Comments on: The skill designers lack and other small tips

By: Shakeel Talat

Shakeel Talat — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:09:10 +0000

A nice way to communicate professionalism in designing.

By: Ussen

Ussen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:13:11 +0000

Proof positive. Typography is not an appendage of graphic design. It is its essence.

By: Iain Stewart, France

Iain Stewart, France — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:50:55 +0000

Excellent article.

“The most common weakness among all designers is knowledge of typography.”

Not ignorance of typography.

I can’t be the only reader to have appreciated the irony in the statement, can I?

By: Ian Samson

Ian Samson — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:24:02 +0000

Brief and concise. I love your articles!

As a Creative Head, I know if a layout is a disaster or a gold bar by merely looking at its fonts! In using contrast, a shadow must remain a shadow. If it darkens everything, then it becomes another gloomy piece of wasted idea.

By: John McWade

John McWade — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:56:24 +0000

You raise a good issue. Consistency (in your case color consistency) exists in every good painting, and I'd add that consistency in various forms (type, color, line, shape, etc.) is present in every good design. In the case of branding, however, we're talking about consistency over time, meaning the same image repeated again and again and again and again and again. You do this in painting only if you are creating a matched set or series of images. Thomas Kinkade's look-alike paintings come to mind — which because of the repetition have become a brand.

By: Beth Watson

Beth Watson — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:14:36 +0000

I usually agree with your comments, but find this one to have an issue. The topic, consistency. “If you’re painting a picture, there’s not much need for consistency. If you’re communicating a company brand, consistency is gospel.” In my painting classes, especially with oils, I have found that even there, an underlying thread ties in. Example: When we are preparing to paint, we have a certain color, the mother color, that is mixed into many of the other colors we are going to use. It ties them together, even if you don’t know it is there, and makes the image look more “together” and from the same color family.

By: Bonnie Eidson

Bonnie Eidson — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:45:44 +0000

Tip #10 is crucial . . . I’ve seen less-experienced designers put boxes within boxes and around boxes. Thanks for this tip!

By: Dare Porter

Dare Porter — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:11:41 +0000

I agree with Chris Purcell, while typography is important, understanding the intent of the article, ad, or site is paramount. Design should support the message, not overwhelm or misdirect. Each design is a solution to a problem with typography being only one of the elements.

By: Chris Purcell

Chris Purcell — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:37:33 +0000

John, thanks for your remarks about the importance of typography. It’s true!

I work as a typography trainer for a greeting card company. While a large part of the training I do concerns our proprietary typefaces and our house style, I also spend a lot of time on the basic stuff: optical adjustment of size, leading and kerning; ligatures, apostrophes, etc etc. Many of the new hires I meet, who are very good designers, tell me that they learned about type as a design element, but not about how to set it correctly.

If Jarrod happens to revisit this thread, I’d also recommend R. Bringhurst’s very comprehensive “Elements of Typographic Style,” which should be purchased in hardcover, so that it lasts as long as you live.

James Felici’s “Complete Manual of Typography” is also very good, but in a more cumbersome size. But good.

By: NitroPress

NitroPress — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:27:47 +0000

I would agree that many designers, even those with enough training and education to know better, are weak on typographical design principles. But I wouldn’t call it the greatest weakness overall.

IMHO, the greatest weakness is not learning enough about the subject and the intended audience, and doing a beautiful, award-contending design that is abysmally matched to its need.