A logo with a white top quarter and a turquoise bottom three-quarters. There is a yellow ribbon going through both the white and the turquoise sections at the top with white cursive text in it that says "Design Prompt." Below the ribbon, in the turquoise section is the #12 in white sans serif font, with the word “Typographical" underneath it, also in white, but in a serif font.

As we begin to come to the close of the Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge we can’t leave out one of our most important techniques: Typographical! Amy Peppler Adams, better known as pennycandy in the Spoonflower Marketplace, shares with us why this technique is fabulous (and easy) for new Spoonflower users and veterans alike.

Amy: When I found Spoonflower about six years ago, I was coming from a graphic design background. The first several prints I uploaded were typography based, because it seemed like the easiest way to transition into what was, for me, the whole new world of surface design. To this day, I still use type in the majority of my work, and often try to include at least one text-based design in each collection. But you don’t need an art degree to experiment with and enjoy using typography in your designs. Here are a few ways anyone can have fun with type.

One image comprised of four different designs: The top left design is the name "Finn" in different shades of green in different fonts. The top right design is a recipe for Cowboy cookies with every line of text in a different font. In the bottom right is the alphabet comprised of all capitals in various fancy serifed fonts some letters are in blue, some are yellow, some are red, some are combinations of these colors. In the bottom left are things related to Christmas in red, black and/or green fonts. The text says things like "Peace," "Jingle Bells," "Making Spirits Bright" and "Noel.

A Type Puzzle

One of my favorite ways to use type is to fit it together like pieces of a puzzle (think Tetris, but with letters and numbers!). In the old days, before computers (B.C.!), this would have taken awhile. But now you can size and resize type with just one click.

An image showing various ad styles. The top left has some old camera ads, each with a hand-drawn camera, text with the camera specs and details and a type bubble that describes a main feature, such as 'telephoto lens' or 'flash!' In the top right are some old button ads, with images of the buttons in color and some hand-drawn silhouettes of people. The bottom half of the image features different items on a menu in different all-bold capital letters, like 'ALASKAN KING CRAB,' 'BUFFALO WINGS' and "Cincinnati Chili'

Low Volume

Another type-centric design usually falls into the “low volume” category, designed with one or two colors on a light background. Very popular with quilters these days, the low volume prints make nice neutrals that are more interesting than solid colors. Many text-based, low volume prints feature mock pages from a newspaper, magazine, or catalog.

Some examples of "low-volume text," designed with one or two colors on a light background. In the top left there are black ampersands floating on a white background. In the top right there are cursive letters As, in repeated slanting rows. In the bottom right on the letters Eo repeated in all directions in black cursive text. In the bottom left are capital letters Ts in black text, shaped to be in tight repeated box shapes.

Patterns

Typography can also be used to create repeating pattern elements, which in the final design may be no longer be recognizable as letterforms. This is really fun to experiment with, and there are an infinite number of possible outcomes.

Two different designs side by side of 2016 calendars. The calendar on the left has each month in a small white square, with the name of the month above in a strip of bold color with the name of the month in black text. In between each of the months are small images related to things in that month, like a pumpkin for Halloween. The calendar on the right has a black background and features three rows of small manilla envelopes in 4 columns, one for each month. The numbers of the days for each month are in black text on a white background and each month as small images of the things that happen in them. Like a groundhog in February for Groundhog Day.

Graphic Design

Then, of course, there are the designs for which some amount of type is necessary, like tea towel calendars. Though the information on calendars is always the same (names of the months, numerals for the year, and all those dates!), there are countless ways to organize it and make it pleasing to look at. Just make sure the numbers are legible and can be read at a quick glance, so the reader knows which date belongs to a particular day of the week.

A selection of three designs with different hand lettered elements. In the top left are things that quality as antipasto, i.e., salami, breadsticks, cheese, all written out in all caps in white on a black background. On the top right are different types of erasers, all which have different hand-written text on them indicating which company has made them. The bottom have of the image is a back-to-school themed design featured hand-lettered things in black font related to school, like, "I'm allergic to homework!" and "Pop quiz Friday!" There are also small drawings of school things in both color and black font, like crayons, rulers, and an apple.

Hand-lettering

All of the above styles can be created using hand-drawn type, which is currently very on-trend, and sometimes a more appropriate choice than slick, computer-generated fonts. Drawing type by hand is fun to play around with, and just about anything goes.

Amy’s Pro Tips:

  • Try to choose appropriate typefaces to convey your message. A great way to get in the habit is to observe type around you; it’s everywhere!
  • Trendy, pretty, or favorite fonts may not always work. You may find that a design created over 40 years ago isn’t “in style” right now, but it may work because it more closely resembles what you are are creating.
  • Take advantage of the ornaments and special characters available in many font families. You will find lots of fun shapes and symbols.
  • You don’t need chalk and a chalkboard to make chalk type. Create your design in pencil, then scan it and invert it in Photoshop.
  • Need another coordinate in your collection? Lines of text make great stripes!
  • Sometimes it helps if you start designing with type using only black and white. Generally, if a design works in just black and white, it will work in color. Then applying that color is just icing on the cake!
  • And last but not least, just have fun and welcome unexpected results! Try lots of typefaces and see what works best. As with any method, sometimes your finished design will be completely different from what you initially imagined. Recognize unique traits of each character, or something about the words or phrases you are illustrating, that you could play up in an interesting way. Love those happy accidents!

Don’t forget to tag your designs influenced by today’s SpoonChallenge with #SFDesignADay. We’d love to see your typographical creations (or happy accidents) inspired by Amy!