April seems to bring a flurry of creative activity as if the winter months have been storing up ideas waiting to burst into life.
Bringing me joy this month is reading. I took a week off in March and headed to Cornwall for a holiday without WIFI or TV. It was an excuse for wet walks with my dog Molly, pots of tea and reading with a Cornish theme (Raynor Winn, Daphne du Maurier and Sir John Betjeman). I aim to visit an independent bookshop on my travels. This time I found Spencer Thorn in Bude which had a great selection of Cornish language books.
I've also been watching Being Freelance's online disco and loving their new Circle space for paid members, and spent time with business owner network Indie Cambridge at Cafe Abantu. I'm also loving Rachel Extance's Writing Club, the advice from her and the students is helping to shape my writing. I'm running The Freelance Magazine co-working on 12th April if you'd like some focus time.
If you've had a moment of inspiration or joy, then do read on to get oodles of help to get your from idea to making it happen. I'd love to know about it. You can connect with me on social on the links below.
Design finds
Endangered languages and font exclusion
In a report for It's Nice That Is, Ray Masaki argues that font creation software should be used with care. It's a sentiment I agree with. Any software or AI interaction, can create but it takes a human to critique it to avoid the market becoming littered with the bad and the ugly.
Ray says this: “Fonts are part of a cultural ecosystem that has ways of closing the doors for minority cultures. I did a quick search for “Grotesk” on a well-known font marketplace, which resulted in 5,744 matches. After filtering the results for Vietnamese support, the results dropped to 241, roughly four per cent of the original matches. Designers often hear the tired argument that there’s too many fonts out there, but when you consider that a Vietnamese typographer only has access to four per cent of the same tools, it places into perspective how typographic expression can be stifled by a lack of inclusive thinking.”
I found out about a font called Marma when I was studying for my Masters in Graphic Design and Typography. It was being created by another student, Tom Sanalitro, who developed it for his Final Major with the aim of protecting a lost language as part of the Endangered Alphabets Project. GET GORGEOUS TIP The project is now closed but it's an online legacy and an important reminder that we can use software, and I hope, AI, for cultural and creative good.
Canva and Monotype partnership
When Canva first launched, it took a whole heap of work away from designers and I wrote a blog post on how cross I was about it, but I've since come to harness it and it's now part of my workflow as much as Adobe's software! When I create bespoke branding or book covers for clients, I can adapt them into templates created in Canva so they're assured of my designer touch. It's true that Canva has more users than templates and will publish the good, bad and ugly; getting some designer help is a great way to avoid your latest Insta looking like your competitors generic output. Whilst Canva offers free access for charities and donates to good causes, the ease of use means lots of files and lots of carbon so my thoughts are to use it mindfully.
In March, Canva held a key note talk for users and announced they were going to integrate Monotype's fonts into their platform. Monotype is a well-respected and long-established foundry, it makes good business sense for them. Fonts that I use in my professional software maybe available on Canva or there are wider choices, resulting in a streamlined visual. A few clients have asked me to set up a course in how to use their logos and branding in Canva, if you're interested let me know and I'll be in touch if there's enough interest.
We hear a lot about accessible websites; it's an area I'm passionate about and always learning. It's important that any files hosted by credible website are accessible too. I attended a course last week on ways to create accessible Indesign files. If you have downloaded a PDF on a website, there's a high chance it was created using Adobe Indesign. What you may not know (and many designers and typesetters don't) is that Indesign and Acrobat PDF files have inbuilt tagging to aid screen readers and importing alt text for images. I'm working on accessible file creation for educational material and happy to chat about the findings. Let me know on social media or drop me a message (berence@hellolovely.design)
Vintage website design
Did you know that if you were born before 1980 you will have adapted to the internet in your life. You, like me, are a digital immigrant. A digital native is a term coined by Marc Prenskyin 2001 to describe the generation of people who grew up in the era of ubiquitous technology, including computers and the internet. Either way, you may now feel that the internet has been around forever. The Web Design Museum's exhibition showcases vintage websites including Apple's site from 2001 that showcased the new iMac. GET GORGEOUS TIP I picked out Apple as it's interesting to see how they made use of white space, navigation and typography to create a great user experience. Compare Apple's 1998 site to Amazon's 1999 cluttered iteration and see how the use of fonts is different here. Steve Jobs studied typography and brought this knowledge into all areas of Apple. Websites are a good example of how design never remains static and the importance of keeping an eye on the brand so it remains relevant. And why us designers need to keep on top of our skills too!
Font of the month
Bodoni is my font of the month for April. Designed by Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) in the late eighteenth century, it's been frequently revived over the years. Bodoni's typefaces are classified as didone or modern.
What on earth is Didone?
Didone is a genre of serif typefaces created towards the end of the 18th century as a standard style of general-purpose printing. Fonts that are classified under this heading have narrow, unbracketed hairline serifs and the vertical strokes are thick when contrasted against thin horizontals. The terminals are rounded serifs, typically a circle or teardrop with a modern appearance.
What is the style?
Giambattista Bodoni was inspired by John Baskerville's design of the font Baskerville. Bodoni created a modern serif font with greater contrast between the thick and thin strokes and condensed the width. One reason for its longevity is the range of styles from a large style poster face, to simple old-style number versions (also called non-lining figures, where numerals extend above and below the baseline).
Created in 1798, Bodoni is a revival type which means it's been adapted to a digital form from print. Its successful translation and refinement for screen use speaks to its timeless and modern characteristics.
