The Rules of (Adobe Suites) Design, According to Kaitlin

The thing about anything is that people have different tastes. I like to dress like my mom picked out my clothes (cardigans, scarves, boots, Birkenstocks) and others prefer a less modest style involving blingy embellishments, chunky jewelry and tight tops. That's cool, we're all different.

When it comes to design, things are the same way. Emily Armstrong (residing in the bedroom above mine) has a wild, whimsical, free sense of style. I, on the other had, prefer structured, clean designs. The fact that both of these styles can be considered creative is wonderful! The most valuable kind of creativity results in something that you are proud of and that pleases you exactly. I thought I would share my own personal "Rules of Design" (something a wild soul like Emily would never consider). Please keep in mind that these are simply MY rules, which appeal to MY taste and style.

Never, ever hyphenate your text.
I hate hyphenated text. With the ability to adjust tracking, leading, kerning, size, stroke, etc. there is no reason that you can't alter the shape of your text to fit an area or be more appealing. And hyphenation looks janky. You aren't writing a book, you're making art. Don't be lazy.

Don't fear the right-align and don't abuse centered text.
Centered text is easy. So easy an accountant could do it. Sure, it has its place, but a solid left or right alignment can really balance a layout. And I know right-align seems strange, but just try it. It can be really cool to back two columns of text aligned against each other.

White space is a wonderful, glorious thing.
Cluttered, colorful design has its place, but nothing is so sweet as a mostly white page. It's classic. It's easy to read. It focuses on the content. It is lovely. When you start a project, you start with a blank, white page...don't go too far from there.

Use the gridlines.
Oooh, I know I should. I usually just eye-ball it, which is alright, because I'm a pretty accurate eye-baller. But there are a lot of cases where working off a grid would really help me out. It can also help you to think and problem-solve a little more creatively. Seeing the page in sections can open your eyes to potential elements that might not register when you're looking at a blank page.

Drop shadows suck.
Drop shadows are like little shadows on your text. They really are the worst thing ever. I understand they need to be used occasionally. But, I just ask that you don't use it on more than one font per project.

Chose three fonts that work well together: a bold, block sans-serif; a thin serif or sans-serif; a script.
For any one project or campaign, this is a pretty good rule. I follow it religiously. Once you've chosen your font collection, then you just stick to it throughout the project. Nothing is worse than random fonts.

Don't italicize. Just don't do it.
Honestly. I don't like italics ever. I will bold, underline, even poke myself in the eye before I italicize text. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it.

Adjust the leading and the tracking and nothing else.
If there is one thing I hate, it's adjusting the horizontal or vertical scale of text. That is changing the physical structure of the typography and in that case, just use a different font! When you have more text than space, I understand that you must make some changes to the type, but I would suggest altering the leading or tracking. In case you didn't know,
Leading: the vertical distance from the baseline of one line of text to the next text baseline.

Kerning: an adjustment of the space between two specific characters to compensate for their relative shapes.

Tracking: the measure of the overall spacing between letters considering a block of text.

Alright. So the fact of the matter could be that I don't know what Kerning is really...and I just like to be in exact control of what my text looks like.

If you need a creative solution to a layout problem, just think a little harder.
One of the things I love about design are the challenges. Sometimes you're just goin' along when you realized you have too much text or too few photos or no photos at all. Then it gets fun. You have to be innovative and think creatively. This is how you learn new concepts and incorporate new elements into your style. As a Mad Man I know once said:

Just think about it, deeply.
Then forget it. And an idea will...
Jump up in your face.
- Don Draper
  

Let's talk about color.

Red: should be a little darker than traditional red.
Orange: don't use orange.
Yellow: NOT yellow and NOT gold...we're looking for a dirty mustard color.
Green: a dim, light (NOT lime) shade that you use sparingly.
Teal: all shades of teal are acceptable and wonderful.
Blue: you want a dark, navy with a grayish hint to it.
Purple: how 'bout a plum.
Pink: uggh, use a coral if you must, but it should be a perfect salmon color.

NO NO Fonts: 
Let's just get this straight. There are so so many fonts in the world. Please DON'T use the following ones.

Well there. I really can't make it any easier for you. Like I said, these are just the rules according to ME. But, who are we kidding, I know what's best...