Web Design Ledger

Webdesignledger

A Few Beginner Things...

For my first official post here on “Designing With Jenny,” I want to throw down some simple design basics. The first sort of rule/basic/suggestion has to do with a font/typeface that I have a love-hate relationship with and it’s…

1) COMIC SANS

DON’T USE IT UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY REALLY NEED TO. You’ve probably heard about all the hate that Comic Sans gets, but it’s not the font’s fault, it’s the people that use it. I once had had a high school teacher that used Comic Sans on ALL of the assignment handouts and it would drive me crazy. Honestly, Comic Sans isn’t so bad when used appropriately. For example, Comic Sans would look great in, I don’t know, COMICS?! I could go on and on about the correct usage of Comic Sans, but luckily we have the great power of the internet and User Created Content! So here’s "The Comic Sans Song," by Youtuber, Gunnarolla. (get ready to put your hands in the ARIAL!) /lame font joke.

Comic Sans is the best font in the world 

If you want your designs to look like they're done by little girls 
Comic Sans best used in moderation  
Come on join me, the Comic Sans Nation 

It explains it all, doesn’t it?

2) COLOR? COLOUR?

I can’t stress the importance of color enough. Most of the time, people get it right. But other times it looks like a unicorn sh- … pooped… all over it. But don’t get me wrong! Color combinations are a difficult thing to master! But just like in fashion, color trends exist! There are different ways that you could go about deciding which color to use. The first way: play around. Let’s say you have a color that you really want to use because, well, it’s your favorite color. Now, take a sample of that color and place it next to a lot of other colors. Try and see which colors compliment your favorite color. Taking a basic painting class would help also. 

Another way to get color down is to once again, look to the powers of the internet! One website that I always use for color inspiration is COLOURLOVERS.com!

Colourlovers.com is great because not only does it have over 6 million labeled colors, they also have over 3 million different, user-submitted, color palettes! They have patterns as well (also user-submitted). Still stuck? They also have forums and groups that could help you out with your projects. But remember how I said that graphic designing is pretty much fashion for the internet? With their Trends section, you can bring those same colors to a web page! Magazine covers, advertisements, and even pictures of well-designed rooms can be turned into a well-thought out color palette!  

3) FREEBIES EVERYWHERE

I cannot stress the importance of the internet enough (unless I have, not sure). Take your time to browse the internets for free things. I know my blog is pretty much the best design blog out there, but there are some pretty useful blogs that do a better job than I do. And one of those sites is WEBDESIGNLEDGER.com

I love this blog A LOT. Not only do they give you free things like fonts and icons, they also manage to find some of the most beautiful websites out there and put them all in one place for you to gawk at.

Design Beginnings

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Designing With Jenny? Sounds like a fashion blog to me.” Well, you wouldn’t be wrong. So, let’s call this a fashion blog. FASHION FOR THE INTERNET!

Graphic design and I go way back. I’ve been a designing fiend ever since I got my hands on a bootleg version of Photoshop so many years ago. It wasn’t just me either. My friends also had an interest in graphic design as well! Because we were such dorks in high school, we would create our own forums and have “Graphic Battles!” Graphics battles sounds so nerdy, I understand, but it became a thing that really helped us hone our Photoshop skills. A lot of people ask me how I “learned to Photoshop,” and I tell them that I didn’t really “learn” much, instead I told them that the best way to learn Photoshop (or any kind of program, really) is to PLAY with it. Strange looking button? Press it. Now you know what it does. Online tutorials also help when trying to design something specific or you want a certain kind of effect.

Over the years I have seen so many funky looking graphics and websites that sometimes I just want to sit down with the owner and say “Hey buddy. Is this your website? hm… Yeah, let’s fix it.” And this blog, I guess, is a way to do that. Not so much fix specific websites, but a place where you could find some cool resources and laugh at my nerdy graphic jokes.