#9 – Design Identity: Choices: Colors & Fonts

Usage of color and fonts can communicate your brand without words. Be thoughtful and intentional with their use rather than just “picking your favorites. “Top Color Usage in Marketing and Brand Identity:

• Blue means Business: Trustworthy, Dependable, Responsible, Conservative. Think Forbes & LinkedIn
• Black: Luxury, Sophistication, Disruption, Strong, Intelligent

Think: Chanel

• Red: Attention-Getting, Aggressive, Provocative, Passionate, Bold,

Think: Target, Coca-Cola, CNN

• Yellow: Strongly used in communication, Positivity, Hope, Warm

Think: Sprint, National Geographic

• Orange: Creativity, Vitality, Playful, Fun

Think: Fanta, Harley Davidson

• Grey: Sleek, Timeless, Sophisticated

Think: Mercedes Benz, Apple

• Purple: Royalty, Creativity, Intelligence, Wisdom.

Think: Hallmark, Yahoo

• Green: Finance, Health, Nature.

Think: Starbucks, Whole Foods

• Brown: Friendly, Earthy, Longevity

Think: UPS, J.P. Morgan

Choosing a typeface:

• Pick your font last
• Analyze the personality of the font
• Avoid default fonts
• Think carefully before using more than two fonts
• When pairing fonts, ensure they are complementary
• Customize Line Height
• Serif vs san serif

Kerning: spacing between letters
Tracking: spacing between groups of letters rather than individual letters
Leading: spacing between baselines – line spacing

Intentional grammatical deviation for emphasis
Resources Discussed in this Episode:

• Font Sites

Also Discussed in this Episode:

• Kat Topaz
• Topaz Design — com
• SNL Skit: Avatar logo is the papyrus font