🚨Your Art is NOT the problem…

You might be ruining your illustration and not even know it. The design & typography tips for illustrators in this video will make sure you don't
turn great illustration into a hot mess. In this video I'm going to show you some basic design strategies to keep your work as the focal point.

I've taught illustration classes as an adjunct professor for many years. Throughout that time I've noticed that a basic understanding of typography is severely lacking in most cases.

You may be thinking, WHO CARES MY DRAWINGS DON'T HAVE WORDS?

Fair enough, but what about your website, or promo materials? I've seen some great illustrators make their work look like hot garbage as a result of bad design with poor use of type.

Bad design is very distracting. I'm sure you know some graphic designers. And if so, it's inevitable that you've heard them complain about bad design. They can't not see it. You know how I know this? It's me. I went to school for design and worked as a designer for 5 years before I accidentally became an illustrator.

So when they see your work with bad design they have a hard time looking past that. To make things worse, they may interpret bad graphic design as a sign that you don't care about details, and that's likely not someone they want to work with.

Join this channel to get access to perks:

🔍 You can also find me on:

DISCLOSURE: I sometimes review and/or link to products & services I have used (or tried). When available, I use referral links, which means if you click one of the links in this video or description and make a purchase I may receive a small commission or other compensation.

[shannonpalmer]

“Let me fine tune this fart.” boy if i had a nickel for every time… but for real, this is such good info to spread to the world. As an illustrator trained as a graphic designer back in ye olde 1990s (the 19 hundreds, if you will), I appreciate the dissemination of such valuable knowledge.

[WestonWoodfin]

I get asked ALL THE TIME by people wanting to become a designer or editor how to do it or where to start. They want to know the secret or shortcut to making cool stuff. I always say the same thing, buy some good design books! LEARN THE FUNDAMENTALS! Watch a Chris Piascik video haha! Almost every well designed thing you enjoy, the things that “look” cool, work because they have design based on the fundamentals. Even the crazy or wacky things work because they understand the rules and know when it’s okay to bend or break them.

[pastuh]

When I was working on the advertising graphics, I accidentally didn't place a dot on the letter 'i' in a presentation poster. In other words, I placed it, but I shifted the entire text downward. And a large dot remained hanging in the center of the poster. No one noticed this mistake at all. The following week, the director comes in and says, "Well, you made that poster... I didn't expect it to be so messed up, but at the same time, it's captivating everyone." It turned out that people passing by would look at the poster much longer, just trying to find where that dot should be located. So, it's kind of a trick... A surprising mistake that draws attention to the advertisement.

[the-good-chad]

I did not expect to learn so much from this video. This is wonderful.

[bookishindian]

The problem with grey or color type is that it's hard to see, for many many people. So many websites are ruined by this "pleasing" design decision. Please tell people to stop making type hard to read. Accessibility Matters.

[nichadaye]

Thanks for your advice about punctuation. I learned it school but I’m so busy designing. I forget it.

[PttPndlm]

Over a decade ago when I wanted to be an illustrated I encountered this quote. "It's better to be a designer that illustrates than an illustrator designs." The argument was around liveable income. Well I took the design route and I'm back to try illustration again. But you are right you need basic design skills to augment your art.

[DrewZilla_Art]

Hell yeah, there's only one Thank you!

[sarahjanser]

That's a great and important topic to talk about! Thanks for sharing! I think to know at least fundamental design principles should be high on every creative persons priority list.

[SR-qlhe]

I really appreciate the way you edit your videos. 1:37 😆But apart from that, great tips. 👍🏻

[hokusai]

As someone on the wrong side of the 50 mark, I am guilty of the two spaces after a period, lol. In my defence, I took actual typing classes on typewriters back in high school. : ). I've added changing that to my to do list for this year, starting with a thank you letter I typed up yesterday. And, the three dashes is like the ultimate party trick. The ADHD analogy was perfect.

[plasfy]

Great tips, thanks for sharing Chris!

[janisliepins]

U are rockstar of illustration industry

[JoeHoddinott]

"Fine tune this fart" LIKED!

[rodneywarren]

How dose one become a member…via iPad? Do we need to use a Desktop or Laptop computer?

[larrybtv]

Ok, so stop using Comic Sans—got it. Papyrus FTW 😎

[tiquismistica]

I was studying graphic design 2 years ago and had to stop for some time because of some problems I had home. Came back to finish my study, I was in the last year about to start final projects.

I’ve been focussing so much on getting better at drawing these 2 years that I wasn't at school that I forgot so many things about graphic design, like I wasn’t following trends and when I look at typography work alongside other elements for my final project I feel like I don’t know a thing anymore 🥲