One disadvantage of starting a design career as a web designer is fonts tend to take a back seat to other considerations at least in terms how the actual text of your content is displayed. Thankfully I had friends and mentors in my early days of design who taught me the value of fonts. Web designers generally have to design for the broadest possible audience and that means taking into account a lot of people will only have a select series of fonts installed on all computers be they Windows, Mac or Linux. Yes, in the text of a web site the choices can be more limiting but greater consideration can be taken when it come to general graphics, logos and print design. Why are fonts so important? Fonts are an interesting and compelling mix of pure text and imagery. Fonts can look and feel to the eye totally different in print as opposed to an electronic device like a computer screen, TV or cell phone. Also the purpose can dictate the font.  Is this a professional document or something more radical or fancy? Is it meant to be read from a distance or up close?

They are many things to consider when working with font and it’s not just about finding a “pretty font” in fact that’s a big mistake a lot of people made when desktop publishing on a personal computers became popular. Just as early web site creators would put anything on their web because they could and they often did and also made a mess of things.  choosing a font without thinking about why you should use it defeats the purpose.  Yes, the proper font should draw attention but with clear meaning as opposed to making people go huh?

Think about the fonts you see everyday.  Some are even lifesaving.  Yes, lifesaving.  Imagine if someone decided to abandon the Sans Serif style and accepted fonts of street signs just because they thought it would look cool.  I’m reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer decided to bring home street signs and paint over the lines in the road as a “service” and special attention to the part of the highway he adopted.  Needless to say while a nonfictional comedy the results were disastrous.

The fonts you chose for your projects may not cause a wreck (unless you poorly design a billboard) but they could lose sales of your company or organization.  If you want to use something just because it “looks cool” think twice and ask someone who works with fonts daily what you should do especially if it involves your companies brand and identity.  Trust your web developer when he or she recommends keeping certain documents in the PDF format if it means preserving the originally intended fonts. Text on a web site is usually restricted or defaults to a limited set of sans serif fonts that everyone has as is easily read.

Want to learn more about fonts and reasons for using them?  Here is a list of helpful resources;

• Typeface - wikipedia
• Type 101 - Fonts.com
• The Principles of Beautiful Typography

Beginning January 1st, 2008 we will present a series of articles called, The Aspect of Design. I will share the many aspects of design beyond the obvious topics of graphic and web design and what all the aspects mean and how they fit into our work flow. The more I work in this field and communicate with friends, family and potential clients the more I am aware of the misconceptions as well as the limited view of the different aspects of design. The following is a list of the articles we will be presenting on this blog in the next few days;

• The Aspects of Design - Part 1: Layout & Navigation - probably the aspect of the design that most people associate with design but even with that their is more than meets the eye.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 2: Graphic Design - probably tied with layout and navigation as what design work is perceived as. Even so it’s more that “pretty pictures.”
• The Aspects of Design - Part 3: Photography - Often perceived as easy and all you have to do is “point and shoot” but so much “design work” is needed in the set up and often in post processing.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 4: The right fonts for the job - You would think their wouldn’t be much of an issue in “just displaying words” You will be surprised.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 5: Clean and Documented Code - computer programmers/web developers and not usually thought of as “designers” but learn and share what it means to write, “beautiful code.”
• The Aspects of Design - Part 6: The Design of Content - The content (articles and other textual information) is not often associated with design but come and learn how designing with words is crucial to blogging, Search Engine Optimization, a positive response to various print publications, etc.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 7: Conversation - How can you craft your content, images and questions in such away to foster conversation about your product?
• The Aspects of Design - Part 8: Sound Design - Learn and share the aspects of sound design from clear recordings, music tracks and times of silence
• The Aspects of Design - Part 9: Interactive Design - How can the right design make the difference between total confusion and falling in love with the product?
• The Aspects of Design - Part 10: Preservation - When all is said and done is the creations of communications preserved for future generations and protected from theft?

I look forward to starting off 2008 with this series. It’s a series I have been wanting to do for a while not only to provide information but also to engage in a conversation where we can learn the many dimensions of design beyond the perceived views. I have now finished the series and added a “Part 11.”

One of the products we offer as a company is business cards. Business cards are a tried and true method to leave your contact information with people you meet in the business world, be it clients, fellow business people in networking situations or even for  family members or friends to keep or pass along.

However we are not always in a business situation or sometimes giving out a traditional business card gives the impression of being stuffy or you are only attending a social event to make yet another business connection. Just as it’s not appropriate to wear a coat and tie or other business attire to a weekend barbecue or other casual gathering neither is it entirely appropriate to take and hand out business cards in those situations.

