This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and choose to make a purchase I will receive a commission at no additional cost to you. See our disclaimer for more information.
Are you trying to create graphics for your blog, but sometimes they look a little bit off?
Like there is something missing or something doesn’t look right, but you’re not sure how to fix it?
If this sounds like you then listen up!
Fonts and text play an important part in design. Especially when it comes to creating Pinterest or social media graphics for your blog.
Understanding how to properly use text in your graphics is essential. I have a love for design and wanted to learn more about how to effectively use fonts for my graphic designs. I purchased the course Designing with Typography by Kimi Kinsey. Today I wanted to share with you my thoughts about this typography course and hopefully give you the information you need to decide if this course is right for you.
Do I recommend this Typography Course?
Yes, this course is a great investment if you want to take your online graphics to the next level.
Designing graphics is essential for your blog and business and learning how to properly use fonts is an important skill. This course covers the essentials every blogger should know about fonts when it comes to creating online graphics.
The art of Typography isn’t something you will just learn in one day by taking this course. Graphic design is an art form and takes time to develop. By taking this course you will have a greater understanding of the principles of typography, but then it will be your responsibility to take those principles and apply them to your designs.
Designing with Typography Course Overview:
Designing with Typography is a multimedia based course which utilizes video, audio and text. The author is Kimi Kinsey who shares her expertise with typography from her 15 years of experience working in graphic design for online and print.
In addition Kimi also offers a free course on Graphic Design for Beginners you should check out.
The course is hosted through Podia, which is an online course platform. Many of the courses I have taken are generally hosted using Teachable, which is a very popular online course platform so as a user it was fun to get a feel for the user experience with Podia.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for bloggers and online entrepreneurs. Basically anyone who has to create graphics on a regular basis for their online business or website.
As a blogger you have to create graphics for everything including:
Website graphics: Every page or blog post you create needs an image.
Facebook graphics: Every time you publish a blog post you will promote it on Facebook. You also need to create a cover photo for your page and any Facebook group you own.
Instagram graphics: This is a great visual platform to connect with your audience that relies entirely on the visual strength of your images and graphics to draw your audience in.
Pinterest graphics: This platform is a visual search engine that can increase traffic to your blog. Your Pinterest image acts as a billboard and you want to make sure your graphics stand out in the sea of other pin images.
Course graphics: Creating branded course images is important for the cohesion of your brand. Within each course you might create graphics relating to video presentation and slide decks.
Opt in freebies: Creating an opt in incentive in the form of a free workbook or checklist can be helpful to grow your email list.
Basically you create graphics ALL THE TIME and it is essential to understand the basic design principles when it comes to using fonts and typography for your graphics.
What you will learn:
After completing this typography course you will have a good foundational knowledge on how to use fonts in your graphic designs to help convey the right message to your audience.
In this course you will gain an understanding about Typography including:
- Understanding the psychology of typography and that each font conveys a different meaning
- How to use contrast in your designs to visually draw your audience in to the items that are most important.
- Understanding Hierarchy and how you arrange and present your text can emphasize the greater importance of one element over another.
- The importance white space can play in your graphic designs
- Greater understanding into font elements and how to use appropriate leading, tracking and kerning with your fonts.
How long does it take to complete the course?
Designing with Typography is a self paced course and you will get access to all the course material after purchasing the course. This makes it easy to work at your own pace and apply the strategies as you go.
Sometimes when I take a course I like to get through all of the material and then go back and revisit the lectures that I need to spend some time on for greater understanding. I was able to get through all of the course material in less than an hour, just going from one lecture to the next, but there are definitely specific lectures that I need to revisit as I continue to make graphics for my business to make sure I fully understand and apply the concepts discussed in this course.
Do I need a specific software?
This course focuses on the concept of Typography and does not necessarily give in depth instruction on how to use one particular design program. Kimi does include some video tutorials about how to use tracking and kerning using Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is a graphic design program for professionals and an industry standard. Kimi does make it known that her preference is Photoshop over Canva, which is another common online graphic design tool.
Course Bonus:
As a bonus with the course Kimi offers a Font Pairing cheatsheet and a Pinterest template is .PSD format which can be used with Photoshop or other tools that utilize this document format.
Font pairing cheatsheet: Sometimes finding the right font pairing can be a challenge and this easy to use cheat sheet will give you some font pairing ideas and a starting off point when designing graphics for your blog.
Pinterest Template: Using templates with your graphic designs can help speed up the creation process. With a template you can easily change up the fonts to match your branding and when you go to create a Pinterest graphic for your blog just change out the picture and text.
Kimi Kinsey also offers a free Facebook group where you can post your designs to get community feedback. Take advantage of this group and get feedback on your designs to see how you can improve.
My Recommendation:
Understanding the principles of typography is an essential skill to learn when it comes to creating graphics for your online business and blog. If you want to help your graphics look more professional and stand out above the rest then make sure you check out Kimi Kinsey’s course Designing with Typography.
Make sure you pin it and save it for later!
Hi! I'm Tricia the founder of Blog Her Way. I teach aspiring bloggers how to set up their website + grow their email list to start earning income online.