Hey there!
Welcome to The Creative Box! This newsletter is your go-to source for all things related to creating and refining your brand image.
Here’s what we’ll explore in today’s edition:
The similarities between cooking a meal and design
The 3 elements that make up a good design
Wise’s BOLD new look
Deep Dive Of The Week
Imagine going to your favourite restaurant with your usual order.
You’ve been looking forward for this meal for the whole day.
After a few false expectation of the waiter coming over to your table, your order finally arrives.
The smell heightens your senses.
You’re ready to dig in and devour the meal as you open your watery mouth opens.
You bite in….And you’re on cloud 9.
The taste of perfection.
Now, let’s snap back to reality.
Think of the meal itself. Why does it taste the way it is?
You’ll notice it always comes down to 2 main things:
The ingredients
The way the ingredients are used to make the dish
Just like how a great dish is made up of the right ingredients, a good design is also made up of four essential elements:
Spacing
Type
Contrast
Let’s explore each of these 3 elements and what steps you can take RIGHT NOW to add these to your designs.
Spacing
Spacing refers to the amount of white space between design elements.
It makes it clear to the brain which sections are grouped together and also allows the eye to rest and helps to guide the viewer through the piece.
Actionable Advice
Use the 5-second rule:
If someone can’t understand your design within 5 seconds, it's too cluttered.
Make sure there's enough white space around each element to give it room to "breathe”.
Typography
Typography is the art of selecting and arranging fonts in a design.
Just like how a chef chooses the right spices to bring out the flavour in a dish, a designer must choose the right typeface to enhance the design.
Apart from selecting the right fonts, it needs to convey the right mood, tone, and personality.
Actionable Advice
When working with fonts, use the A.C.T. method:
Assess
Ask yourself:
What message do I want to convey?
Who is my target audience?
What tone or mood do I want to set?
This will help you determine the mood and vibe of the design
Choose
Once you've assessed the purpose of your design, it's time to choose the right font family.
Start by looking for fonts that match the purpose and mood of your design.
Test
After choosing a font family, test the readability of your typography.
Test the font at different sizes and distances to ensure that it's legible and easy to read.
Consider the font's kerning (the space between letters), leading (the space between lines of text).
You’d want to ensure your kerning is not too much or too little. Anywhere between -2 to 2 should be fine, however it depends on the font.
You also want to ensure the leading is at a point where it’s comfortable to read. A good number is a 130% for the body text.
Contrast
Contrast is all about creating interest by using elements that are different from one another.
Every good piece of design has enough contrast that draws your eye towards it.
Actionable Advice
The best way to master contrast is to use the the CSST method:
You can do this through the use of color, size, shape, and texture.
Color
This is the easiest way to add contrast.
If you want to highlight a certain element and make it different from the rest…
Just change the color of that element to something else.
Size
Size matters.
Try increasing or decreasing the font sizes and that will help you create interest
Shape
If your entire design has a boxy vibe to it then you can consider adding a new shape that’s completely different
Texture
Textures are underrated.
They have the power to add some instant depth and realism to your designs.
And they look awesome too!
Design Dissection
In each edition of The Creative Box, I share my thoughts on the latest developments in the design and branding Industry.
This week I’m look at the brand refresh for Wise.
Where do I even begin with this?!
It’s perfect.
Absolutely perfect. Down to the last minute details.
Everything from the colors to the art direction.
It all screams BOLD.
and I LOVE it.
For those who don’t know, Wise is a foreign exchange financial tech company.
Some of my favourite things about this re brand is the illustrations.
On the surface it may look like generic 3D icons, but the abstract pattern overlays really give it a unique look.
Unlike one I’ve seen before
I also love the simplicity of the designs.
Everything’s got a very simple layout with BIG and CLEAR headings.
They’ve also partially redesigned the logo and icon.
Here’s what I love, they kept everything about the old logo as is and applied a “CTRL/CMD+B” to it.
Made it thiccer ever so slightly, and I like it.
It improves legibility and hints at the new brand personality Wise is going for.
Last but not least, let’s talk about the UI.
It’s minimal and works very well.
There’s a stereotype that if you’re a financial institution you need to be strict, serious, and very corporate.
And while yes that is true, it does not mean you sacrifice your voice to become a generic corporate brand.
I think Wise’s new UI balances professionalism and playfulness very well.
It doesn’t overdo it but doesn’t look like too corporate as well.
Overall, a fantastic job by Ragged Edge for the rebrand. 11/10.
Designer's Toolkit
Instaprice: A sick tool saving you hours to know how to price your services.
Numbr: A smart calculator combined with a notepad. Cool app!
Maildax: If you’ve ever wanted a temp email to sign up for something, use this!
Bento: Stop using generic “link in bio” websites. Bento creates a playful and unique website for you in seconds.
Tinywow: Any file conversion you can think of, Tinywow has it. All for free.
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Until next week 👋
Cheers,
Ashar