New Guest Blogger: Brian Tippetts

We are very excited to announce our first ever guest blogger, Brian Tippetts! Brian has a long history with scrapbooking, design and typography. He has spent his entire career focusing on "what type is out there and how it can help communicate to the reader." We are honored to have him sharing his tips. Take it away, Brian!

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Hi and welcome to my first font tip here at ScrapNfonts. I am starting out with a fun tip that can be useful for your holiday cards or layouts. Enjoy!

Font Tip: Using contrasting fonts
by Brian Tippetts

One easy way to help make your card or scrapbook layout read better is by using contrasting fonts. What I mean is don’t always use the same font for the title and journaling, but use contrasting styles of type.

In example 1, you will see that I used a sans-serif typestyle for the title and then a script for the journaling below. This not only makes it easier to read each text block, but it also adds a fun style to the look.

You can also do the reverse look. In example 2, I have used a script font for the title and then a sans-serif font for the journaling text.

Contrast is a design principle that is used frequently. Whether big and small prints or loud and soft colors, contrast can add a whole new dimension to your design. Contrasting fonts is a fun way to add style but most importantly can add to the readability of your journaling and title.

Bonus Tip

Here is a way to save time and money. Instead of printing out your journaling or titles over and over again to see if it “fits” within your design, try using this FREE font size ruler to help you. Print out the ruler or photocopy it onto a transparency, then overlay your card or layout in the area that you want the journaling or title. See which font size works best, using either serif, sans-serif or script styles.

This will save you time and money (from all the extra prints) and will give you the perfect size every time.

I want your feedback! If you have a font question (how to use fonts correctly, identifying one that you have seen, font technology, anything font related), please send an e-mail with your question to tips@scrapnfonts.com and include “Brian’s Top Tips” in the subject line.