We’re sometimes asked in our Intro to Foundation course if using Foundation makes websites look the same. They don’t. Any site that uses Foundation — or any framework — can look like whatever its designer feels is best for the project. We keep Foundation’s default styles to a minimum for that very reason. Don’t worry about looking like someone else. Instead, focus on looking like you. Here are three tips to making your Foundation-based site stand out.

1. Don’t worry about aligning your containers to the grid. Align landmarks instead.

Above: Matching a block of text to the left edge of an image may be technically correct, but aligning text to the Yeti’s torso makes the text a better visual fit.

2. If your site has long pages, establish rhythm with each section’s header.

Think of headings as chapters in a book. No matter what else happens in the text, chapter titles formatted the same way help “reset” users — they’re a visual beat.

Above: No matter what happens per section, consistent grids in the header maintain a sense of order.

3. Carry through a signature.

A signature is a unique motif — usually a combination of design elements like type, color and space.

Color palette: Not only list colors, but how they’re used.

Typography: Type is the voice of text. Decide in what tone you want to speak.

Above: Images from hallmark.com use more than the same colors. Hand-drawn dashed lines, dotted lines and loops create energetic rhythm. Extra curls in the text reinforce the occasional loops.

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