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Better
Outlines by Chuck Davis
How
do you know when to place an outline around your letters?
How thick should the outline be? What color? More than
being simply decorative, outlines serve a purpose. Once
we understand why to use an outline, we are then
free to tackle the style and color of it. |
1.
Naked text
So you've typed your message using your favorite font (in
this case Happy
Fun Ball) but something is missing. Something isn't quite
right. You can't put your finger on it, but it's just not
what you had envisioned. You have a complete arsenal of special
effects at your beck and call-- drop shadow, cast shadow,
outline, perspective distortions and more. But until you understand
what the problem is, none of the forementioned tools are going
to help.
Let's examine our text a bit closer. On a white background
such as this, yellow is probably not the best color for readability,
in fact, the only other color that could be worse on a white
background might be white itself. Therefore I can draw the
conclusion that the problem is not something vague such as
"it's boring." or "It needs something to spice
it up." The problem is simple: the text is hard to read
because it's color is too close to the background color. I
have a hunch that adding an outline will help separate the
text from the background and help improve the readability.
2.
Green Outline
Here is my green outline around my letters. Didn't help much.
Actually, since the green color is within the family of yellow
(that is, it has yellow in it) it hinders the readablity--
making it harder to read then the first one. Let's try different
colors...
3.
Red outline
Now we're gettin' somewhere. The red outline helps to define
the letters. At this point I can make an important observation...
The darker I go with my outline, the better these letters
stand out. This makes me want to try other darker colors...
4.
Black outline
If I want optimal contrast between my letters and the white
background, black is obviously the the best choice. It isn't
colorful, but that isn't really the purpose of an outline.
We want it to define our letters-- to draw attention to the
letters themselves-- not detract from them. There is still
a bit of a problem though. While the black outline helps to
separate the letters from the background somewhat, it is very
thin and "wimpy". Almost as if the designer was
not sure of what he was doing. In fact, from a distance the
outline almost disappears completely.
5.
Beefin' it up
Making the outline bolder creates a frame around the letters--
serving to draw the eye inward and keeping it from being distracted
by the background. Notice that the space inside the "A"
has been filled completely. Thereby eliminating an additional
spot of distraction. Compare this with the rather wimpy version
above. This version screams loud and bold: "READ ME!"
6.
Common
mistakes
The image below has all the makings of a horribly executed
outline. I'm sure you have never made these mistakes (okay,
but don't let it happen again!) but for the sake of those
who may be new to designing with type, I offer this exagerated
example of raw ugliness. Okay, let's begin with the fact that
the designer used a "stroke" method to create an
outline (A), as opposed to a true outline which rests outside
the letters. This causes the outline to "eat" into
the letters, thereby making the letters thinner -- not a pretty
sight. He also didn't take the time to "miter" the
points of the outline. If he had, he wouldn't have ended up
with long "shooters" sticking out (B). Finally,
he neglected to weld his letters together before applying
the outline, causing the outline to overlap onto other letters
(C).
7.
Finishing
it up
The addition of a black drop shadow further helps to separate
the message from the background and serves as a nice eye-catching
element. I then added a little color to the letters to make
it bit more interesting to look at.
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GALLERY 
