You see a Squarespace template, you love it, you start playing with the fonts... and suddenly you don't love it quite so much. No worries -- it happens to everyone!

Although it may be tempting to stick with the default settings of your template, taking the time to select the right fonts adds depth and personality to your site. With over 600 font options through Google and nearly 1,000 on Adobe Typekit, picking the perfect combo can feel almost impossible.

We're here to take the guesswork out of selecting the perfect Squarespace font combination - here's 7 suggestions to revive your favorite template: 

Merriweather & Roboto

This classic and modern mix of serif and sans serif fonts is perfect for any business. 

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Domine & Skolar Sans

Need a clean no-fuss combination? Domine and Skolar pairs nicely with strong graphics. 

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Julius Sans One + Franklin Gothic

Franklin Gothic is classic, readable, and approachable -- but add Julius Sans One in and you've got an edgy clean feel.

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Rift Soft & Vendetta

Looking for a sophisticated pairing for an upscale brand? The sleek style of Rift keeps Vendetta from feeling too stuffy. 

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Essones & Futura

This duo feel playful and approachable. We love this serif & sans serif mix for boutiques, portfolios, and blogs. 

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Park Lane & Tenso

This crisp and versatile combo would work well for real estate, bistros, and trendy salons. 

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Lust Script + Sofia Pro

Feeling a little edgy? Mixing in Lust Script takes this font palette to the next level. 

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branding + web services in greensboro: Hue & Tone

Looking for a web designer in Greensboro, Winston Salem or the surrounding areas? Hue & Tone is a creative graphic design agency specializing in logo design, web design, social media management, and more. Give us a call if you’re interested in a custom, branded website that truly tells your story.

Whether you’re designing a resume, website, or even a graphic for social media, choosing the right fonts can make a good design even better.  However, the seemingly endless font options available at our disposal can make choosing the right ones a little tricky.

To help alleviate a little stress and confusion, we put together a brief guide on font pairing. 

If you’re interested in the complexities of font typography, you can learn more here. But, if you're just looking to learn a few basics, start with these guidelines: 

• Try combing a serif with a sans serif.
• Stick to 2-3 fonts, any more than that can be distracting.
• Designate rolls to your fonts. Keep headings, subheadings, or body text consistent.
• Vary the weight to achieve visual hierarchy.
• Contrast is key! Try not to select fonts that are too similar.
• Don’t pick fonts that clash with your aesthetic.

Now that you have some basics down, here are a few of our favorite combinations:

Most of the font examples we used below are from Font Squirrel, but you can also find some free or inexpensive downloads from these sites:

• Dafont
• Visual Hierarchy
• Hype for Type
• My Fonts
• Lost Type Co-op
• Creative Market

These are just a few of our suggestions, so don’t be afraid to branch out and try something different. There are seemingly endless font combinations to choose from! Play around and try out different combinations until you find what works best for you.

What are your favorite font pairings? Let us know in the comments!

What do Chanel, Target, and Harley Davidson have in common? They all use Helvetica. This versatile Swiss typeface speaks to us every day. It’s on street signs, album covers, paper coffee cups, and even the shopping bags of our favorite stores.

Helvetica is just one of many expressive typefaces available to us today. If you’re a business owner that needs an introduction or a designer in need of a brief refresher to typography and font selection, we’ve put together a little guide. We won’t get too in depth- just some basics of typography, different type families, and some recommendations on our favorite typefaces. Sound good? Let’s jump in!

 

Typography

Typography is the art of arranging letters and characters in creative ways without impacting legibility. Typography isn’t just selecting an interesting font, it’s the art of adjusting the size, spacing, and placement of text in creative ways that captures the viewer’s attention. (source).

Typefaces vs Fonts

One common misconception is that typefaces and fonts are the same thing. The key difference is that font is what you use and a typeface is the creative style you see. In the early days of manual printing, individual metal blocks were used to print each character. If you wanted to use the typeface Baskerville, you would need to purchase the font in the desired point size, style, and weight separately.

Leading, Kerning & Tracking

Leading is the vertical spacing of lines of text. When dealing with several lines of text, you may need to adjust the leading. Kerning is the spacing between two letters to produce an aesthetically pleasing result. You never want your viewer to struggle to decipher tight letters that are smashed together, or to see loose awkward spacing that distracts from the message you’re trying to convey. Not to be confused with kerning, tracking is the adjustment of spacing throughout an entire word.  

