There is nothing worse then spending 45 minutes designing something in Cricut Design Space only to find out that the letters you’ve painstakingly placed on the design cost money. We (as computer users) as so used to just being able to type, and the words and their style is free. In this blog post, I’ll explain the two main ways that people use letters in their designs. They are either using Fonts or SVG graphic images.
Essentially a Font is a system file intended for typing. Today I’ll talk about the True Type Font (TTF) which is generally the gold standard for computer users. These fonts are generally most compatible with software that uses your system fonts. Software like, Procreate, Adobe, Microsoft Office, Cricut Design Space and Canva to name a few (ok… to name the ones I use!)
Here’s the IMPORTANT thing to know about fonts.
Fonts are dictated by the system that is reading them. That means, if you install a really great font and decide to use it in your email signature, it’s possible if the recipient doesn’t have that system font, they will see something different.
For our purposes as a crafter, that’s rarely a problem because we are making things.
We are using the font as part of our art or craft and we are create a physical end product.
However, if you are reading this and you are thinking… but I create powerpoint templates… that are digital deliverables, don’t worry. You can save your files with something called “embedded fonts” that means that means the words you’ve typed will appear properly for anyone that opens the file.
The difference between Fonts and SVG Image
Fonts are scalable, ( you know that if you thought about it) you can select the size from the drop down, are you typing 12, 40, 80? You know when you make the letters large or small the image of them doesn’t degrade. Same with SVG Images.
The difference between an SVG Image is that it is an image. You can’t type a sentence, in that “font” because it’s a picture. SVG is always preferred because it’s scalable (Scalable Vector Graphic). However, the SVG images are generally much more ornate then a reagular true type font.
In the following Video I’m going to show you how to use a TTF Font vs a SVG image in Canva (for ease of use and illustration.
The value of the TTF (true type font)
True type fonts come in all shapes and sizes, in fact I have a whole bunch of them here on my site. They are great because they allow you (the designer) the freedom to write what you want, without having to place individual letters one at a time to build the words.
The downside? Well… they aren’t graphics. They aren’t always beautiful like SVG’s are, and as I mentioned before, if you’re sharing digital products, you have to share your product in a way that provides the other user with access to that font. (embed)
The value of the SVG
Even though SVG’s for lettering are tedious, they are gorgeous. AND, in many cases, there are multiple layers and the pieces can be seperated.
As a cricut crafter, using SVG for lettering would allow me to create the color effect needed to replicate the original design by allowing me to cut the different shapes and sizes out of vinyl in seperate colors.
I hope you enjoyed this brief blog post!
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