You have great power at your fingertips with the wonderful Type tool, but with it comes responsibility. A common way to make your projects look amateur is to use bad type design. So let me share with you the Seven Deadly Type Sins. Whatever you do avoid these like the plague.

Type Sin Number 1 is putting type over 3-D objects. Type is a 2-D object that, when printed, should be flat. So don't place it over a three-dimensional object. Even if it's a digital 3-D object, you wouldn't be able to do that in real life. So don't do it on a digital project. It's fine over an image that's supposed to be flat. But if an object on your project has a drop shadow, don't put type over it. It's okay to partially cover your type with 3-D elements, as long as you can still read it.

Type Sin Number 2 is putting drop shadows on type, especially journaling. Again 2-D type is flat and is meant to be printed on a page, so it shouldn't have a drop shadow. You can get away with a drop shadow on titles that have larger thicker type. But if you look at printed type in newspapers, magazines and billboards, you'll find that large type doesn't usually have a drop shadow. Of course, specialty fonts often do have drop shadows, so use your judgment, but journaling should never have a drop shadow.

The third Deadly Type Sin is using a large font size for journaling. When you view your project in a small size on a computer, it's tempting to use a large font size so you can read the journaling. The problem is that when it gets printed, the type can look like large print for those who have poor eyesight. To be honest, it doesn't even look good in your small image. Our minds can tell that the proportion isn't right. With good journaling fonts a 12 point size is usually the correct size. If you post an image in a gallery online and want people to read the journaling, copy it into the description below the gallery image. So steer clear of large type when journaling. Your project will look so much better.

The fourth Deadly Type Sin is using specialty fonts for journaling. Specialty fonts are fun for titles, but they don't work well for journaling. It's hard to read and you'll be tempted to make your journaling large because of that (see types in number three). Instead use a sans serif font like Myriad Pro or a serif font like Bookman Old Style or a similar font.

The fifth Deadly Type Sin is using too many font styles. Use two or at the most three different fonts on your page. There are some rare exceptions, but wait until you have more experience to try it out. Here I used three fonts for my journaling and that's the maximum I use.

The sixth Deadly Sin is arbitrarily tipping titles. Unless the whole layout is tipped, I recommend keeping type perfectly horizontal. This rule does not apply to type that is under a photo and slanted to match the angle of the photo. In that case, you definitely want to tip the type to match. But when it comes to titles, I hardly recommend horizontal type.

The seventh Deadly Type Sin is using vertical type. Yes, there is a Vertical Type tool and no, you shouldn't use it. I've never met a vertical title that I thought looked good yet. Tell me this: How many vertical titles do you see in newspapers and magazines? Case in point. Just say no to vertical type. In some cases, you can rotate type 90 degrees to place it on its side. And sometimes doing that works well. Here's another fun example of rotated type. But again, this isn't vertical type. That wouldn't work at all. And I would even use 90 degree rotated type sparingly for large titles. You can rotate the type in special cases like a date or small phrase along the edge of a photo. But for larger titles most of the time, you'll want to stick with a good old boring but elegant horizontal type.

So there is my list of no-no's for type. You'll be tempted to indulge in them and if you do, no one will wrap you on the knuckles. But just know that someday you'll be glad someone told you about these Seven Deadly Type Sins.