This is a beginners class about creating hand lettering using your own name or business name to create a logotype in Adobe Illustrator for use in print or on the web. Experienced designers might find it interesting to watch simply to see someone elses process. You will experiment with a variety of media, scan your work to Photoshop and ideally bring this work into Illustrator to Image Trace.  I hope it will inspire anyone who hasn't yet used their own handwriting or brushwork to make lettering. If you don't have Illustrator you can still achieve everything in Photoshop - you just will not be able to scale your work up. I have written a whole print out about what to do in that case which you will find in the Your Project class notes.

I’d like to show you how I create logotypes for clients; my style is very free and expressive rather than tightly controlled. 

You will learn

• to explore your chosen word/s in different ways with different media using your own handwriting  

• to develop word shapes bearing in mind the end use you have for your logotype

• how to tidy up your final black images in Photoshop

• how to vectorise them in Illustrator

• how to colour your lettering, save, use and export your files

You will need access to Photoshop, and ideally Illustrator but you do not need advanced skills in either programme. If you do not have access to Illustrator you can still create a great logo. You will simply need to work at a reasonable size as you will not be able to scale your image up once it has been created in Photoshop (not without losing quality).

This is a simple class, but quite long class,  that I hope will inspire you to trust your hand and enjoy the surprises of chance mark making to manifest some lettering that will always be completely unique to you alone.

It's a class for anyone who wants to create an individualistic logo but particularly for small creative businesses who up until now have mainly used off the shelf fonts for their invoice headers, websites or promotional material.  You’re going to create something totally unique to you that enhances your brand or just gets you started with a look for social media icons. The beauty is that once you know how to approach this you can refine it as your business changes - should you need to.