Hello First name / Lovely

 

I was talking to Rachel Extance about writing, which is just as well since words are her passion, and she is a brilliant writer. My question was about lists. She told me that odd-numbered lists are more authoritative than ten, which are perceived as having content to make up the numbers.

 

I asked because I love lists—shopping lists, to-do lists, lists of holidays I would like to take—and visual lists in the form of a book stack. I recently joined BlueSky (do join in) and felt a sense of calm as my book and design friends from Twitter/X made themselves known. 

 

This issue of Gorgeous is a bit late, as I was thinking about lists and the rebranding of Hello Lovely to Hello Lovely Design and Co. I can't imagine you're clicking 'send and receive' in anticipation, but if you are, then thank you! Even my family doesn't do that.

 

I can't picture you wondering where I got to and if my latest trip to the St Brides Foundation resulted in a custodial sentence for loitering around type (it didn't; I am home). Or if I'd finished the rebrand yet. I haven't.

 

If I had finished the relaunch, you would have heard from me. We're more inclined to say 'woohoo' and show off instead of saying, I had a problem.

 

My problems were good ones. November got busy with work from past and loyal clients. Some highlights (here's your first list!) …

I'll be resting (aka working on the new website!) from 20th December 2024 until 6th January 2025. In the meantime, you can schedule a fifteen-minute call with me, and you can book my design services from February 2025. We can discuss your situation, where you need design support, and the solutions I can offer. 

 

I hope you get the chance to rest up over the holidays. I wish you a peaceful break and that you take care of yourself. The season isn't for everyone, and I think it can feel like a juggernaut powering through our lives. Finding a nice spot on the sofa with a book is a celebration if that works for you.

 

I look forward to working with you soon!

 

My original motivation for rebranding was about making content accessible. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) becomes law in June 2025.

The EAA seeks to improve the lives of disabled and older people by ultimately ensuring equal access. Most of the Act covers tech and has a range of measures to make services including ebooks, websites, and devices (like ATMs and ticketing) easier to use.

 

There will be penalties for non-compliance that are country-specific but range from fines to legal proceedings, and prison. 

 

The most significant loss will be customers. According to a 2023 survey by Retail Times, 55 percent of customers discarded a website purchase because it was inaccessible. Ouch!

 

You might not be affected by the Act's terms if your business is too small or you're not selling to the EU, but in my view, we all are. It's not only good for our business to be accessible, but it also means treating clients equally. 

 

Here's an example of an inaccessible field on a form with low contrast because the yellow is too close to the white. The blue button below is a pass and work because there's a bigger difference in colours between white and blue.

Above is an example of minimal contrast for white on black text. Text qualifies as “large” if it’s not bold and 18pt (24px) or larger, or it’s bold and 14pt (~19px) or larger; otherwise it’s “small” text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) defines a point as 1/72th of an inch and a pixel as 1/96th of an inch, thus to convert pixels to points, multiply the pixel value by 0.75.

Do you need advice? Book me for a Website Design Review. This service is perfect for people who want to manage their own websites but would like to improve the design and learn along the way.

 

A Website Design Review covers:

You don't have to be present, as the report will be provided via video that you can watch at your convenience. If necessary, it will include a list of easy wins and long-term goals.

The Birmingham Design Conference runs from 6-8th June 2025, it's getting a great reputation for celebrating design and I love that it's not in London! The organisers alternative between a festival and a conference each year so it's never boring. Expect a day of talks from talented designers.

 

Girlguiding is the UK’s biggest youth organisation dedicated to girls, and dates back to 1910. It oversees four sections for different age groups – Rainbows (four to seven), Brownies (seven to 10), Guides (10-14) and Rangers (14-18). Following a rebrand by Landor and Fitch in March 2023, GirlGuiding have 72 new badges. Over 80% of these are for new skills, and many are designed to help girls “channel their inner eco-warrior" after 84% of girls said it was important to do something about climate change.

 

Helen Lindop has written and produced a definitive guide to email marketing. This useful ebook is an easy-to-understand introduction that covers different platforms, best practices and what to do when you've run out of steam in just 34 pages. Helen has generously allowed me to share an offer code with you; type in GORG1224 before 24th December, and you can download it for free.

 

I loved this short read from Design Week on the seven (it's an odd-numbered list!) reactions to a rebrand. If you've read about the Jaguar rebrand and have some feelings, maybe this will resonate! 

I admired this sign in Helvetica at Leeds Station last month (Helvetica was also used on the signage for New York's subway system). It was introduced to the subway in the 1980s when MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) wanted to change the New York Subway’s tired and confusing signage, which was, at the time, made up of a jumble of different typefaces and styles, very similar to Frank Pick's problems with London Transport in the 1900s. Completed in 1989, all signage on the New York Subway is now consistent with an eye-catching use of white lettering on black backgrounds and simple coloured circles for displaying different lines.

 

My most used font was Avenir. The word avenir is French for 'future'. It was designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1987 and released in 1988 by Linotype GmbH. I used this for a series of book covers to match the existing branding.

 

I downloaded Zing Rust, having helpfully played with the trial version from Fontfabric; this enabled me to check how it would suit the text I'm working with. The font is part of a client's brand and I've been commissioned to provide a contemporary design for a lead magnet PDF with interactive video links.

 

The other font in the brand is Overpass. It's an open source font family sponsored by Red Hat, created by Delve Fonts with inspiration by Highway Gothic. I will also create an alternative sample design using Avenir Book instead of Overpass in the body copy to check the legibility and suggest the one best suited to the task.

 

I used Kocha for the logo design for Really Honest Business which launched this month. Monika Drachal designed this font family, and its playful style reflected the values that the founder of Really Honest Business, Lisa brings to the concept of transparent and ethical ways to do business. The branding also uses Jubilat, a slab serif, with generous curves and efficient spacing. The branding guidelines for Really Honest Business blend in complimentary fonts to enable Lisa to complete her stylish website build.