Jen, first, THANK YOU for the shout outs in this post. I've designed a lot of favorites here on Substack but few color combos strike me like yours. I don't think I've done a single package with black, yellow, and white yet, except yours.
My favorite sentence in your whole post: "Writers appreciate good paper, even when it's digital." This is SO accurate! I love paper in real life and I enjoy trying to replicate the feel of it in certain designs. Yours was easy because it made so much sense.
Thanks again and I'll start sifting through your pub to choose something I'd like to cross-post. Your content is so useful!
Aw thanks! You made it so easy. This was a fun one to write. And thanks for the inspo last time we talked, I'm thinking of a post to explain what it is I help people with...stay tuned! 😂
This comes at a perfect time as I am working on my visuals. I know a logo isn't supposed to be the most important thing, but honestly, I get drawn in by visuals! It lends to the vibe of the publication. I am wanting to go bold and fun with my visuals.
I feel like setting the right vibe is so important because it makes people feel like this is a place they want to hang around & read more. Puts a little lift in your inbox 👌
Yessss, Kristi! I finally started working on my graphics yesterday as I am not feeling my own ‘vibe’ is right. Originally, I just went with something that was good enough. Time to vibe it up over at Grow Healthier + Happier!
Wow, Kristi!! As someone who's worked with you, I can't say I'm surprised but I can say I'm impressed! This was also a really good example of a cross-post lol. I had only seen it once before in action.
Hey Shelby! Glad you liked the whole thing. Cross posting the right articles is one of those low effort / high impact things! 💪😉 (We're all about that:)
And yeah, I'll be cross/guest posting a lot more as we close out the year. It gives me a break AND gives someone else a new audience 😊 I love this feature!
Thank you so much for this, Jen. Especially the specifics of the Substack world. I am lucky to have a great designer and I'm sure if I set her on this task, she will help me find my visual voice.
Thanks Jo! I love your writing. I think developing your visual voice would really enhance things. Let me know how it goes. I'll do a subscriber chat about the visual side of newsletters this Thursday - so if you have questions chime in!
A superb post that is so valuable to everyone who writes. I am still new to Substack and writing about the importance of visual strategy. I work on a macro scale; art and photographic prints, signage, colour etc. This post is so good it deserves a huge shoutout and repost. Thank you.
You have a fun name and yes, integrating visual to bring voice to it is how we as artist and writers bring it all to life, in our minds, hearts, and spirits.
Hi Jen, Thanks for walking us through your process, that was a really fun and inspired read. I’m so glad you kept the yellow it’s so zingy and fun. Kristi did a great job for you. Visual voice is a new term for me, I just love it. I look forward to noticing with new eyes the visual voices that are all around, including my own!
Jen, do you have a trick for making the word mark on the home page legible? I have used all of SS's parameters but it is so small and then when I try to make it bigger, it exceeds their width or height restrictions. I am confused how everyone's home page has a legible title at the top?
Tanmeet, the wordmark on Substack is the 7th wonder of the world lol. Sometimes it displays full size and sometimes it doesn't and NOBODY has ever been able to figure out why. As a designer, this is frustrating because I do all my client's work with the same dimensions and it's a crap shoot to know whether it'll upload large or small.
I have three publications myself and two have a large wordmark, but one is small. I don't think there's an answer to this question!
Jen, first, THANK YOU for the shout outs in this post. I've designed a lot of favorites here on Substack but few color combos strike me like yours. I don't think I've done a single package with black, yellow, and white yet, except yours.
My favorite sentence in your whole post: "Writers appreciate good paper, even when it's digital." This is SO accurate! I love paper in real life and I enjoy trying to replicate the feel of it in certain designs. Yours was easy because it made so much sense.
Thanks again and I'll start sifting through your pub to choose something I'd like to cross-post. Your content is so useful!
Aw thanks! You made it so easy. This was a fun one to write. And thanks for the inspo last time we talked, I'm thinking of a post to explain what it is I help people with...stay tuned! 😂
Ahhh yes! I will wait for that one because I think it'll be so valuable to my audience as well!
