Month: October 2024

Welcome to the second of two episodes with Katie Howerton, where we talk about type. And so you’re saying that in a good brand kit, so if someone’s listening to this podcast and they’ve got a brand kit from a professional, there should be a font listing in there.

Yes. And they’re ideally multiple. I think in my mind, an ideal set is three fonts. So one being your main title font, which you could use a variation of later, a subtitle font and then a body copy. And you can use those within the same family. I like a little variation. So say you have sans serif as your main title font, try to use a serif or a slap serif to offset things in the body. So yeah, and then in addition to that, you should be getting with your brand kits if they do require downloaded fonts as font files as well, which is an easy step to miss because there’s no one rule for fonts across on the internet. Maybe one day we will have that, but yeah. Yeah.

And now you are somewhat famous for your handwriting, your handwritten script and stuff. So how can using unique type or handwritten script add meaning to a project?

I think something we talked about a lot in college when we were learning about typography is that every font has a voice, which sounds like no child left behind. What I mean is that when you see letters in a certain way, you imagine them sounding a certain way or feeling a certain way. It’s why most of our clients, male clients, if I present any script, they’re like, it feels a little girly. It’s a little overcompensating, but it’s true. There are different… It’s like if you’re doing an old brand and you’re using all very modern type, it’s going to feel disjointed. So often I will use hand lettering when it comes to any brand that is okay with as far as either something that’s playful, something that is very personal, or if you just hit a wall with something. So I think about even our own brand. We have a strong look with using Gotham and using our body copy type. But I like to do quotes in hand lettering so that they have a more illustrative element. They can be one on their own. They don’t have to match everything. And as long as the color palette carries over, that there’s a consistency with elements like that, you can have a little bit more fun. So that’s why I like to use it specifically with quotes, because those are heard.

Yeah, you’re reading it to hear it like someone said it. Yeah, absolutely. All right. And then the last thing to talk about is, sometimes we have a conflict about software in our office, and usually that’s because you are obsessed about InDesign. I feel like InDesign is the… The… The… The…

The black sheep.

The black sheep of the Adobe world that nobody talks about. But you love it.

I do love it.

So I wanted to give you a chance to pitch Adobe and defend your choice to use it all the time.

So, Adobe has many, many products, the three main which are used by designers are Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign. Photoshop for images, Illustrator for logos, is the best way to put it, and then Indesign for print. I ran our Jackson home for five years, and that was what I designed every magazine in. It’s what I’ve designed resumes in. It’s what I’ve designed anything that is going to be printed in because it is made for that. And so if you learn the muscle memory of it, which is like any Adobe product, if you get used to it, you don’t want to-

Yeah, because the key commands don’t transfer between different software.

Exactly. So it’s just very print friendly. But even with that, I’ll sometimes use it for non-print or things that just don’t necessarily need Indesign, per se. There’s a lot more locking features on there. I can envision it better, I think. In Illustrator, it’s a little bit more of the Wild West of you can have things spread out, less organization. I think I’m just mostly an organized person, and I have found a system within Illustrator that benefits that. I can also design two things back to back and pick a favorite, and for me, it’s visually easier. So I would say the Indesign is really helpful for print materials or anything with lots of words. It’s very type-centric. So I would encourage anybody, if you’re creating a business card, if you’re creating print materials, even if you’re laying out for a website, just to play around with the idea of what are the margins? How are we doing this? Indesign is a good place to start.

Well, Katie, thank you so much for joining us today and teaching us a little bit more about type and making a case for InDesign.

Yeah, anytime.

If you have a favorite type project that you’ve seen Katie make, which are all the quotes from this show that you see on social media, please let us know, and I’ll share that with Katie so she can hear nice things about her work. So thank you for listening to the Content Machine podcast. Stay tuned for future episodes about marketing, small business, and leadership in culture. Thank you.

Kevin
Welcome to the Content Machine, I’m Kevin Adelsberger, and this week we are joined by Katie Howerton, who is a graphic designer at Adelsberger Marketing. We want to talk to Katie about some stuff in the graphic design world. Katie, you are known for your hand lettering and your love of all things that is type. Can you give us a rundown of some of the basic terminology that people should know when they’re thinking about type?

