Tutorials
Learn the fundamentals, one skill at a time
Short, practical guides to the parts of design that actually move the needle. Each one is something you can apply the same afternoon, written for people learning by doing. New to typography? Start with choosing a body text font, then add a heading face and learn the real numbers for size, leading, and line length.
Kept byHardy Design Co.6 guidesLast change
Every guide here is published under the studio name, not a personal one. Fundamentals age slowly, so each is read again once a year, and straight away when a reader tells us something has slipped.
How to build a color palette that actually works
A repeatable way to choose colors for a brand or website. Start with one color, borrow structure from the color wheel, split by role, and test everything in gray before you commit.
Read tutorialLogo design basics: how to make a simple, strong mark
What actually makes a logo work, and a practical process for designing one that reads at any size. No mascots, no gradients you will regret, no clip art.
Read tutorialFont pairing fundamentals: how to combine two typefaces
How to choose two fonts that belong together, using contrast and a shared logic instead of luck. Includes named pairings you can copy, real spacing numbers, and the mistakes that make text look amateur.
Read tutorialVisual hierarchy: how to make people read in the right order
Layout is not decoration, it is direction. How to use size, space, and contrast so a viewer's eye lands where you want it, in the order you intend.
Read tutorialChoosing a body text font that holds up
How to pick a font for paragraphs of running text without getting distracted by specimens. The four traits that matter, the families that work, and the ones to avoid for long reading.
Read tutorialSetting type for screen reading: size, leading, measure
The three numbers that decide whether body copy is comfortable or a chore. Real values for body size, line height, and line length on the web, with the responsive details most tutorials skip.
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