Posts Tagged ‘type’

Freebie: Frilly Floral Download

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One of my freelance jobs didn’t work out, so I thought I’d use some of those unused graphics for a printable for you today.

I’ve been trying to branch out with my work to include more analog art and graphics into my design work. Painting these flowers was definitely a nice exercise to get back into the art end of things.

My mom grew the most amazing irises when we grew up. They were enormous and so colorful. I’ve painted that flower a zillion times, so it was fun to branch out of that as well. Although this definitely has me in the mood to paint a few more irises for my own house.

This particular card is headed nowhere, but I need to get my letter/card writing on. I’ve got a lot of overdue thank yous to send.

I’ve included two versions of the simple fold card. One with thanks written on it and the other blank for you to keep blank or fill in as you wish. Click the button to download. All artwork is subject to ISLY terms of use.

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without the express consent of Melissa Esplin. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. You may publish 1 photo along with credit back to the original post. Never link directly to the download. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

Script Fonts

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Megan asked me if I knew of any great script fonts out there & I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to publish it here for everyone to see.

Script fonts are a funny thing. They can be fantastic or they can be horribly awful. It’s not often I come across a script that is in the middle. Another thing, you often times get what you pay for with script fonts. If they’re free, they’re typically nasty. My advice? look around & find a font you like a lot. Invest in it. Don’t just download a bunch of mediocre free ones.

With that said. Here’s a list of some great script fonts. Some are free, some cost money, but they’re all totally worth every cent.

  1. Poem Script, $89 – this gorgeous font has a million alternates & is incredibly fancy= readability is not a priority. Use it in small doses for a major punch.
  2. Lavanderia, $donation – this is my favorite “free” script font, hands down. It’s gorgeous! Please, support the designer behind this gorgeous font. At least send $10 his way, k? There are some fantastic alternates in this one.
  3. England Hand, $0 – here’s a standard copperplate-style script font. Nothing terribly new or exciting about this one, but it’s well designed. Free for commercial use.
  4. BlackJack Script, $0 – informal retro-type script. I like it for its readability. Could be used in longer titles.
  5. Wisdom Script $donation – another great retro script. I like the more masculine/angular lines on this one. simple. readable. Again, DONATE!!
  6. Rythm, $42 – I really like the white stripe running down each letter. Not totally a script, but in between.
  7. Zierfische, $29 – it’s sort of masculine, fairly easy to read for a script & just different than what you usually see out there. Pretty cheap font for Veer.
  8. Filmotype, $29 – great for retro styling & signage. I love the weight & angle of the letters!

A couple of things: never use a script for paragraph text. EVER. Script fonts are best in small doses! They’re meant to add personality & style, not necessarily readability (as a general rule). Never use a script font in ALL CAPS. It’s inscrutable. If you’re using a script font in your blog styling, be sure to use it as a flourish, not a staple. If you choose to use it for your post titles, write your titles out in sentence case, not title case (Hello, there. not Hello, There). Make sense?

If you find you’re having an impossible time finding the right script for you, email me for rates on custom calligraphy. I’d be happy to do some work for you!

• • •

. . . And one last thing! I’m looking for an assistant/intern to help me with marketing/advertising stuff so I can spend more time crafting & playing with kiddos. See the below & email me if you’re interested. Thanks!

The requirements:

  • detail oriented person
  • willing to work up to 5 hours per week scheduling ads & emailing potential sponsors
  • tech savvy & quick learner
  • has their computer
  • has transportation to Orem for weekly meetings
  • marketing experience preferred

The perks:

  • commission-based payment
  • learn more about social media & its platforms: wordpress, twitter, facebook, pinterest
  • learn basic design/photoshop skills
  • make valuable connections in the PR & marketing industry
  • learn more about sewing, calligraphy, crafting, photography
  • access to my studio for projects

Masculine Design

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It’s not often I work on masculine design projects, but when I do, they’re usually for Chris. It’s always great to work on these things, because it forces me to go outside of my norm. I end up doing more design research & I usually find some great design sites in the process.

Chris needed a portfolio site to showcase his recent work in programming. In the last year, he’s transitioned away from finance & moved towards programming web apps that manipulate data. It’s really cool to see his excitement about what he’s learned or accomplished each day when he gets home from work. He’s really awesome at learning new things.

Chris naturally did all of the programming from scratch and I did the design work. I used a more neutral pallette with pops of muted color, inspired by fashion’s fall brights paired with neutrals. I manipulated LostType’s Ranger font for Chris’s logo & remixed a gorgeous Bokeh photo from Teleyinex to fit Chris’s color scheme. I can’t emphasize enough how awesome the fonts are on LostType are. I’ve talked about it before & I want everyone to know about the insane talent behind that site. Chris programmed some really tricky little details into his site that I’m just in awe over. I love how his site turned out. Click here to check out Chris’s Portfolio.

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