Where these tools fit in a project
Most design jobs move through the same order, and the tools follow it. Start with proportions: decide the format and how it divides, using the Golden Ratio Calculator or the Layout Grid Generator for columns and margins. Then choose the voice. The Font Pairing Generator shows a heading and body font together on real text, and the Type Scale Generator turns your base size into a consistent set of heading sizes, exported as CSS. Kerning and placeholder text come next, when the layout is filled and you’re refining. Last comes the check before anything goes to a client or a printer: the Logo Mockup Previewer puts a mark on cards, merch, an app icon and a 16 px browser tab, and flags what breaks.
Hand lettering has its own track. The Calligraphy Guide Sheet Generator prints practice sheets with true millimeter x-heights, slant lines and nib-width ladders for pointed-pen, broad-edge and brush scripts.
Which tool to open first
- Building a portfolio site or shop page: fonts first, then the type scale, then a column split from the golden ratio or a grid.
- Designing a logo or brand kit: the mockup previewer, early and often. Testing small sizes in week one is cheaper than redrawing in week four.
- Learning calligraphy: a guide sheet at a generous size, printed at 100%, under thin layout paper.
- Preparing print work: the business card and poster size reference for exact trim sizes, then the grid tools.
Two habits that save rework
Decide proportions before details. A type scale built on the same ratio as your page divisions, say 1.333 for both, makes a layout feel coherent even when nobody can say why.
Test at the real size. Fonts, logos and letterforms all behave differently at 16 px or 6 mm than at the zoom level you design at. Every tool here shows a true-size preview or exports at true size, so use them for that final check.