Katie
Most people, when they think about type, the first thing they think is font, which is valid. But that can encompass a lot of different things. When you’re talking about fonts, there are three main groups: sans serif, serif, and slap serif. There’s also hand lettering and calligraphy, things like that. But essentially, serif is French for feet. And so sans serif means without feet, serif means with them. So essentially, that’s going to be your difference between a Helvetica and a Times New Roman. That may mean nothing to someone listening, but essentially something that has curved edges, like a Roman look, versus something that is nice and sharp and modern. Slap serif is a good in between in that it has those edges to it, but they’re nice and sharp and not… They’re a more modern look. So essentially, when you’re… That is the three kinds of fonts you can choose from. Obviously, within that, there is bolding your type, italicizing your type. Often, there are different weights, which essentially means how skinny is letter, is it condensed, is it spread out? And often, there’s a lot more choices there than you necessarily need to make. But essentially, when you are picking a font, you are trying to pick something that matches the tone of your business or of specifically what it is doing in that moment. So there’s going to be a difference between what is easy to see and read and matches the voice of a title versus an entire website’s body copy. So, yeah. So those are a few things, as well as font size. That’s something we’re all familiar with. But there are a few rules within that, unspoken rules about this is too small to read, this is too big to fit a word across the line. There are obviously also specifics that you can get into that the designer will get into, but probably not the client, of letter and line spacing. And then your biggest question in the end to ask is, is it legible? Which seems really like a silly question. Legible means you’re able to read it, i. e. your handwriting, Kevin.

Kevin
My handwriting is very good.

Katie
But then there’s also readability, which is technically different in that once something is in a body of text, can you read through it without having to pause and check it. Legibility is ‘can I see what the letters are’, readability is ‘if I see a paragraph of this text, is it easy to read? Or is it clunky or takes longer than it should’.

Kevin
Now I’ve heard in books that you always use serifed fonts because it’s easier to read and then on your phone, you’d see a sanserif font, your text messages.

Katie
I don’t know the science behind that, but it’s true, in that things are easier to read on a screen if they’re sanserif, serif if they’re in print. I don’t know if it’s just muscle memory, honestly. There’s also the difference of light text on dark, how easy that is to read. And that will affect as well how… If you have something really ornate that’s light on dark, it’s going to be a lot on the eyes.

Kevin
That makes a designer’s choice more complicated or something to think through. I’ve heard the phrase font family before. What does that mean and why is that important for a brand?

Katie
So a font family, it sounds silly, but just imagine it like a family. So, primarily what people think of is like, here’s the font, here’s the bold version, here’s the italic version, there’s our family. But many fonts go far beyond that as far as they will have, like I mentioned earlier, a condensed version, a super bold version. They’ll have something called book, which means essentially the way that is easiest to read in body copy. So the great thing about if you have a very large font family with lots of options, is often you can build an entire brand off of one font family. So just like a family, they look different, but they have similarities. So they work together. There are also, I think of two fonts, Mr. Eve’s and Mrs. Eve’s, that are essentially the same fonts, but one is sans serif, one is serif. So they have integrations that make them work well together. So whether you’re picking multiple fonts or you’re working from one font family, you want to make sure that they call back to each other and they work together well.

Kevin
So that would be a phrase we use as pairing fonts together? Okay. All right. And then, if someone has a brand-specific font, how should they handle fonts? Because sometimes a brand-specific font, maybe in what we call the logo mark, you might not be able to replicate that in email or your word document. How should you approach … if your brand has a very specific font, how should you approach selecting a font for your email or your word documents?

Katie
Yeah, so, it’s a real struggle. I will say that in the design world there is a unspoken that a logo should never be just a font. It should always be a variation. Whether that’s incorporating imagery into the letters or tapering things, people shouldn’t be able to pull it up, type it, and say, Is there a logo? That’s what makes it unique. So often what we’ll do is, if you do have access to that font, you can use it for titles and stuff. You don’t want to overuse the main font because then it’s everywhere and your logo doesn’t stand out. But it’s subtitles, things like that. Those are really important to incorporate throughout your website or different areas. We usually work within Adobe fonts because Adobe programs are what we use.

Kevin
And most of the design world has access to.

Katie
Yes. Unfortunately, most clients don’t. They’re not doing their designing. I send them a brand package, they have their fonts, and they realize, oh, we’re using Canva, we’re using Google, we’re using things that don’t have access to these fonts.

Kevin
So this is an interesting point. Not every program that you have or not every computer that you use has access to the same sets of fonts.

