Choosing fonts that work well together is a key factor to the visual success of your brand. While most brands have a primary font associated with their brand, additional typeface(s) are necessary to create hierarchy and add more visual interest.  It may seem like a simple task, but choosing typefaces that work well together is quite important to creating a visually appealing and successful design and takes much more thought and consideration than one might think.  Luckily, there are some general guidelines that help in making the decision easier.

 

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when combining typefaces:

 

1.  Limit to 2-3 fonts

With any design, the main goal is to relay a message, so having a design with too many fonts may be seen as cluttered and unorganized.  Limiting yourself to 2-3 fonts is a general rule to help keep a cohesive and clear design. However, this rule may of course be broken for more creative and expressive pieces that aren’t used for editorial or corporate purposes!

 

2.  Create contrast

Creating contrast with your typefaces is what allows for a hierarchy to be built, therefore setting apart one section of text from another.  If the headline, subheading, and body text of a design are all in the same font, it would be muddy, the message would be confusing, and nothing would stand out to the eye. Instead, pair contrasting fonts, whether that’s a thick font with a thin font, a simple traditional font with a decorative font, or a sans serif font with a serif font. Check out some of these examples below!

3.  Stay in the same family

To make the decision even easier, many font families consists of a wide variety of the font, from different thicknesses to italicized or condensed versions, and for some even a serif version.  Font families were in fact created to classify fonts that are meant to compliment each other, so using fonts from within the same family will not only be easier to choose contrasting fonts that’s go well together, but it will also ensure that your design and text are cohesive throughout.

 

4.  Pair similar styles

While it is important to create contrast with your font choices, it is also important to keep in mind the style or “mood” of your fonts.  From a design standpoint, it is easy to tell if a font comes off as professional versus a funky and “fun” font.  For instance, the font used on a corporate letterhead is not going to be the same as a bubbly script font used for a birthday party invitation.  So understandably, it wouldn’t make too much sense to pair these two together.  In this sense, choosing fonts with complementary moods that are still different enough to stand apart is something that should be considered!

 

As with all things creative, general guidelines are in place to be understood, but rules can be broken to create something unique and artistic! Having the knowledge of the basic principles will give you the design instincts to then pair with your creativity, taking your design the next level.

 

NorthPoint’s design team is also here to assist you in your font combinations and designs.  Reach out at any time to get our personal opinions and advice!

 

 

Price Point: Varies for each piece

Production Time: 5-7 Business Days

Available Colors: Varies for each piece

Perfect For: Employee Appreciation Gifts / Client Appreciation Gifts/ / Corporate Swag Store / Travel Items / Tradeshow Items / Internal Swag / Holiday Swag

 

With popularity naturally comes higher competition.  Animating your logo can be the key factor to stepping up your branding game and creating a brand that stands out from others, simply with the addition of movement! Movement in design can grab the eye of a passerby and keep your audience interested. So what do you say, let’s animate some logos!

Adobe AfterEffects is a great program to use for animation, and while this is where the majority of your animating will take place, Adobe Illustrator is where you’ll go to initially design your logo (so that your source file can be in vector format when you transfer it to AfterEffects!). 

Check out these 5 steps to help you get started with your logo animation: 

1. Create your logo file

As mentioned, your logo should be designed in Illustrator to have a vector file that can be more easily used in AfterEffects when working with shape layers later on. Instead of setting up your logo as one object on one layer in Illustrator, put each element of your logo onto its own layer.  This will allow you to create your animation more easily by being able to animate each separate layer!  Export your logo as a vector file (.ai, .eps, .pdf, or .svg), and open Adobe AfterEffects.

2. Import your logo into AfterEffects as Footage

In your AfterEffects program, simply drag and drop your logo file into the Project panel OR go to File > Import > File, and click import the media as Composition – Retain Layer Sizes in the dialogue box that pops up.

3. Set up a composition

Your composition is the broad container that consists of a group of media files that can then be added to your timeline and edited/animated.  To start a new composition, click New Composition in the middle of your comp window, and adjust the document size and length as needed. To create a solid background for your animation, right click in the comp panel and select New > Solid, and choose your color. Then you can drag your logo file from the project panel into the timeline panel to be able to see your logo displayed in the comp window in the center. 

 

4. Use keyframes to animate each layer in your timeline

Keyframes are essentially markers that are placed along your timeline to signify the start and end point of an effect or transition.  There are a number of attributes under the Transform Panel that allow for animation possibilities, including position, scale, opacity, and rotation.

