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FontDiscovery 🖼️ 48: DIY for the EOY with Stencil Font

Plus: SEO Resources and color palettes from sunsets in Rocky mountain

Updated
4 min read
FontDiscovery 🖼️ 48: DIY for the EOY with Stencil Font
T

We are Hua and Wenting. We are building our saas app, Typogram, in public. In this blog, we share design resources for founders and stories about building our company!

I'm Hua, a designer and bootstrapping founder building Typogram, a brand design tool. As part of running Typogram, I create this digestible weekly guide with fonts, colors, and design ideas to help founders, creators, and makers step up their game in marketing and get creative!

Hi Everyone 👋

Hope you had a nice weekend and holiday! We are nearing the end of the year (I can’t believe it ). It is gradually getting colder and I hope you are staying warm.

Yesterday I found out FontDisocvery is actually nominated for the Creativity award on Hackernoon. I would so appreciate your vote! (You don’t have to make an account to do this. 😆 Just check a box, and done ). You can do so here (vote for Hua Shu).

Without further ado, here is our font this week. I hope this stencil font helps you think of new creative ideas for your end-of-year branding, design, and marketing projects.

In This Issue

  • Font of the Week: Stick No Bills
  • Design Idea of the Week: SEO Resources
  • Color Inspiration of the Week: Sunset in the Rocky Mountains

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5ec42305-8801-4e6c-b43e-80297888a39f_716x462.png

img: sample of Stick No Bills font

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Font of the Week

Stick No Bills the Stencil Font

If you see a font with slits in its strokes, that means it’s a stencil font. The earliest stencil, cut from leaves, dated as early as 30,000 BC (source). Stencil-style fonts are my favorite fonts because they are easily replicable across different materials. You can use them on the computer or make them into actual stencils to spray paint onto another surface. The versatility of stencils has inspired generations of artists and DIY enthusiasts.

The creativity of DIY is what inspired the maker to create Stick No Bills. Stick No Bills was used initially as the brand typeface of Stick No Bills Poster Gallery In Sri Lanka because they felt inspired by the Sinhala and Tamil stencils fonts found there. A nod to the urban landscape and DIY, Stick No Bills is a modern, sleek stencil with an edgy streak.

Font Details

  • Stencil slits
  • Seven weights

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1da2ead9-4123-4ffa-8134-992593e78ccf_716x462.png

Img: stencil slits of Stick No Bills

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F427b95e9-6f56-4f18-b735-14994659edc6_1349x462.png

Img: seven weights of Stick No Bills

How to use Stick No Bills for logos?

Stick No Bills is a great font for an artsy, creative brand. The letter width is slightly narrow, giving a long, modern appearance. The lighter weights feel sleek, while the bolder weights appear edgy and urban. While the letters are perfectly legible as logos, the thin stroke of extra lightweight does get a little hard to read under small scales.

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c7b2e4-be42-42b4-af5e-50cfcce86a75_716x462.png

Img: Still No Bills as logo font for Stick No Bills gallery website.

How to use Stick No Bills for branding and marketing?

Stick No Bills is a display font and should only be used for headers and large sizes. It is best to avoid using smaller body copies because it makes the information look distracting. Stencils already appear decorative with slits, so they generally pair better with sans serifs because there is less visual noise. Stick No Bill pairs well with Space Grotesque.

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F176d56ec-b696-4e9e-8f99-dabf7192329e_716x462.png

Img: Stick No Bills paired with sans serif Space Grotesque.


Design Idea of the Week

SEO Resources

Recently I am learning more about SEO. SEO is the study of how to optimize your projects for search engines. In the beginning, I was hesitant to learn it because it seems dry. Forcing myself to learn this topic has made me understand a lot about how search engines work, which has been very illuminating. It is definitely very useful to know something about SEO if you create any work online.

Course: SEO for Devs

https://seofordevs.com/

This free SEO course is created for developers with short, easy-to-follow videos. It’s easy to grab a snack and watch these.

Videos: SEO Snippets

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKoqnv2vTMUPhLQ054sMg3vgzy9md9tWg

A list of bite-sized video content created by the “officials” at the “Search Bureau,” aka. Google. I recommend watching these videos after knowing some background for SEO.

Article: Subdomain vs. Subdirectory: Which Is Better for SEO

https://www.semrush.com/blog/subdomain-vs-subdirectory/

A handy guide that settles the debate about subdomain vs. subdirectory, as well as the technical SEO considerations.


Color Inspiration of the Week

Enjoy this beautiful sunset color palette from Rocky Mountains from the Canadian side!

Dark Night #0B1524 | Snow Purple #6E638E | Melting Sun #FFA510 | Soft Yellow #FCE192

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcdf9927b-cd4f-45f3-ade8-db0628d46b9b_716x462.png

img: Sunset at Rocky Mountains


Jargon Buster!

Baseline

The baseline is the horizon line on which the letters sit.

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6ec87cb5-cb56-4f85-b924-0575efead446_1518x760.png

Img: baseline is in orange


Creative Prompt

Try creating a holiday graphic with Stick No Bills! Use Catogram if you need some graphics! (remember to use the coupon code, “font” ).


Thank You

Thank you for reading this week! Here is Stick No Bills.

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59c791ac-6050-4599-b33f-1c2dc6479d5c_1012x506.png

Img: infographic of Stick No Bills

P.S., Have you gotten my gift 🎁 ? If you haven’t grabbed it yet from our previous post, you can get it here: (use the code “font” and it’ll be free!)

Get the Meow


If you enjoy this series, you can subscribe here:

FontDiscovery

Part 14 of 29

Our weekly newsletter sharing font, design, branding and marketing tips for makers and founders. Written by your trusted design nerd, Hua.

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We are Hua and Wenting, and we are building a brand design app, Typogram, in public. We share design resources for founders and our journey of building our SaaS company!