Katie
Yeah, and fonts have changed over the years as far as how you use them. It used to be very standard to purchase a font, and that can still be done, but it’s just different, and it’s old school as well. It’s also a very expensive process if you want to own a very prestigious font. I’m trying to get better about using Google fonts on the front-end. Basically trying to say, these fonts are accessible everywhere. You can… The good thing is, too, unlike with adobe, it’s like a subscription system. If you have the access, you get it. With the google font, you can download that at any point and hold on to it.

Kevin
And it’s free.

Katie
Yeah. And it’s not a sketchy… This is a free font website that might give you a virus. So I try to work primarily off of those. If I really am attached to an adobe font, but I know they need something similar to be able to produce things on their own, then I will go into Google Fonts and just mix and match. Often, there are better designers out there who I can google, Hey, what’s a similar font to Helvetica? Because it takes a long time. So I’ll do that. And then also, something that I hadn’t really thought about until recently is a client using their Gmail, like you mentioned. I don’t think about fonts and email a lot, but if you want it to match the brand, that’s a very limited set, as well as a limited set within Microsoft, different things. So really, we’re trying to provide the client, ideally, with a font they can use anywhere, but if not, a really great backup that essentially creates the same effect.

Kevin
And I would say for email or Word processing, it’s really more important for legibility. Or readability, whichever I’m supposed to be saying. Thanks for tuning in to the first of two episodes with Katie Howerton talking about type. Stay tuned to your feed for the future episode where we finish this conversation.

At Adelsberger Marketing, we typically focus on digital marketing for our clients, but we also recognize the value of physical items in marketing. Whether this is something for inside the company or something to give out to the community, both have some finer points to consider. Let’s jump in with internal use first. As a business owner, I love giving my team new swag. Well, why? I think it accomplishes several goals. One, it makes culture practical. One of the great values of swag is that it can allow you to make the components of your workplace culture practical, like making stickers or clothing that emphasizes the core values of your organization. Two, it can make you feel like part of a team, sort of like sports jerseys. Swag can help people feel part of a larger group. Feeling like you belong is an important part of great workplace culture. It can make them feel valued. Giving gifts is a great way to help people feel like they are valued somewhere. And it can be used for recognition. Some companies use special gifts to recognize special accomplishments or longevity in a position. While we get some indirect marketing benefits from equipping our staff with swag, we also see it as a valuable tool for marketing our business as well. Top of mind awareness can be created by swag. It’s hard to measure top of mind awareness, but it certainly plays a role in customers’ purchasing behavior. We’re in Jackson, Tennessee, and there’s actually two safari parks close by. But I bet if I polled our community, 9 out of 10 would only know about one of them. And it’s actually one that is a few minutes further away from us because they invest heavily in top of mind marketing. Swag, when selected and used well, can help you create top of mind awareness in your target market. It’s a physical reminder of your company. We love to give our clients and friends things that make them think about us when they use it, whether that be a sweatshirt or maybe even socks. And it’s late marketing through affiliation. If you do a good job with Swag, People will wear it in the community or they’ll give you a shout out on social media for it. You gain a few marketing points by affiliation with those folks or just as a visible recognition of your brand in the community. Either way, if you’re trying to do internal or external with physical gifts, here’s a few things that you should think about. One, make it unique. Thinking beyond just your logo on things, engage a graphic designer to create something fun for your brand. But also, sometimes unique items will leave more of a mark. Also, make it useful. If the item is useless to the target, it will end up in the trash. Thinking through how people will make it useful will make it a better gift for those people. Or make sure that it’s target market adjacent. So if you have dog people who are customers, maybe create some dog toys. And then quality items. Getting good quality items will increase the likelihood that others will utilize it and therefore increase your ROI on the purchase. A good pen will be used more than a cheap one. Here at Adelsberger Marketing, we’re ready to help you think about building culture with swag. But if you’re really getting into ordering some new gear, I would point you to our friends at IMS Promos here in Jackson. They will hold your hand through the entire process, and we’ve gotten some great sweatshirts and socks from them in the last year. My question to you would be, what’s your favorite piece of corporate swag that you’ve gotten, internal or external? I’d love to hear about it. Send me an email at kevin@adelsbergermarketing.com, and stay tuned for future episodes of the Content Machine podcast, where we’ll talk more about marketing culture and leadership in the small business environment.