Custom hand lettering brings a unique and powerful strength to branding projects. But there’s a big difference between a hand lettered drawing and an effective, professional logotype.

Moving lettering from the paper and into vector software is a particular and exacting design process which plays a crucial role in transforming good pencil work into a successful logotype. Gain essential knowledge and hands-on practice in turning a piece of custom lettering into a fully functioning, vectored logotype in this 3-hour workshop.

Working from a pencil or ink sketch of your lettering design, we’ll start by revising and refining the sketch to start addressing the key functionalities of a logotype: efficient proportions, scalability, recognisability and suitability for the design brief. We’ll then bring these into Adobe Illustrator to get hands on with the intricacies of the pen tool and learn how to correctly vector lettering following industry best practices. We’ll also look at how to keep improving and fine-tuning the logotype without having to return to pencil and paper. Using a range of typographic tricks and tips, we’ll learn how to identify and correct issues with spacing, weight, typographic colour and scalability to produce a logotype that is both conceptually and technically strong.

Throughout the workshop, you’ll benefit from a live demonstration, detailed slides and one-on-one guidance to come out with the skills and know-how to create strong, professional custom logotypes.

This workshop is best studied to those who have some experience with the basics of lettering. We ask that you bring a laptop with Adobe Illustrator and a rough sketch of some lettering to work from – just 1 or 2 words in any style you like, keeping mind the overall look that you’re aiming to convey. The demonstration will focus on a script style design, but the same principles apply to any typographic style.