Testing Welcome New Year Font in a Real Web Project
I was working on a redesign for a boutique online store selling handmade greeting cards and stationery. The client wanted something playful yet professional, something that would stand out without being too distracting. That’s when I came across Welcome New Year — a quirky handwritten font with bubble-like letters and a playful baseline.
The first thing I noticed was how the handwritten feel of the font brought warmth to the design. It felt like it could be part of a personal letter or a hand-drawn illustration. But as a web designer, I needed to test it in context. I started by placing it in the hero section, using it for the main headline above an image of a beautifully wrapped gift box.
At first glance, it looked great. The bubbly characters gave the text a sense of motion and energy, which matched the brand's personality. However, I quickly realized that this font wasn’t ideal for long paragraphs. Its irregular shapes and varying stroke weights made it harder to read in extended blocks of text. So I decided to use it only for short phrases and headlines.
I experimented with different placements. In the navigation bar, I used a sans serif font for clarity but added Welcome New Year for the call-to-action button — “Shop Now.” It worked well because the button text was short and didn’t require heavy reading. The playful style encouraged clicks and aligned with the brand’s fun tone.
For the product landing pages, I paired Welcome New Year with a clean sans serif font for body copy. This combination created a nice contrast — the decorative display font for headings and the simple sans serif for readability. It helped maintain visual hierarchy while keeping the content easy to scan.
One challenge I faced was ensuring the font remained legible on mobile screens. I tested it at various sizes and found that it performed best when used sparingly. On smaller screens, I reduced the size slightly and increased the line spacing to prevent the characters from overlapping. This small adjustment improved readability significantly.
Another consideration was the background. When placed over a dark image, the font’s light strokes became less visible. To fix this, I added a subtle white overlay to the image, making sure the text stood out without overpowering the visuals. This approach maintained the aesthetic while improving usability.
I also thought about how Welcome New Year could be used beyond the homepage. For blog headers, I used it for post titles, giving each article a unique and engaging look. In the footer, I kept it minimal, using it only for the newsletter sign-up prompt. This way, the font remained consistent with the brand’s identity without becoming overwhelming.
When it came to font pairing, I explored combining Welcome New Year with other styles. A classic serif font like Georgia or a modern sans serif like Montserrat worked well for body text. This ensured that the decorative font was reserved for headings and accents, maintaining a balance between creativity and clarity.
I checked the font’s technical details before finalizing it. The font had multiple weights and alternates, which gave me flexibility in styling. It supported a wide range of languages, which was important since the online store catered to an international audience. And since it was a commercial font from Script Amp, I made sure to secure the proper licensing for all the platforms it would be used on.
Overall, Welcome New Year added a unique touch to the project. It helped create a more polished online brand experience by aligning with the client’s personality while maintaining usability. It reminded me that even a playful font can be effective when used thoughtfully in the right places.
Whether you're designing a creative portfolio, a coaching website, or a product landing page, Welcome New Year offers a fresh approach to typography. Just remember to pair it wisely, keep readability in mind, and let it enhance your message rather than distract from it.
