got a question, rae has an answer

Generally I seem to have the answer or at least an opinion.  And some say I give that information rather freely. So why not here? Actually from time to time on Facebook I am asked really good questions so I thought I should post them here so that others who may even have better answers or at least different answers can share their thoughts too. That said here is a very good questions from Shari.

QMy name is Shari and I am a font-a-holic. Rae, could you possibly recommend a book that shows which fonts compliment each other?

aThanks for your confession Shari. And I am afraid you have stumped me. There really should be a book on this but I have never seen one. This is that thing that I just know. Kind of like which colors go together. But that 'knowing' has come from years of doing. I am going to keep thinking about this. Does anyone else know of a book like this?

The way I have honed this skill is to be like you first a font-a-holic. Second, I keep all kind of samples of fonts used together that I like. And if you don't know what the font is I recommend, 'What the Font' on myfonts.com. Third, I always start a job by choosing the font. I spend a lot of time on this because it is important to have the right font for the right job. If there is an illustration in my project I try and tie the font to that with the right weight as well as feel. If the illustration is hand drawn I use a hand lettered font. If the illustration has thick and thin lines I use a font that had the same weight of thick and thin lines. I also use a more fun headline font and a less fun, more readable body copy font. And in my case when in doubt I always fall back to Helvetica for body copy. I know some think it is over used but I think good design is good design.

Fonts are generally a very reasonable way to make your project stand out. If possible I buy a new font for each job which helps me brand those projects and helps me grow my font library.

If you have a question for me plz leave it on my biz Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/outsidethelinefonts

As you know Zinio is giving me 10 free digital magazine subscriptions. You can take a peek here at www.zinio.com.

If you would like to get in on the giveaway you need to do 2 things.

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/outsidethelinefonts

2. Share this post.

I’ll choose one winner daily and contact you through Facebook.

Each person can only win one magazine but you can up your chances by entering daily.