LAYOUT and Typeface

Having a good font and layout is vital toward making your game engaging to read/use. Here are some resources I found to help learn about layout/design.

  • Johan Nohr (one of the designers of MÖRK BORG, which pushes the layout and typeface envelope) wrote two must read threads on choosing a typeface and setting a body text. These dives are worth reading if you have any interest in design and are a great way to start your journey.

Layout

  • Designing Layouts (Layout and the Grid) by Clayton Notestine. This was the single most helpful resource in my learning how to do layout for my game. Not only does Clayton go over the core concepts of layout, but he goes on to give annotated examples of TTRPGs and their layout. 100/10 recomend.
  • [Designing]
  • Layout Design Tips For Your Next TTRPG Project by Ghost Lore. This is the final entry in a series that gives a good progression of layout tips that is well worth reading prior to starting the layout of your project.
  • Why Is Layout Important in Graphic Design? by Stephanie Corrigan is a great overview of layout prinicples with visual examples to reinforce concepts.
  • Using Canva to layout your ttrpg by Jeeyon Shim is a fantastic thread on how to leverage a great design tool to create small games. They look great and result in a quality that supports any new designer. Jeeyon is extremely thorough in their step by step guide in this thread. Well worth considering for your next project.
  • Pamplet RPG Template For Affinity Publisher by wizardthieffighter (writer of the awe inspiring Ultra Violet Grasslands). This template will get you all set up for writnig your own pamphlet using Affinity Publisher (a great single payment layout software…Adobe makes you pay monthly)
  • Pinterest: Look up layout, design, zines on pinterest to see examples of different design ideas you can use. This helps build visual references for the kind of things that are possible.
  • My pinterest board.
  • TTRPG Zine Layouts by Guilherme Gontijo.
  • Designs that could be TTRPGS by Guilherme Gontijo

Typography & Fonts

  • Typography in Ten Minutes, by Matthew Buttericks is a great resource for building your schema and dipping your toes into that world.
  • Summary of key rules is another great introductory resource by Matthew Buttericks.
  • Free fonts compiled as a twitter thread by Guilherme Gontijo.
  • Coding with Character by Doug Wilson. This blog is about utilizing different fonts for coding and could easily be applicable when thinking about what typeface to use for your project (especially if monospaced type aligns to the aesthetic of your project). Be sure to check the licensing of any fonts you are interested in to make sure they are available for commercial use.
  • Google Fonts is a collection of fonts released under open source licenses.
  • dafont is another place to search for fonts and includes easy to find licensing information.
  • WhatTheFont! is a tool for finding out what font is used in an image.

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Liminal Horror was written and designed by Goblin Archives