To add keyframes to your layers, select the layer in the Timeline, and place your playhead on the frame you want the animation to finish, then press the keyframe symbol to add a keyframe to that point. You can then create a start frame at any point beforehand in your timeline, adding a keyframe as you did with the end point.

For example, if you wanted to rotate your logo in a circle, add an end keyframe (say at 3 seconds) under Rotation in the Transform Panel and adjust the rotation to 360 degrees.  Then move backwards and create a start keyframe at the beginning of your composition and set the rotation to 0 degrees.  You’ll then see when played that your logo will rotate 360 degrees from start to finish of your 3 second animation. 

There is also a large library of AfterEffects presets that can be used to quickly animate (These can be found in the Effects & Presets panel on the right of your window).  To select a preset, drag it from the panel to your logo file in the timeline and set up keyframes to signify the start and end point of the effect.  You can also further adjust the details of your effect preset in the Effect Controls panel that pops up!

Tip: When it comes to logo animation, creating the end keyframes first ensures that all layers of your logo will come together to the right place and scale as they were intended by the end of your animation!

 

5.  Export you animation

When you’re happy with your final animation, go to File > Export > Add to Adobe Media Encoder queue.  The default file setup is mp4, which is perfect for your video animation.  However, you can also easily export as a GIF by changing the file format in the Media Encoder window dropdown under the format column to Animated GIF.  Select your destination folder, and click the green play button to start rendering your animation!

 

Adobe AfterEffects and animation can be seen as an overwhelming feat to take on, but with the help of these basic steps, as well as through the trial and error that comes with experimenting with different effects, creating an animation with your logo is an undeniable way to bring a spark of energy and excitement to your brand.  Try it out for yourself, and add your new logo animation online, to your social media, website, or even to an advertisement!

Price Point: Varies for each piece of apparel (Contact us!)

Production Time: Varies Depending on Decoration (Contact us!)

Available Colors: Varies for each piece of apparel (Contact us!)

Perfect For: Employee Appreciation Gifts / Client Appreciation Gifts / Corporate Swag Store / Travel Items / Swag Store Real Estate / Tradeshow Apparel / Internal Apparel

One word. Name Brands. It’s what is hot in the promotional world right now, and not even Santa has a big enough bag to hold all of the name brands we carry. From fabulous apparel that attracts rubbernecking passersby to nifty “OH MY GOSH, where can I get one of those?!?” tech gadgets, the list of name brand options here at NorthPoint is truly endless! We are going to need to get a larger bag because we are adding YET ANOTHER name brand to our lovely list…*drumroll please*…UNTUCKit Apparel. These apparel pieces are made with premium fabrics exclusively from top-tier manufactures who all adhere to strict social and environmental guidelines. The best part about this brand is that they are specifically crafted to look razor sharp when wearing untucked (hence the name)! These shirts are just the right length and are made to fit all shapes and sizes! From hem to collar, you are going to look (as the kids say) like a WHOLE SNACK even on your most casual days in this apparel. It’s a proven fact that “you look good, you feel good” with your brand on these pieces, so why wait any longer…reach out to NorthPoint to order your very own!

Your personality…defined by a color?! Yep, you heard that right.  We love a good color theory explanation, and when it’s in the form of a quiz – well, we’re sold.  If you have been on Tik Tok lately (let's be real, we know you all have), you may have already seen this personality test buzzing around.  We don’t know about you, but finding out what color defines our personality is pretty much essential information these days, so there’s no wonder that this simple and minimalistic website has gone viral!

To determine the specific hue of your personality, Withsome’s Personality Colour Test will ask you 12 simple questions before giving a detailed description of what your color means about your personality. As random as they may seem, these questions are actually based off of Don Lowry’s True Colours Personality Profiling System from the 1970s – so they must be accurate, right?!

Lowry’s theory explains that everybody’s personality is a combination of all four colors – blue, orange, green, and gold. Each color is associated with certain personality traits or behaviors, and while everyone has some degree of each color, one color is usually prominent.  His objective was to apply our temperament or personality styles to make communication and understanding easier in all forms of communities, ultimately resulting in positive self-worth and self-esteem.

General descriptions of each color

The Withsome’s Personality Color Test takes this theory and creates a version that is awesomely retro, giving us memories of simpler times and old school Microsoft Paint. With it's unique website design and fun take on the color personality test originally developed by Lowry, you'll surely be as hooked as we are!  Try out the quiz for yourself to discover your *true color*.