Typographic Logos: Typography and Lettering for Logo Design

In Lecture 5, I give some examples of where to find inspiration and beginning to plan your design. I also talk about what is appropriate when attempting to balance the fine line of borrowing ideas, emulating designs, and just being inspired.

Lecture 6 is about one of my favorite digital archiving tools. Pinterest is the best way I've found to categorize design inspiration so that you can go back and find it when the need arises.

In Lecture 7 I'll talk about gathering inspirational designs to create a mood board and plan out your design.

Your designs are only as good as your tools! In Lecture 8, I'll talk about my favorite non-computer tools... and why they are so great. Check out the attached PDF for the analog materials list that includes some links to these items.

Computers are best used as another tool, just like pencil and paper. Lecture 9 is about my list of favorite electronic gadgets.

I will also discuss some "fun" materials. These are non-traditional items in the world of lettering and logotype design. Have a look at the attached PDF for lists and links of these tools.

When designing typographic logos, you need to keep in mind the shapes of your letterforms. Lecture 10 is a discussion about the different type styles and how to create an appealing composition. It is important that logotypes are "self-contained graphics."

How to bring rough thumbnail sketches into the computer and create a foundation of lettering that will be refined later in the process.

Take the logotype structure that was created in the computer and see how to refine it by sketching over it in pencil. You will also learn a new sketching technique. Have a look at the attached PDF for a closer look.

Now that we have a refined pencil sketch, we will take it back into the computer and draw the vector paths in Adobe Illustrator.

Improve the design by going over it with another level of refinement. Don't be afraid to go back and forth between computer and pencil & paper multiple times.

Learn how to add dimensional shading to make the layers look as if they overlap. See attached file to download vector halftones.

In Lecture 16, you will learn how to make a quick 3D effect for your type to make it pop off the background. Once you have a 3D design that you like, you will see how to transform that into clean vector paths.

As a logotype designer, you need to make your design look great on various colored backgrounds. For instance, your design should be legible and appealing on a white background, a black background, and any other color in between.

Bitmap textures are the best way to add weathering and distress to your designs in Illustrator. These have built-in transparency and are easy to recolor. Download the attached file for some free textures that you can use in your designs!

How to prepare your design in Illustrator and export it into layers for Photoshop. You will learn the easiest and fastest way to texture your design with Photoshop Brushes! A set of Photoshop Brushes that you can use with your designs is included.

A quick recap of the main principles taught in the course. The possibilities of what you create are endless! Now it's up to you to decide what you would like to make :) Be sure to look at the attached files for each lecture to make sure you didn't miss any of the extra resources and free downloads.