Despite the popular use of this brand in logo design, it is not recommended as body text. This is due to a 'wobble' effect at a small point size. The legibility degradation is caused by the alternating thick and thin lines which make it so perfect at a larger size.
Bodoni in the wild
Lady Gaga and Nirvana have used Bodoni in album covers in a very fitting way and on typography-led book covers. Versions of Bodoni can be found in the fashion industry including Vogue Magazine and Zara's branding with Didot (designed by Adrian Frutiger and based on Bodoni's work).
Bodoni pairs
Contrast Bodoni's elegance with rounded sans fonts including Raleway, Open Sans, PT Sans, and Avenir. Bodoni would make a dramatic and timeless heading font with any of these as the body.
Where to buy
Because Bodoni is a revival font, you'll find many variations including free and paid. Free fonts can be useful for tight budgets, but they come with limitations on the number of characters and weights. Buy Bodoni Book version and other variations by different foundries. Google list Bodoni Moda in their library. Adobe have Bodoni 175 in their library but watch out, it only has two weights. You will find Zuzana Licko's adaption Filosofia more helpful with 11 fonts in the family - it's a beautiful tribute to Bodoni. In Canva, look up Bauer Bodini as an acceptable substitute (and, as a result of the collaboration with Monotype, expect to see more adaptions). Libre Bodoni is a web-friendly, modern adaptation created by Pablo Impallari and Rodrigo Fuenzalida who were inspired by an adaption by Morris Fuller from the 19th century.
Five branding tips
A design brief can be daunting but it doesn't have to be. Think of it as a space to dump all those ideas that have been dying to get out. Here are some ideas on how to complete a branding brief, be that a logo or something bigger.
1 Try starting with what you want to aim for, and the skills you need to get there. This will help you to get closer to the right designer for your work. Knowing what direction you want to take and the scale of the work also gives your project clarity.
2 Think big. Interview yourself and work out where your business is heading and share these details in your design brief.
3 You may have a shortlist of logos and identities from other businesses that you love. It's great to share them; Pinterest is great for collating a mood board. One part of the process is to recognise why they appeal to you. Designers are good at teasing out small details. This leads nicely too…
4 Thinking about your customers. Build a clear image of your ideal customers. Think about what’s important to them. Why might they choose your business over your competitor? This process helps to assess the image you need the branding to show.
5 What are the characteristics which define your business? Do you want to convey a sense of youth, energy and innovation, or an established safe pair of hands? What themes would you prioritise?
Bonus tip: you know your clients and your business. It's hard to avoid it, but try to remember that this branding isn't about your personal likes and dislikes, or those of the designer. We designers should be able to evidence why we've taken particular route during the creative process. Always keep the client in mind.
I am delighted to share the details of new website for Catherine Harhalakis Interiors. Catherine was inspired by my knowledge of design and hoped I could deliver more than a website; one that made great use of typography and delivered training.
Unfortunately the previous site hadn't made a great deal of progress and became a cause of concern. Sometimes, when a project goes on hold for any reason, it can feel like a really big knot. I was happy to help untangle it so the site could start to work hard for Catherine.
The outcome is a polished, online space that shows Catherine's talent for creating a gorgeous home and highlighting her packages. It's a stylish Squarespace website design with a bespoke site logo that makes the most of the typography of Catherine's name. I applied my expertise in code (yes, it's possible to inject code into Squarespace), project management and UX (user experience) to create a site that Catherine and her clients can use easily thanks to one-to-one training and ongoing support.
Catherine said: "You have no idea how helpful you have been and how safe you have made me feel going through this process."
Planet positive
The EU estimates that the number of viable products, such as dishwashers, televisions and mobile phones, binned prematurely each year result in 35 million tonnes of waste. When e-waste is not recycled properly, this leads to the contamination of air, soil and water, which can then eventually affect humans and wildlife. 80% of the world’s e-waste is left in this state, while only a mere 20% of it is recycled annually. The good news is that 91% of participants in the Citizen’s Climate Assembly voted for greater resource efficiency and standards. Here's some useful links, tested by me, to help you reduce your e-waste.
MacFinder sells refurbished Mac computer equipment. I no longer buy new and every device has been as good as new.
I donated old equipment to Second Chance PC which cleans up equipment, and passes to people in need.
MacPaw's Clean My Mac is amazing at extending the life of a Mac by removing junk files to make it work at the best speed.
The Repair Cafe are building a network across the UK. Look out for pop-ups and volunteer opportunities.
Keep your device as long as you can (you can repurpose mobiles as security cameras and monitors for pets or babies). If you want to sell, Fonebank donate to Oxfam.
Hello Lovely is a member of Ecologi. I'm a believer in reducing our impact on the planet at source through good practice. Offsetting adds to carbon reduction. 85% of the subscription money to Ecologi goes directly to funding planet-saving projects and if you're interested in planting trees, you can use my link below and 30 more trees will be planted!
P.S. 26% of the tech workforce are women; 76% of women have experienced gender discrimination or bias whilst working in a tech role and only 22% of those working in occupations associated with design were women. Awards and schemes that promote women and equality in tech and design are important. I am delighted to be shortlisted for Digital Women's ‘Website Designer of the Year’ and ‘Graphic Designer of the Year’ and I hope this inspires others.
Design is powerful
Design is inclusive, education and inspirational.Design can invite protest, encourage reflection, and find reassurance. Design make us think, and learn complex information in an accessible way.
If you would like to elevate your creative and get gorgeous with Hello Lovely, you can reply to me - let's have a conversation, I'd love to hear from you.
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