This Sabbatical week is from a past YouTube episode (#111) on why being a typographer is important.

Takeaways:

• Typography is how  someone uses their typework. Their typefaces, their fonts, the space in between letters.
• Typography is key to being a good designer.
• Train your eye to recognize typefaces.
• Consider the era a type comes from, the style they are created in, the kind of thing it was created for.
• Fall in love with type!
• Being a typographer sets you apart

Find us on all forms of social media via @BrandiSea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and you can email us any burning questions you want Brandi to answer on an episode at brandi@brandisea.com.

TRANSCRIPTION

Brandi Sea: 00:03 Hey, I’m Brandi Sea and you’re listening to episode 109 of design speaks. This week is a sabbatical week. So we have a design tip for you from uh, one of my old youtube videos. So this week we’re going to be talking about why it’s important to be obsessed with or at least be interested in and try to get good at typography. Here you go.

Brandi Sea: 00:30 Hey guys, welcome to Design Tip Tuesday. This week’s design tip is, be a typographer. So I’ve often been asked like, how do I know a novice designer from an expert designer? Or what makes a good design and how can I tell just by looking at it? And time and time again, the answer I come back to is the typography, which is how the person used their type work, their typefaces, their fonts, the space in between letters, all of those things. That’s really key to being a great designer. If you did not know how to be a typographer, you will fail. So I was, I was watching um, 101 Dalmatians with some friends the other night and I was able to identify the style of typeface that they were using in the credits as a 60s style typeface. And one of my girlfriends said, man, I wish I could do that. That’s so cool. But it’s, it was kind of just like, well, it is cool. But the reason that I do that and the reason I have that skill is because I’ve trained my eye to recognize typefaces because they’re so important in your work. The era that they come from, the style that they’re created in the kind of thing they’re created for is all really important to know. The difference between a headline typeface and a body copy typeface will make all the difference in your work fall in love with type. I know it sounds like a really geeky thing to do, but if you can be a true topographer, your work will excel above so many hack designers out there. And I promise that you’ll be really excited about things like typefaces someday if you can really get into this. So set yourself apart, be a topographer. Practice, learn, look at books and all kinds of stuff to figure this thing out. And if you have any questions on what I’ve used to become a typographer myself, I would love to share those things with you. So I hope to see you guys next week.

Brandi Sea: 02:34 Michelle and I will be back next week with a full episode until then, check out our Patreon and share this podcast with a friend.