 

Type Categories

Because of its rich and lengthy history, there are several different type families. We’ve included a few examples, but if you’re eager to learn about more in detail, you can read more here.  

SERIF:

SANS SERIF: 

SLAB SERIF: 

Serif

Typefaces in this family utilize serifs, which are the small decorative lines attached to the stroke of a letter. Serifs are like extensions or finishing strokes at the end of characters. Serifs are often used in print media like books, magazines, and newspapers.  Some examples of this type are: Garamond, Times New Roman, and Baskerville. 

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Sans Serif

In the early 1900’s, San Serif was criticized as being ugly because they lacked the elegance of the classic Serif style.

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Derived from the French word sans, meaning “without”, this typeface does not use decorative finishing strokes associated with its formal counterpart. Because of its simplicity and clarity, Sans Serif typefaces are usually used for websites, signage, and government documents. A popular example that is used almost universally is Helvetica. 

Slab or Square Serif

Developed in the early 19th century, this style implies a heavy block-like serif. Slab Serifs are more geometric in style and have a strong square-like appearance than traditional Serif fonts. Rockwell, Aleo, and Courier New are a few examples of this mechanistic style.

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In the early 19th century, Slab Serif was extremely popular for newspapers. The bold style was eye-catching and held up well is mass printing. 

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Our Favorite typefaces

There are endless styles to choose from. Here are some of our favorite styles that we think would work well for different areas.

Parlour

We love this rustic and masculine typeface, and think it would be perfect for menswear brands, barbershops, and tattoo shops. 

Hermes

This style is a popular choice for designers because it’s minimalistic, yet strong.

Oraniembaum

We like the retro feel of this stylish serif typeface, and think it would be great for blogs, headlines, or logos.

ADAM

Clean and easy to read, this modern San Serif style provides a futuristic feel to websites and logos.

Knubi

This serif typeface is delicate yet memorable. It would work well for magazines, brochures, books, and most printed media.

Zefani

Zefani has a sophisticated feel and would be perfect for luxury projects.

Rockwell

This thick slab serif is a great choice for eye-catching titles and headlines.  
 

Korneuburg Slab

We love the old world feel of this eye-catching serif typeface. 
 

Julep

We love this versatile typeface, and think it would be perfect choice for fashion brands, coffee shops, or bakeries.
 

Moderne Sans

This typeface was inspired by 1920’s typography. This minimalistic style pairs well with images. 

Shepia

This script adds a fun vintage feel to fashion labels, signage, packaging, and logos. We like that this typeface isn’t gender specific, so it would work well for both menswear and women’s fashion. 

Not sure where to find different typefaces? We’ve got you covered. Here are a few of our favorite sources- several of them offer free downloads:

My Fonts

Font Squirrel  

Lost Type Co-op

Dafont

Visual Hierarchy

Hype For Type
 

Great typography can elevate the quality of a design and transform it into something remarkable. It takes time, patience, and a lot of trial and error to develop this skill, so don’t get discouraged! Play around with spacing, placement, and color until you find the best fit for you.  Don’t try to force it - great typography speaks for itself.

What do you want to know about typography? Leave a comment! 

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SOURCES:
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Type Rules! The Designer’s Guide to Professional Typography, by Ilene Striver

This Friday we’re in a creative state of mind! From creating graphics, hand lettering, and choosing fonts we’ve created a list of links to get you trying something new.

One | Using graphics is a great way to add interest to your blog or website. Spicing up your photos (or stock photos) can be simple. Follow these steps and you’ll be creating graphics like a pro in no time!

Two | Have you ever wondered what the difference between Handlettering and Calligraphy is? Maghon Taylor from All She Wrote Notes, explains it all. She even offers calligraphy classes right here in Greensboro.

Three | Practice makes perfect. Here are 10 free hand lettering practice worksheets to help you learn a new skill.

Four | So you’ve mastered hand lettering... now what? Digitize them through Illustrator! Check out this step-by-step guide to taking your paper to digital.

Five | Picking the right fonts can be critical to making your blog or website give off the right vibe. Lucky for you we found this handy guide to choosing the right fonts. 

