Choosing fonts and colors.

I think it’s the bane of any bloggers existence. At least the ones without a graphic design background (95% of them!).

This is why I wanted to take a minute to tell you about THREE amazing design generators that is honestly a total game changer for any blogger.

Even I use them at times!

Guys, I’m telling you right now that design does NOT have to be hard or paralyzing and once you have your brand set up, it’s easy from there because you’re going to use the same logo, fonts, and colors for all your projects. After all, that’s the best way to get brand consistency!

So let’s jump right in because I want to tell you how these three FREE tools are going to help you select the perfect color every time, pair fonts like a boss, and generate you the perfect logo.

Generator #1: Coolors.co

Coolors.co is all about helping you find the perfect color every single time. Whether you are trying to find your brand palette, your trying to expand your brand palette, or you’re trying to find complementary colors for your seasonal posts. This generator is going to be your BEST yes.

First, you go to coolors.co and click on “generate” (top right). Then, you can either hit the space bar and start generating colors, OR you can input a color or two into the spaces provided. For this example, I’ll use one of my brand colors.

Next, click on the lock button to KEEP the color you input. Then, hit on the space bar on your keyboard. This will generate colors that go well with the one you input. If you didn’t input any color and you skipped right to hitting the space bar, make sure to lock any colors that pop up that you want to keep.

You can also click on “alternative shades” to play with different variations of a single color and use the drag button to reposition the ones that you like.

Once you have the color palette you want, make sure to make note of the hex codes so you can use them in your design programs for a consistent color palette.

Also, if you’re more of a visual learner, check out this video on choosing colors that I did in my facebook group!

 

Generator #2: Font Joy

Font joy is an amazing site that lets you generate FONTS in the same way that Coolors.co let’s you generate colors. Pretty amazing right?

Ok, let’s jump in..

First,  you will want to either just start clicking on “Generate” or choose a font to start with. For example, one of my brand fonts is “Poppins” so I will choose that one to start with.

You will be able to search for fonts, or you can search for fonts and choose from other suggested fonts. The fonts will appear from most to least like the selected font.

Once you have your first font selected, you will be directed back to the original screen. This is where you can lock in your selection (similar to coolors.co). Then, click on generate to view the suggested font pairings.

If you notice one that you like but you want to see if there are other variations similar to it. Just click on that search button again. Just like before, you’ll be shown similar fonts in order from most to least similar. This gives you a great jumping off point because pretty much all of these will pair pretty well.

Keep on generating until you find the combination that you love. Click on the name of the font to open it up and download it from Google Fonts!

These fonts are free to download from Google fonts! You WILL need the upgraded version of Canva (Canva for Work) to be able to upload custom fonts. If using a program like Adobe, you’ll simply need to install the font on your computer and you’re all set!

Generator #3: Logo Joy

This is NOT the be all end all of logos for sure. However, if you are just starting out and need a jumping off point then it’s a great tool to use!

First, you’ll input your blogs name.

After you have your blog name, Logo Joy will prompt you to let them know what your “industry” is about. Just put the general topic of your blog.

Next, it’s going to ask you to pick some logos that you like. You can choose as many as you want, but you must choose at least 5. It’s going to generate logos for you based on which ones you select, so take a little time looking at them. Just simply click on the ones you like. You’ll notice a checkmark appear in the top left corner of the box.

Next, you’ll choose the colors you like. This isn’t SUPER important because honestly I just use this program to get ideas, then recreate it in Canva or another design program so I can use my brand colors 🙂

After you’ve selected the logos and colors you like, you can add up to 5 symbols. It’s going to ask you if you want them to suggest symbols or if you want to browse the entire collection. For this example, I chose “Make Suggestions”. Then I searched through the database after looking at the symbols they suggested based on my topic.

When I clicked on “Make Suggestions”, this is the screen that popped up. You’ll be able to select 5 symbols that you like. I ended up searching a few different keywords other than just “design”. I searched “creative” and “blogging” too– words I felt described my brand.

You can search anything that has to do with your blog and get some ideas for graphics. Obviously, if you are recreating this in another program you might want to consider purchasing a clipart graphic from Creative Market or Design Bundles instead.

Side note: Remember, it’s against Canva TOS to use their clipart in logos.

You’ll need to purchase your own from Creative Market or Design Bundles. Make sure it’s in PNG format so that you can upload it to Canva. Another option is hiring someone from Upwork to create a custom illustration for you, it’s not as expensive as you think!

Lastly, it’s going to generate some logo options. Again, use this as a jumping off point! You can either save one that you like or recreate it in the design program of your choosing!

See what I mean about not all of them being winners? But hey, it’s better than a blank screen, right?

Consider what you like and what you DON’T like about each one and go from there!

Use these design generators to make design a little easier

These tools are 100% FREE. I know my readers often tell me that they struggle with choosing fonts and colors! For those that want a little extra help, I have a free color guide and a font pairing cheatsheet in my design library. Click here to enter the library!

I also have a Graphic Design Workshop that deep dives into these topics along with 6 other design concepts and how bloggers can use them when creating blog graphics!

Don’t have the password to the design library? Fill out this form below and I’ll send it to you! Get tools, cheatsheets, and done for you templates totally FREE!