Yeah, now that you've planted the seed! I'm taking election week slow - we'll all be so inundated with media and emails.
Take all the time you need. You will all deserve it I’m sure!
This comes at a perfect time as I am working on my visuals. I know a logo isn't supposed to be the most important thing, but honestly, I get drawn in by visuals! It lends to the vibe of the publication. I am wanting to go bold and fun with my visuals.
I feel like setting the right vibe is so important because it makes people feel like this is a place they want to hang around & read more. Puts a little lift in your inbox 👌
Exactly, Jen!
And if you get drawn in, imagine other people getting drawn into YOURS. 😊 It's super fun to play with!
Yessss, Kristi! I finally started working on my graphics yesterday as I am not feeling my own ‘vibe’ is right. Originally, I just went with something that was good enough. Time to vibe it up over at Grow Healthier + Happier!
Wow, Kristi!! As someone who's worked with you, I can't say I'm surprised but I can say I'm impressed! This was also a really good example of a cross-post lol. I had only seen it once before in action.
Hey Shelby! Glad you liked the whole thing. Cross posting the right articles is one of those low effort / high impact things! 💪😉 (We're all about that:)
Thanks Shelby!
And yeah, I'll be cross/guest posting a lot more as we close out the year. It gives me a break AND gives someone else a new audience 😊 I love this feature!
I'm looking forward to discovering my new visual voice. Love what you've done (with Kristi).
I'm excited for you too Julie! Can't wait to see what you two come up with.
Thank you so much for this, Jen. Especially the specifics of the Substack world. I am lucky to have a great designer and I'm sure if I set her on this task, she will help me find my visual voice.
Thanks Jo! I love your writing. I think developing your visual voice would really enhance things. Let me know how it goes. I'll do a subscriber chat about the visual side of newsletters this Thursday - so if you have questions chime in!
You are welcome and thank you so much. I'll watch for you on Thursday.
Interesting idea: visual voice. Love it and I love the look of your newsletter!
Visual voice is how photography talk -- thought it would be easy for people to understand. Glad you liked it. Thanks for letting me know:)
I LOVE what Kristi has done here and I'm so glad you found designs that work well for you 👍😊
Thanks Eva! She really captured the look and feel I wanted:) AND figured out the damn watermark!
Oh man.. don’t get me started on the watermark thing! 🤦🏽♀️😆
A superb post that is so valuable to everyone who writes. I am still new to Substack and writing about the importance of visual strategy. I work on a macro scale; art and photographic prints, signage, colour etc. This post is so good it deserves a huge shoutout and repost. Thank you.
This is SO inspiring and I am using your advice to redo my visuals, or at least try to!
You have a fun name and yes, integrating visual to bring voice to it is how we as artist and writers bring it all to life, in our minds, hearts, and spirits.
Great looking website. Clean and energetic.
Hi Jen, Thanks for walking us through your process, that was a really fun and inspired read. I’m so glad you kept the yellow it’s so zingy and fun. Kristi did a great job for you. Visual voice is a new term for me, I just love it. I look forward to noticing with new eyes the visual voices that are all around, including my own!
"Small Things Matter."
Golden reminder.
Jen, do you have a trick for making the word mark on the home page legible? I have used all of SS's parameters but it is so small and then when I try to make it bigger, it exceeds their width or height restrictions. I am confused how everyone's home page has a legible title at the top?
Tanmeet, the wordmark on Substack is the 7th wonder of the world lol. Sometimes it displays full size and sometimes it doesn't and NOBODY has ever been able to figure out why. As a designer, this is frustrating because I do all my client's work with the same dimensions and it's a crap shoot to know whether it'll upload large or small.
I have three publications myself and two have a large wordmark, but one is small. I don't think there's an answer to this question!
Yep! 👍🏻 She knows what she's talking about Tanmeet. Try to make the font size as big as it will go and see how that looks.