Advice from Former New York Times Magazine Art Director

If you’ve ever spent a lazy Sunday with The New York Times Magazine, you’ve probably admired some of Nancy Harris Rouemy’s jaw-dropping type and design work. Maybe you paused to admire a feature opener where she deconstructed a font and put it back together again like an abstract sculpture. Or perhaps you stopped to show your significant other a cover that featured more than a dozen neon signs arranged with more care than many gallery exhibits. It’s the kind of design that stealthily seeps into your everyday life.
(The above is excerpted from “The Best Kept Secret” feature in the July 2011 issue of HOW, which is designed by Rouemy. All work pictured below also is by Rouemy.)

View the below advice and tips on type from Nancy Harris Rouemy, former New York Times Magazine art director and current owner of Go For it Design Ltd.

Want to up your type game? Try these words of wisdom on for size:

1. Read “Logo Font & Lettering Bible” by Leslie Cabarga for a technical crash-course.
2. Stop talking about what you want to do and do it.
3. Join the Type Directors Club. Then take advantage of their events and online offerings. Check out the TDC annual for inspiration and aspiration.
4. When creating custom letters, legibility and originality matter.
5. It’s the deviated form that draws attention and produces something memorable.

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Read about Nancy Harris Rouemy’s fascinating journey in the July Issue of HOW, that led to her being an art director with The New York Times Magazine for 22 years before striking out on her own.

Don’t miss Typography Now: Everything You Need to Know About Fonts, a 3-part DesignCast series now available OnDemand.