Everyone should know the difference between art and design. Art tries to capture a metaphysical truth about the world. It tries to evoke emotion. It tries to say something in itself. Design tries to be a crystal goblet—invisibly holding its …
Tip #27: The Difference between Obliques and Italics
Most people don’t realize this, but Italics are actually an entirely different alphabet than the lowercase roman alphabet. Italic letters are constructed differently to resemble hand writing—they do not have to be slanted. I repeat: Italic does not mean slanted. …
Tip 26: Make it look good in black and white
To make something look good in color, it’s best to make sure it looks good in greyscale. Why? Because if there’s not enough contrast in greyscale, then there’s probably not enough contrast in color. Pay extra attention to this when …
Tip #25: Use the proper color system
There are two main color systems, and they’re a bit tricky to learn, but you’ll be glad you did. Additive color is what screens produce—they start at black and add in color to create the desired result. This is normally …
Tip #24: Use constant ratios to create hierarchy
One of the easiest and best ways to create hierarchy using size (the best way to separate things by size) is to use a constant ratio of size to bump things up. You’ve probably heard of the “Golden Ratio,” which …
