to a colour scheme of one to three primary colours, and one to three secondary colours, to achieve a contrasting, complementary, and consistent palette.

Try using a colour wheel or online tools to help you decide the perfect palette for you. Pick colours that work with the intended aim or message of your design, and avoid veering too far away from the mainstream to prevent confusing your audience.