Assignment - Logotype Monogram

 ASSIGNMENT PARAMETERS:

Create three (3) different monogram logotypes using different fonts and different colors for each design. You can create the design in any size you wish, since they can be resized for future projects. Try creating a gradient on your outlined fonts for one of your designs. In each case, manipulate and change the design of the type as per the second tutorial instructions.

 

What is a logotype or monogram? Here are two tutorials to help you design a logotype monogram.

A monogram is a type of personal branding made up of one or more letters, typically initials, that may be intertwined as part of a design, like those you see in crests and wedding designs. It can be simple or complex, elegant or fun—it's a great way to capture your personality in a small footprint.

Try these two tutorials to learn how to create a monogram with just three graphic elements: a letterform, a shape, and a color. 

Links to tutorial videos and assets:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/how-to/create-monogram.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/how-to/make-a-monogram.html

 

 

TUTORIAL NUMBER ONE:

Set up your document:

Click the New button on the start screen, or choose File > New.

Select Profile: Print and click OK.

Tip: Choose the Essentials workspace in the Workspace Switcher menu to display all the panels you'll need for this project.

 

Type your initial:

Press T to select the Type tool and click on the artboard to add an insertion point. 

In the Control panel at the top of the screen, enter 60 pt for Font Size so your text is easier to see.

Type a letter or your initials, then highlight the typed text with your cursor.

Click the Align Center icon in the Control panel.

 

Choose a font that expresses your personality:

In the Control panel, open the Font family pull-down menu and choose an existing font, or you can add new fonts using the Adobe Typekit library available to Creative Cloud subscribers. Click Add Fonts from Typekit to launch it your browser.

Using the Typekit browser, you can choose from thousands of fonts. If you want to follow along, type "League Gothic" in the search field, and then click + Use fonts. Choose the style variation and click Sync selected fonts. The font will be added to your computer to use in your projects.

Select League Gothic from the Font menu, and then press ESC to exit the Type tool.

 

Create a frame for your initials:

In the Tools panel, click and hold the Rectangle shape tool to access other shapes. Select the Ellipse tool.

Press Shift and drag to draw a circle off to the side.

In the Control panel, click the Fill Color swatch and choose a color from the Swatches panel.

Optional: Click the Stroke Color swatch next to it and apply a colored stroke to the shape. You can use the Stroke Weight field to adjust the thickness.

 

Assemble your monogram:

With the shape still selected, choose Object > Arrange > Send to Back.

With the Selection tool, drag your initial and place it above the shape.

Tip: To align the initial and shape perfectly, select both and click the Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center buttons in the Control panel.

Optional: If you want to experiment with different variations of color, type and sizing for your monogram design, you can quickly save the variations in a Creative Cloud Library to reuse or share. See What are Creative Cloud Libraries for details. 

 

 Resize the elements:

You can resize the shape and initial at any time. 

To scale the shape proportionally from the center, select the shape, and with the Shape tool selected, press Alt/Option + Shift and drag a corner of the bounding box.

To resize your initial, select it and change the font size in the Control panel.

When you're happy with the size and proportion of your monogram, select both objects and choose Object > Group or type Control/Command + G.

 

Prepare for output:

As a final step, you'll copy and paste the logo into a new document for final output.

Select the grouped monogram and press Control/Command + C to copy it. Choose File > New and select Profile: Print.

Press Control/Command + V to paste your monogram into the center of the artboard.

To save the monogram for print, choose File > Save, and select Adobe PDF. In the Adobe PDF Preset menu, choose either the High Quality Print or Press Quality options, based on your print provider's recommendations.

To save the monogram to view onscreen, choose File > Save for Web. In the Preset menu, select either the JPEG or PNG option. Specify an image size, such as 400 x 400 pixels for a Twitter profile image, and then deselect Clip to Artboard. Click Save to export your monogram for your blog, website, or digital publications.

 

 

 

 

TUTORIAL NUMBER TWO:

 

The font used in this tutorial is Bely Display.

Create an outline:

Use the Type (T) tool to add initials using the Bely Display font synced from Adobe Fonts. Then, drag to select the initials with the Selection (V) tool, right-click, and choose Create Outlines. The white ghost image is included to use as a guide if you’d like to follow the steps to create the monogram.