This idea is not entirely new. HAM radio operators have been know to pass out cards with their radio call sign and I’ve also seen Christian lay people hand out cards with an encouraging saying or favorite bible verse. We always recommend our clients include their business web site address and e-mail on their professional cards so we have similar recommendations for social cards. These days they are many opportunities to interact in a more relaxed manner on the Internet. “Micro-blogging services like Twitter are becoming more and more popular as well as social networks like Facebook and MySpace. Ning and Mahalo have also added a social feature to their web sites as well. I do recommend that if you are going to hand out “social cards” you act responsible in the groups you advertise being a part of. Even in a casual setting it’s important to act professional.

Remember, a lot of people are turned off by the fact they may be just another potential customer and nothing else. People however do tend to respond positively and give business to those they consider friends and can trust.

Jeff Pulver recently wrote an article called, “Will Business Cards still be used in 2015?“, He makes some great points. I think however their will always be a need for traditional business cards but it’s important to break out of the mold and tell people how they can connect with you in a more casual sense if appropriate. If you are considering ordering traditional business cards from us please consider ordering a second set of cards to let people know about your personal blogs, social network accounts, micro blogging accounts, etc. This is also a good idea for local networking groups to offer their members. This will not be appropriate for everyone but you might be surprised at how new and often longer lasting business relationships are fostered through casual connections. Think about it, how often have your clients come from family, friends, former classmates, fellow club members, etc?

At SpinningSilk Multimedia we believe the concept of portable media is going to become more and more important to our clients and their customers or in the case of organizations, people who use their services. People love portability and the ability to accomplish tasks easily on mobile devices but print media is not left out in the cold. Some of the most used “portable media tools” are in the form of print items. The following is a list of things we will be focusing on in 2008 and beyond to make life easier for people when they are out and about;

• More creative and functional business and calling cards
• Podcasts that teach, inspire and sell
• Web sites optimized for the mobile web
• mobile web applications that will allow you to optimize the information you create and distribute
• instructing our clients and other interested parties on how they can use portable devices to create compelling content including photography courses, portable audio recording and effective note taking on the job and when traveling

Portable media devices we will concentrate on will be digital cameras, portable media players like iPods, iPhones, Zunes and other popular media devices. Most important will be the class of devices know as smart phones and small Internet tablets like the iPhone and devices by Nokia, etc.

One of the greatest temptations and yet also one of the greatest criticisms of  both the small business owner and the large almost monopolistic mega corporations (Like Microsoft and Google) is to want to do everything. Why do we do this?  Here is why I am tempted and I think large companies are as well;

1.) Diversifing your portofolio to minimize risk in case one service or product is not successful
2.) Having varied interests or tools that can peform various tasks
3.) Difficulty saying no
4.) The desire to beat the competiton when they offer a variety of products or services in your realm

Some of these may work in the short term. It hard to turn down making some quick cash to troubleshoot someones computer but if that is not the core of your business you risk the time it takes to become a better expert at what you do best(unless computer repair is what you do best).  It’s great to have varied interests and some are fine to pursue in your spare time or for yourself. The guy who fixes your lawn mower may be able to prepare your tax return but wouldn’t he be better off referring you to someone who an expert and works all the time on tax preparation and vice versa? (Yes I have seen more than one lawn mower repair/tax preparation sign)

This is where the power of partnering comes in. We all have clients and other people we know who would rather ask us to do something than somebody they don’t know. However if they trust us to do work outside our core area wouldn’t it be safe to assume they would trust us to refer them to someone else who is an expert in that area?

It’s amazing how many web design and web development professionals are asked to “fix someone’s computer” It starts with family but then they tell their friends and so on. I encourage other web developers, web designers, graphic designers and other creative professionals to find a local I.T. company who specializes in computer repair, networking, etc. We have partnered with other companies and have gotten higher paying projects and increased our expertize.

I was asked by an organization I do some web and other media work for to look at an Access database issue they were having.  I did look at it but I couldn’t do much however I knew a local firm that had that specialized in issues with that software.  They were thankful I knew who to call and their problem was solved in under an hour.  It would have taken me days to figure it out but they needed the program to work properly to get invoices out and thus they were able to be paid quicker.

We design and develop web sites but we don’t have servers on site. We contact with a company dedicated to keeping them run securely and up to date. We design print materials like brochures business cards and signs but outsource work to companies that have top of the line equipment and materials for printing the items the best and most cost effective.

You might be surprised but some companies who you consider competition could be great partners who could help your business grow.  Yes, you need to be careful but the more you focus on your niche the greater of an expert you will become.  Finally when I do “outsource” I like to keep it in my community or at the very least my own country.  I’m a firm believer in supporting local business whenever I can. That’s one reason we are members of GIBA a Greenville,SC based organization promoting local business.