Color & Typography

Focus: Vector Illustration

Genesis 1:31

“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”

Genesis 1:31 tells us that YAH looked at what He had created and saw that it was very good. Throughout creation, we see variety, color, order, purpose, and beauty.

As designers, we can also be intentional about what we create. Our colors, fonts, spacing, and placement should have a purpose instead of being chosen randomly.

What Is Typography?

Typography is the way we choose and arrange text in a design. It includes your fonts, sizes, spacing, alignment, and hierarchy.

Good typography does more than make words look nice. It helps the reader know:

What to read first
What information is most important
What type of mood the design has
How different parts of the page connect

Understanding Font Styles

Serif Fonts
Have small lines or “feet” on the letters. They can feel traditional, elegant, serious, or professional.

Examples: Times New Roman, Georgia, Baskerville

Sans Serif Fonts
Do not have the small lines on the letters. They often feel modern, clean, simple, and bold.

Examples: Arial, Helvetica, Montserrat

Script Fonts
Look similar to handwriting or calligraphy. They can feel elegant, creative, personal, or decorative.

Display Fonts
Designed to grab attention. These work well for magazine titles and large headlines but usually should not be used for long paragraphs.

Create Visual Hierarchy

Your reader should immediately know where to look first.

Think:

Masthead: Biggest and most recognizable
2. Main Headline: Large and attention-grabbing
3. Secondary Headlines: Smaller than the main headline
4. Supporting Text: Smallest and easiest to read

Not everything should be the same size or weight.

Color Theory

Color can communicate a feeling before someone reads a single word.

Warm colors: Red, orange, yellow
Can feel energetic, exciting, bold, or welcoming.

Cool colors: Blue, green, purple
Can feel peaceful, trustworthy, calm, or creative.

Neutral colors: Black, white, gray, beige
Can help balance a design and give it a clean appearance.

In-Class Magazine Activity

Today you will begin developing the typography system for your magazine.

Design your:

Masthead: The name/title of your magazine
Main headline: The most important story on the cover
Secondary headlines: Smaller stories featured on the cover
Typography styles: Decide which fonts, sizes, weights, and colors will be used consistently throughout your magazine.

Try to limit yourself to about 2 to 3 font families. Too many fonts can make a design look unorganized.

Before you finish, ask yourself: Is it readable? Is there enough contrast? Can I tell what to read first? Do the fonts and colors match the personality of my magazine?