As the owner of a small creative agency that typically sells services, designing a digital product to sell is unfamiliar territory. But I also understand that every business needs marketing. When I decided to create font, I knew the letters weren’t going to sell themselves. Pepperoni, a bold, geometric display font inspired by Connecticut pizza, needs a sales strategy that’s as intentional as the design itself. For me, launching it to the world is an exciting opportunity to test, learn, and grow. Here’s how I approached building the sales page, setting the price, and understanding the psychology behind what makes …

Nothing bothers a graphic designer more than opening a “Thank You” card that reads “Thank Y ou.” Among the character pairings that require extra attention, the “Y” next to the “O” is prime suspect numero uno. To ignore the kerning between these two letters is just plain lazy. Allow me to explain. Kerning is the art of adjusting the visual spacing between individual characters in a string of text. Unlike letter spacing (also known as tracking), which changes the spacing uniformly across all characters, kerning focuses on specific letter pairs. If you’ve ever worked with type, you might recall the …

Though I have no scientific ground to stand on, it’s quite possible that the behavioral pattern typically referred to as “Type A” was first used to describe a typographer. It’s easy to fall into the creative trap of perfectionism, especially when you're trying to design 26 unique characters. Every line and curve feels like it should be original and flawless. But, as I’ve discovered while developing my first display font, it’s also necessary to strike a careful balance between continuously refining every letter and relying on iteration — and intuition — to just get the job done. The Perks of …

In 2016, I was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. To say I was excited would be an understatement. The speaker list was a contemporary Who’s Who of design giants: Aaron Draplin, Paula Scher and Michael Bierut of Pentagram, Pum Lefebure of Design Army, and my personal hero, Stefan Sagmeister. I registered for every session I possibly could fit into my schedule. I was determined to soak up every ounce of inspiration. At last minute, I also signed up to see Erik Spiekermann’s talk. Obviously, I knew who Spiekermann was — Stop Stealing Sheep was …

When I first started to brainstorm new digital product ideas, I knew I wanted to create something that served creators. I quickly narrowed the target audience to entrepreneurs that wear many hats and value the quality of their work, but don’t always have hours to focus on customization. I happen to know the audience quite well, so I created a persona, named Jessica, to represent the freelance designers, web developers, and small business owners I could design for. Jessica takes pride in her business, but time is her most valuable asset. The strategy for each product idea had to help …

In case you haven’t noticed, the creator economy has exploded in recent years. In addition to providing valuable products for corporate business professionals, designers and developers have been rewarded with a unique opportunity to build tools and resources for other creatives. From custom fonts and Procreate brushes to presentation templates and brand kits, the demand for high-quality, customizable digital products has never been higher. For many graphic designers, creating digital assets and products offer respite from the daily grind, especially when the target audience shares a similar sense of style. However, there are other benefits to tapping into this unique …