 

Anchor your design:

With the text converted to an outline, customize the form of the letters using the Direct Selection (A) tool. Drag across the top portion of the ‘t’ and pull down on an anchor point to shorten it. Then, select the crossbar of the ‘t’ and shorten it, remove a serif at the base of the ‘k’, and click the top anchor point of the ‘k’ and drag it down as well.

 

Guide the slope:

Draw a red guide using the Line Segment (\) tool. Align it to follow the slope of the ‘t’ and to extend beyond the ‘k’. Then, use the Direct Selection tool to select the top anchor points of the ‘k’ and drag them to match the slope of the ’t’. When finished, move the guide out of the way.

 

Decorate the type:

For a bit of flair, use the Pen (P) tool to draw a flourish extending from the ‘k’.

 

Set the path:

With the decorative swirl still selected, choose Object > Path > Outline Stroke.

 

Unite the elements:

Join the decoration with the type by dragging the Selection tool across everything and clicking Unite from the Pathfinder in the Properties (Window > Properties) panel.

 

Form a connection:

To further blend the artwork, use the Direct Selection tool to drag the top inside corner of the ‘k’, then drag an anchor point indicated by a circle to create a curved path between the ‘k’ and the swirl.

 

Refine the endpoint:

Add the final touch by double-clicking the end of the decoration with the Direct Selection tool. Then, drag each anchor point to create a flared endpoint.

Combine typography and decorative strokes to create an elegant design for your brand.

Basic Design - Business Cards

When designing business cards, it's a good idea to remember the basic rules from Design Fundamentals or similar previous design classes.

1.) The basic principles of design will apply to business cards in the same way as any other printed material:
- keep all of your important copy (words) and design elements at least 5mm (between 3/16 and 1/4 inch) away from the edge of the card
- work at 300 p.p.i. for best image reproduction
- to make sure that your type size is not too small, check your view by zooming to Print Size; if you can't easily read the type on your screen, you won't be able to easily read the type on your card
- use a grid to help with alignment

2.) Think of the key information you wish to include (these items do not have to be real for school assignments:
- your name
- phone number
- email address
- physical address
- your business title (owner, author, artist, CEO, etc.)

3.) Try to avoid a design that requires a straight edge very close to the edge of the card as any misalignment will be very obvious. Instead:
- keep geometric elements away from the edge
- use organic design elements
- use the bleed option so that your design overlaps, or extends slightly beyond, the edge of the card

4.) Don't overload your card design by trying to cram too much onto your business card. KISS - Keep It Simple, Silly. Think of it this way; if someone has your business card, they pretty know what you're about, so a business card simply serves as a reminder. A brand message with a logo on one side with contact details on the other is enough.

5.) Be careful about including social media info. If you use Twitter or Facebook for political rants or post a list and rate the bars you visit on your Facebook page, you probably don't want potential clients visiting those sites. ONLY include social accounts if they are strictly business related.

6.) Reinforce your branding by including your logo on one side. You are one and the same with your brand and your peers or clients need to be aware of the fact. So, don't mix up too many colors; keep your color palette restricted to your logo colors.

7.) Don't use fancy script fonts unless you're a calligrapher. If your font (and card design) is too fancy to easily read, you've just removed the reason for your card. Keep font sizes at 8 points (8pt) or larger so that your text is easy to read.

Also, don't use Arial.... get creative with your font choice, but not so creative that you've chosen a hard to read font.

WEBSITES FOR FREE FONTS:

www.dafont.com

www.fontsquirrel.com

www.fonts.adobe.com

www.fonts.google.com

8.) Last, but certainly, not least... get creative by being original. Make this business card about you and what you represent, even if it's a pretend company you're only creating for class.

GRA2131C Assignment - Typography Part III

This is Part III of the Typography assignment will consist of creating a project using both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. 

This project will consist of creating two-sided business cards using InDesign with additional design elements created in Illustrator. These business cards can be of fictional companies.

