I was talking to a copywriter friend last week about his website, and he happened to say hard it was to write his own words. I hear this a lot and it’s the same for me with my promotional work, including Gorgeous!

 

When you go public, it can feel very exposing. We’ve made this big decision to say ‘We’re selling XYZ’ or providing a service based on talent and learning. We may be writing about ourselves, or posting a photograph on Instagram or other social media sites. We probably feel we have to be perfect before our views or content are released into the world.

 

What does perfect look like for you? 

 

When I created a social design project called Walk In Our Shoes, I spent 5 months researching the subject matter for my Masters degree in Graphic Design and Typography. I became well-versed in the methodology. Even after it was evaluated and marked (scoring well!), I keep adjusting it. In all, it was a year to finish it, not because it was a particularly difficult design piece once the research was completed. The power of hindsight leads me to conclude that I was worried about the impact; the fear of imperfection.

 

If your business is closely aligned with your own goals and purpose, then there's a vulnerability in sharing. Conversely, there's a beauty in this and a human connection. The people I most admire, the clients I love to work with, and the brands I am attracted to are those who come with honesty and a willingness to hand over their work to me so we may collaborate. 

 

When we tell ourselves something isn't quite ready to 'go live' and convince ourselves it needs a bit more refining, it's often the fear taking over. 

 

I have talked on podcasts and at events about powerful design, social design, and my career path. I'm conscious that when I do, only I know the stumbles or the parts I've had to rehearse the most. Audiences and future clients understand more than we think. We are all striving to learn from each other.

 

We are very unlikely to reach the utopia when the website we’ve launched or the 'about me' page we've created is 100 percent pleasing to all. That book cover may not inspire everyone to grab it from the top table. If it's 80 percent there, it's ready. Publish it. Otherwise, we are just hovering in complete limbo feeling stuck and our confidence ebbs away. 

 

Spent a little time thinking of the sweet relief of freeing up that headspace. We stop fretting and get powerful feedback. Maybe someone comments that what we've created has meaning to them. We wonder what on earth we were worrying about! The next time it comes to sharing something, we're a little bit braver for the experience.

 

What's stopping you?

 

Robert Nurden is a writer and journalist who has worked for The Guardian and Independent newspapers. I Always Wanted To Be A Dad: Men Without Children is published on 12th August on Amazon and available to order via Ingram Spark in bookshops. Robert's exploration of what it's like not to be a father is a groundbreaking reflection of hurt, regret and self-reflection, supported by testimonies from other men, to create a hard-hitting and at times, humorous and vulnerable book that shines a light on a demographic whose data isn't recorded by the ONS. The book shows that a fulfilling life can exist. Extra support is provided in the form of resources to help childless men, their relatives, friends, and colleagues. 

 

I met Robert via recommendation and knew I wanted to work on the book design. The writing is superb, as you'd expect from someone with his credentials. It's also carefully balanced thanks to Rosalyn's editing skills and they made a crack team getting the storytelling perfectly aligned so this book appeals to all readers. Get in touch with me if you'd like to work with Rosalyn on your book edit. Annie from Proofnow completed the proof-reading to her usual high standards. 

 

The book's interior uses Mrs Eaves and discretionary ligatures for the headings. The body text is designed in Baskerville. We tried other variations of fonts and settled on this elegant pairing that aligns with Robert's working history in Fleet Street and Canary Wharf with its heritage of typography. 

 

I recommended a typographical cover as the subject matter is very hard to illustrate in a way that does justice to the demographics of men without children. Some men whose words appear are single, and others in couples. The title also deserves to be as impactful, stylish and elegant as the words behind it. The front cover title is designed using Mrs Eaves, and we both love the ligature on the 'it' of Without. We wanted this book cover to sit comfortably on a coffee table and command attention through the perfect allyship of words and typography. As a book that shares a unheard story with the wider world, allyship was part of this design story.

 

What do you think, did we get your attention?

 

Robert, Rosalyn and I will be talking about the creation of I Always Wanted To Be A Dad: Men Without Children at Storyhouse Theatre in Chester on 23rd and 24th September 2023.

Cursive fonts are one of the most popular trends in typography right now. They are a stylish way to add elegance and sophistication to a design. With a little creation know-how, you can do this yourself. 

 

Let us pause for a moment and define what a cursive font is. These fonts are sometimes categorised as script or joint writing and are a form of handwriting in which the glyphs (characters) are conjointly written in a flowing style. Some forms of cursive writing do not contain conjoined forms. For example, formal cursive writing uses conjoined styles, while casual scriptwriting may include joints and lifts. In some languages, such as Cyrillic and Arabic, the letters are connected at the ends and appear to have a string of undulating strokes to depict a word or statement.

 

Cursive is derived from the French word cursif and Medieval Latin cursivus which meant "running."

 

Cursive fonts can be calligraphic. These are often used in designs for invitations, diplomas or announcements. Both may contain curved styles, swashed details, and highly stylised uppercase letters. These stylised details can make cursive and script forms difficult to read, especially when written in all capital letters.

 

Cursive typefaces were popular in the 1800s, on letter headings, calling cards and invoices. Many surviving fonts were created in the 1930s when the cursive font reflected the popularity of good penmanship in personal letters. It also gave advertising an emotional, unique appeal.

 

 

1 Avoid letter spacing or kerning. Kerning means adding or removing extra spacing between characters. It's usually great for adjusting awkward spaces between letters or adding interesting visual detail to your type. Cursive fonts are intentionally created so that the letters flow together in a specific manner, and messing with the kerning will often make the type look fragmented or disjointed. 

 

2 Pair a cursive font with a serif or sans serif font — not another cursive font. Cursive fonts are perfect for adding personal touches but they can easily fight to get attention. Keep it simple and pair your script fonts with a clean, legible serif or sans serif font.

 

3 Use cursive fonts as an accent. Cursive fonts can be hard to read, so you don't want to use them to convey important information. Instead, use a serif or sans serif font for your headlines and critical information, and use your cursive fonts to grab attention or add personality. My branding is an example of this. I need you to know my trading name. Hello Lovely. Gorgeous Design is the visual grab. 

 

4 Cursive shouldn't be in caps. Cursive fonts flow. Putting them in all caps shows disconnect as this form does not allow the characters to connect and flow together as they were designed. However, do check the font you're buying, as they may have an option for an upper case set.

 

5 Customise with ligatures. Adobe software or Affinity will allow you to add ligatures under the type features. In Canva and Word, Microsoft's Character Map for Windows can be installed, allowing the option of special characters. Mac users can try to copy and paste from any PDF of special characters that was sent with your font, Canva Pro should support them. 

 

Get Gorgeous bonus tip! Look at the way each font suggestion has been used and see how less means more in these suggestions. 

Amsterdam One

Apricots

Blasting

Daydream

Gistesy

Halimum

Jimmy Script

Jonathan

Mistrully

Nickainley

Moontime

Themysion

Virtual

 

Emitha

Harlow (from Monotype)

Humble Hearts

ITC Edwardian Script (from Monotype)

Magenta

Scandilover Script