Font ❤️ Friday and Other Designery Things #16

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Hello and thanks for letting me slide into your inbox. I know it’s a precious space. I’m especially aware, as I’ve come back from holiday to find over 500 emails! Lots were newsletters but some were work enquiries so I couldn’t just press “DELETE ALL”.

I went to Mexico, to the Yucatan region – absolutely stunning. When I got home a friend asked if I was okay and if I’d had a good holiday. I said “I miss the colours!” Everywhere you looked there was colour even down to gravesides. Out of respect I didn’t photograph those, but I took pics of graphics and wall art. I’ll put those on my Instagram page.

I noticed there were hardly any printed posters, with a lot of adverts painted by hand. I thought maybe I could stay in Mexico painting signs for a living… I can dream. For now, back to the computer. If you’re feeling inspired to create your own signs, take a look at the selection of brush script fonts. The one I like the look of is:

FlatBrush is a textured hand-drawn brush font, created by Wings Art Studio.

They say: “A versatile textured font hand-made with black ink and brush. The combination of heavy black ink and a well-used sable brush resulted in this versatile type, readable in sizes large and small, yet with a distinctly hand-made and textured feel. Great for posters, headers, titles and more.”

As it says on the tin, “brush script” fonts mimic the look of a paintbrush. There are so many brush script fonts on the Creative Market website. Take a gander, I’m sure they’ll have Black Friday Deals.

As you can see from the example above, if you mix and match the font colours you’ll have your own wall art poster in no time. And if you hear of any job openings in Mexico, let me know. ;-)

FONTS

The 2024 font trends are coming out
Creative Boom have curated 50 fonts they think will be popular with designers in 2024. What do you think? I always wonder how these lists are compiled, must be a tough decision… shall we start our own list? But in the meantime have a look at what Creative Boom suggests.

From Spirit and Bones
Not a Day of the Dead Mexican reference ;-) Spirit and Bones is a German based font foundry that have released Malutzki Initials. How creative is the layering affect here? You can mix up the colours. Great for intro, a drop cap paragraph, or feature headings.

Did someone mention the C word?
No not Christmas but Canva! Okay, no judgements from you graphic designers, please. Monotype and Canva are partnering up to bring out a course on the anatomy of type. Canva has introduced Monotype fonts to their platform, so it’s a good thing. Teaching design and making it accessible. Plus, Canva do loads for charity so they’re good in my eyes. Take the course here.

DESIGNERY THINGS

Sign me up!
So maybe I could get a job as a sign painter in Jamaica? Check out this ’zine by Tracey Thorne (not the singer from Everything But The Girl, a different one) for sale on the Blag website. I think of these advertisements as environmentally friendly – saves paper, the base is reusable, and it’s creative. Imagine if we did it here in the UK? Blag also have a book on Mexican mural painting…still dreaming…

Ghost signs
Can you tell Mexico got to me? It made me think how years ago signs were painted for marketing purposes and now we have a lot for decorative use. This book Ghost Signs plots the remains of such signs that are just about visible still. Have you seen any in your area?

Colour block
The creators Colours Café bring a mix of colour palettes for your project inspiration. It’s similar to coolors – but hey, I love a bit of colour, you can never have too much in your life. Presently it’s only on Instagram but it looks like a website is coming soon, I’ll keep you posted.

FREELANCING

Starting up with freelancing?
Freelancer Magazine has a useful resource section and as I’ve had a few people contact me asking how to get going with freelancing - try this download for starters. Good luck and if it helps let me know!

Google your biz
Enterprise Nation and Google Digital Garage host free in-person events for small businesses/freelancers. They cover topics like how to use Google and its tools in your business. I attended one recently and they asked for feedback. Next thing I know, I’m being interviewed for their website – great for backlinks eh! More importantly, on the day I learnt that Google are phasing out online businesses from their listings in favour of premises that have walk-in customers. I KNOW, RIGHT?! I was shocked too; our Google ratings count towards our social proof. Read more about the event and my interview here. A big thank you to Enterprise Nation, as they also mentioned me on their LinkedIn page.

#FONTLOVEFRIDAY

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope it’s been useful. As always, do mail me if you’ve spotted a font or anything you think I’d like to see - I always reply.

Happy Friday!

Ange 🌈

Thanks for reading!

Ways to work with me. I’m taking on new projects from March 2024.
I specialise in both print and digital graphic design. If you are interested in learning more about me and my services, take a look here.

*designery – I have made up this word.

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