Create captivating copy and explore fonts.

First things first: “Start with messaging that speaks to you and inspires,” Ryan says. Once you’ve settled on your phrase, head over to Adobe Fonts and have a browse. 

“To elevate any design, I often use a font pairing. I like to pick a modern, simple sans serif font, then pair it with a serif or display font,” he notes, for strong contrast that creates visual interest. For this tutorial, he’s selected Neue Haus Grotesk as his base sans serif, and Sloop Script as a second font that will act as a counterpart.

Pro tip: Refine your search in Adobe Fonts by using the Classification tags, and try the preview mode for each font to see how your message will look.

Set your message once, then twice.

Next, create your artboard in Photoshop — Ryan suggests sizing yours to 1080x1350px, “one of the most universal and shareable formats across all social platforms.” Then, use the Type tool to set your message in your sans-serif font. Create an additional layer above that, and type it out in your contrasting script font. Label each layer as you go to stay organized. 

Now consider: Which letters will you choose to mix and match? “Explore the script letterforms more closely, and highlight the ones that you find the most beautiful,” Ryan says. Here, he’s opted to highlight the G, D, and L script letterforms, which contain interesting swoops and contours that will lend a nice accent to his composition.

Plan your mix.

Once you have chosen your script letters, create individual text layers for each one, and place them above the sans serif letters they’ll replace. Keep the eye icons for all of your layers on, so you can see the two styles superimposed, and use the Characters panel to adjust the size of each letter to match the sans serif letter below it.  

Pro tip: Set each font style to contrasting colors at this planning stage, as Ryan has, so you can more easily distinguish the overlapping letters as you place and adjust them. You can always adjust the final colors once your design is complete.

Make a layer mask, then get editing.

Select the layer labeled “Sans Serif,” then click the “Add layer mask” icon in the Layers toolbar. Doing so will allow us to make nondestructive edits to your sans serif text.

Now, use the Eraser tool on your mask layer to mask out the G, D, and  L set in sans serif — effectively making them disappear.

Create overlapping moments.

Type-based designs are all about the details. Take a closer look at the neighboring letters and decide which parts you’d like the script letters to appear under or over, for a slight overlapping effect. In this case, Ryan has removed parts of the I and U. Continue using the Eraser tool in your mask layer to make your finishing touches. Then, return to your Script layer and change the color of those letters to match the the Sans Serif letters below, for a finessed look. 

“Have fun exploring sizing, spacing, and placement within the poster,” Ryan says, and play with positive and negative space in your designs to make a dynamic layout. Once you’re pleased with the results, you’re all set to export your file.