It’s All in the Details!

Sometimes your layout has a little too much extra space in certain area. Or you want to fill in your circle/triangle composition. Or you feel your overall piece looks a little boring and you want to spice it up.

This is where doodles and simple little drawings can fill the space and give your composition that extra little something. 

I'm a fan of keeping it as simple as possible without adding too many elements because the words and composition should be the focus. Too many elements, and they can draw the readers' attention away from the message.

So, in this case I would stick to one or two elements.

My rule of thumb for using doodles to fill in spaces is to keep in mind my overall shape and fill accordingly.

What kind of doodles can you draw? All types! The world's your oyster. I would just stick with simpler designs that don't have too many details just because the details are all in your lettering. So here are some examples!

Don't be afraid to combine elements, but not too many. Also, you can vary them in sizes and that will give it more visual interest as well.

If you're feeling they're detracting from the lettering too much, you can make it more transparent (if you're working with digital) or color them a light gray color so they fade into the background a little more.

Remember, your emphasis is on the lettering, so if your lettering is super colorful, then make your doodles more muted and monotone. If you do black and white like I do, refrain from coloring in your doodles or use a very light gray. 

And that's it! The more you play around with the different doodles, the more you'll get a feel for where they should go and what would look good where.