Quote Originally Posted by Papa View Post
the most important thing to remember is when you don't know text, use default fonts! they will work better 99% of the time than any other font. Which is whhy this is good cause you use a default font.
I agree with this, to a fault. I do agree that the default fonts (arial, tahoma, myriad, etc) work well in most cases, but it's mostly because they aren't cluttered with fancy curves or useless ligatures. I don't think it hurts anything to be creative and find a sweet spot when it comes to fonts. One font, certainly, does not suit every piece of work. But if you decide to use typo, do some research. There are thousands upon thousands (of millions) of fonts out there to choose from. Personally I like OTF fonts because of the glyph selection, but you can do what you like. I would definitely suggest typography books to anyone working with art, specifically because it can be such a big part of graphic design.

Just keep in mind that if you intend to make typography part of the piece, that you spend some time on it. Typo shouldn't just be slapped on, it needs to be thought out and actually incorporated. Typography in itself, shouldn't ALWAYS be needed.


The one thing I think will help you the most, is to follow some color theory. If you use PS CS4, it comes with an extension called "Kuler" that will do your work for you. All you do is input a hex and it gives you all kinds of color modes with which to build a palette. Having a good foundation in color theory will help any and all design work you do. I duly suggest you check out some of the color theory sites out there, and maybe get a book or two.

And the last bit of advice, even if it doesn't apply to you...Don't use stocks or renders just because you feel like you have to. Signatures shouldn't be good just because the stock is good. Otherwise what is the point of signatures?

Keep it up man.