Communicating With Type

Name: Communicating With Type
Author: Joseph Tury

Understand how choices with type can impact your logo’s message

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 6 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, in this lesson you will learn how the font you choose for your logo will affect how your brand is perceived. You will be creating a logo for a fictitious flower shop. Make the stroke option active and turn off fill. Select the ellipse shape tool. Eyeball the center of the flower. Hold ALT or OPTION plus SHIFT and create a circle around the flower. Select the shape and the flower and in the Properties panel, select Horizontal and Vertical Alignment in the Align area. You are going to use the Type on a Path tool that you learned earlier to make a logotype around the flower. Select the type on a path tool and click on the circular path. Type Katie's Flower Shop. Make sure you have times selected as the font. Use the selection tool to adjust the handles so that the logo type is more centered around the flower. Triple click on the text and in the properties panel adjust the size so that the flower doesn't dominate the design. And then go ahead and readjust the text with the handles. Notice how this font choice doesn't quite look that great for the brand. It looks okay, but it is stiff and not exactly friendly. The font choice is crucial for the brand just as much as the graphic can be. Move the design to the side and duplicate it by holding Alt or Option while you click and drag. Once again, select type on a path and triple click on the text to select it. Change the font to LT Funk. Adjust the size in the Properties panel if needed so that the type is not overshadowed by the graphic. Compare the two designs as is. Make sure to click off the design and then select the text only. Click on Type and Create Outlines. With the text still selected, click on the Eyedrop tool and select a deep shade of purple from the flower. In the Properties panel, adjust the Opacity to 100%. Use the Type tool and type KDs in LTFunk. Duplicate it and choose Time so you can compare the difference. Remember to hold Option or Alt as you click and drag to duplicate it. Create a third version and select a plain thick font such as Arial Black or Arial Bold or perhaps something like Futura. Looking at the three versions, which one do you believe visually invokes a friendly and inviting feeling? The LT Funk font seems more playful and personable, perfect for a small flower shop. It's not only important to choose type that is readable, but it must match the identity of the brand and be appealing to your intended audience. In the next lesson I will further explore this concept of choosing the correct type for your logo design. You

Intermediate Provider : Joseph Tury 6 Lessons · 30m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

Perhaps one of the least-appreciated aspects of logo design is the significant role typography plays in the process. Typography is the art of designing with type and understanding how different type choices can affect your audience’s perception. When designed properly, the text in a logo can have more impact than the corresponding graphic—or even take away from an amazing graphic if the type used is inappropriate, unreadable, or just poorly utilized. Oftentimes, it can be more beneficial for the brand to design a typeface from scratch.

In these lessons, you will learn how to effectively use the correct typeface or font for a logo. You will learn how important it is to use a typeface that reflects the brand’s identity, how to create a hierarchy with the text, and how the placement of the type is essential for readability. You will also learn the basics of typing on a vector-based path in Illustrator and, finally, a quick tutorial on creating custom text.

What You'll Learn

Use the correct typeface or font to reflect a brand's identity in a logo
Create a hierarchy with text and lay out type for readability
Type on a vector-based path in Illustrator
Apply the basics of creating custom text and hand-lettering
Identify how font choice affects audience perception of a brand

Key Takeaways

Typography is the art of designing with type and understanding how different type choices affect an audience's perception.
When designed properly, the text in a logo can have more impact than the corresponding graphic.
Using a typeface that reflects the brand's identity, establishing text hierarchy, and placing type for readability are all essential to effective logo design.
Sometimes it is more beneficial for a brand to design a typeface from scratch.
The course covers typing on a vector-based path in Illustrator and a tutorial on creating custom text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn how to effectively use the correct typeface or font for a logo, why a typeface should reflect the brand's identity, how to create a hierarchy with text, how type placement affects readability, the basics of typing on a vector-based path in Illustrator, and a quick tutorial on creating custom text.

Does this course cover Adobe Illustrator?

Yes. It teaches the basics of typing on a vector-based path in Illustrator, including type-on-a-path options.

What topics do the lessons cover?

The lessons cover how font choice affects brand perception, font choice considerations, hierarchy in type, text layout, type on a path options, and hand lettering.

What skills does this course focus on?

It focuses on typography and type design, including Adobe Type Manager, font face, graphic communication, and visual brand language.