See you next week for another Friday Link! Have a great weekend and let your creative minds run!

Hi friends, and happy Friday! It's been a fun week full of some new opportunities here at Hue & Tone, and now I'm wrapping things up before heading out to enjoy this weekend's (hopefully) beautiful weather! If, like me, you haven't quite reached the finish line of the work week, here are a few links to push you through.

One | Type design is one of the most demanding (and fascinating) disciplines in the creative world. Here's a roundup of type designers to watch out for in 2016. 

Two | For something light, here's a hilarious infographic from the Creative Market blog: how to live like a creative.

Three | Looking for more regular reading material? Check out a few of the 80 best Tumblr blogs for designers. 

Four | This is great from the first line: "I’d love to have a toolkit that promised me great, creative ideas every time I sat down to work. Obviously that’s not going to happen—creativity doesn’t come from tools."

Five | Don't forget to check out our free adult coloring page! It's perfect for some weekend relaxation. 

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend! We'll be back next week on the blog.

Another Friday, another link roundup! Here's a few things that came in handy at Hue & Tone this week: 

One  |  Looking for a last minute Valentine's Day card? Use these four free printables to design your own! The ombre XOXO print is our personal favorite.

Two  |  Typewolf is one of the best sources for everything typography + fonts. With carefully curated lists and resources, you’ll find everything from unique ‘top 10’ lists to font profiles (complete with mixing & match suggestions).

Three  |  Last week, we went in depth on our love of textures. If you’re looking for some textures to play around with in your designs check out this free sample pack.

Four  |  No matter what your goals, these eight inspirational TED Talks are a must watch.

Five  |  This week's mood board was one of our favorites! We've been reminding ourselves all week that there's no single answer to a design problem. 

We'll be back Tuesday with a fun, interactive freebie! 

We hope everyone’s had a productive week back at work after the holidays. Here’s a few links that caught our eye this week:

One | Good, free fonts can be hard to find. This list of 60 free minimalist fonts highlights a handful of unique + clean + modern finds -- ones that you won’t see on more basic free font lists. 

Two | A lot of my clients are new to the design world -- and while I always take the time to walk them through some of the basics, a handful have asked for reading they can do on their own. This guide will help familiarize you with some basic typography terms. It’s the perfect primer for people having trouble communicating with their designer!

Three | For the past few weeks my social media feeds have been overrun with predictions for what 2016 will bring. Out of everything I’ve read, this collection of design trend predictions is one of my favorites.  

Four | We’re working on a few new freebie wallpapers -- in the meantime spruce up your tech with this list of best desktop wallpaper sites.

Five | I’ve recently developed an obsession with adult coloring books -- they’re perfect when you need a quick break from work. Michael’s has a wide selection, and carries a few coloring books that feature less intricate patterns (perfect for beginners)!

It's Friday once again! Here's our weekly roundup of links on a few of my favorite things: design, creativity, and entrepreneurship...plus anything else that strikes my fancy! 

One | Love this rundown from Fast Company on six myths about creativity. I love number five (click on over to see what it is).

Two | Good design is really about solving problems. Here's how to solve them like a designer. 

Three | Maybe it's a little meta to mention this on the blog, but I love this guide to blog post ideas. It's not a list of pre-formed ideas (those are helpful, but everywhere) -- it's a framework for developing your own. 

Four | Another on the service-y/helpful side of things: how to change your domain name without losing SEO.

Five | Can we talk about this gorgeous lettering?! Love.

Roundup of this week's blog posts: 

• Favorite design blogs
• Fall/Winter mood board

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Here's our weekly roundup of links we're loving.

One | A good thing to work on if you've got holiday downtime: tips on making a media kit that'll impress your clients.

Two | Why everyone needs a passion project, even if you've got a 9 to 5.

Three | Something encouraging and sparking with a little creative magic: Amanda Palmer on working in the arts. "When you're an artist, nobody ever tells you or hits you with the magic wand of legitimacy. You have to hit your own head with your own handmade wand." 

Four | What makes a good designer -- the illustrated version.

Five | This could be a fun project (also useful if holiday downtime exists in your world) -- how to digitize hand lettering.

Have a great weekend. I'll see you all soon on the blog.