Journal
Journal
Notes on designing for small brands — menus, labels, type, colour, and why a small site should be quick. Written when we have something specific to say, not on a schedule.
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One colour is usually enough
Small brands reach for a full rainbow and end up looking cheaper for it. A single colour, used with nerve, almost always looks more expensive.
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Choosing a typeface you can live with
The right typeface for a small brand is rarely the exciting one. It is the one that still works at the till, on the sign and in a plain email a year from now.
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Labels that survive the fridge
A label that looks perfect on screen can peel in a chiller, smudge in a hand or fade on a sunny shelf. Design for the paper, the ink and the place.
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Designing a menu people can actually read
A menu is read standing up, often in a hurry, sometimes in bad light. Design it for that, not for the way it looks flat on your screen.
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Why a small site should load fast
A café site does not need to be big. It needs to open before the customer gives up — which means small pages, few images and no borrowed weight.
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