Below are some examples:

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS AND REQUIREMENTS:
1.) create two (2) two-sided business cards using Adobe InDesign
      - use the standard 3.5 inch by 2 inch size, but add a bleed, as shown in the examples below
      - create one business card using a Serif font and create the other business card using a San Serif font
      - be sure to adjust the kerning and tracking of your type as needed
      - you may create either typical horizontal business cards or vertical business cards 

(above) to begin, go to "Start a new file fast"

(above) pull down to "US Business Card"

(above) choose 2 facing pages - you can select Page 1 or 2

usually Page 1 is the front of the card and Page 2 is the back

you will create text and layouts on both sides

but only one side needs an Illustrator design

(above) the default margins are set to 0.5 inch

change them to 0.25 inch

NOTE: changing one will change all since they are locked

(above) notice that the "safe" layout area becomes larger

while the margins become smaller

NOTE: for best results, keep all important text inside the "safe" layout area

(above) now set the bleed area from 0.0 inches to 0.25 inches

your Illustrator design will extend beyond the actual edge of the card to the the bleed area

(above) since these are locked, changing one dimension will change all sides

(above) keep your text within the artboard, but when you place your Illustrator design

allow it to extend to the edge of the bleed area

2.) Using Adobe Illustrator, create the illustration designs that will be placed on your InDesign business cards.

You will need a separate, individual Illustrator design for each side of your business card. Since you will place a design on both sides of each business card, you will need a total of four (4) Illustrator designs.

NOTE: Your Illustrator file will need to be larger than your InDesign file, since we added a 0.25 inch bleed to each side. Thus, your InDesign file will be 3.5 inches wide by 2 inches high, while your Illustrator file will be 4 inches wide by 2.5 inches high to accommodate for the 0.25 inch bleed on each side.

 

 (above) open Illustrator and choose "More Presets" as this will allow quick customization

  

 (above) choose "Letter" and the default increments will be points

(above) change the points to inches and set the measurements

4 inches wide by 2.5 inches high

 (above) your artboard should look like the above sample

create each of your designs on a separate artboard

save each file and "Place" the file onto your InDesign business card layout as the bottom layer

place all text on top of the design

 

WEBSITES FOR FREE FONTS:

www.dafont.com

www.fontsquirrel.com

www.fonts.adobe.com

www.fonts.google.com
 

KERNING:

Kerning is the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters. You will probably need to apply kerning to your next typography project.

This link describes in detail the process of kerning using Adobe InDesign:

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/how-to/adjust-letter-spacing.html

GRA2131C Assignment - Typography Part 2

Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing and typesetting software application produced by Adobe Systems. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, presentations, books and ebooks.

InDesign can also publish content suitable for tablet devices in conjunction with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Graphic designers and production artists are the principal users, creating and laying out periodical publications, posters, and print media.

It also supports export to EPUB and SWF formats to create e-books and digital publications, including digital magazines, and content suitable for consumption on tablet computers. In addition, InDesign supports XML, style sheets, and other coding markup, making it suitable for exporting tagged text content for use in other digital and online formats.

BE SURE TO READ ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM AS THE ASSIGNMENT IS LOCATED BELOW THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES.

The first time you open InDesign, you will see a screen similar to this:

Click on the 'X' in the white circle to close the tutorial screen and you will see the following screen:

We are going to create a letter-sized document, but if you click on the letter icon pulldown menu, you will see that there are several other page sizes for your choice:

Click on 'Letter' and you will get the following screen:

Notice the Document Properties box as outlined in the image below:

 Notice that many of the tools are similar to those in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, but there are some differences, such as the Rectangle Frame Tool which creates a frame layer that is transparent:

 Another tool which should look familiar is the Text Tool:

When you select the Text Tool, you can easily adjust and apply changes to the color of the text:

ASSIGNMENT:

Start by creating a Rectangle Frame that is exactly 7.5 inches wide by 4.0 inches in height with and X coordinate at .5 and a Y coordinate at .5 - you will find the Rectangle Frame Tool located on the left hand side of your screen (as shown below) and the Frame Properties on the right hand side of your screen. The dimensions of the frame as well as the X and Y coordinates are located in the Transform section of the Frame Properties section. If your frame size and/or X and Y coordinates are not correct, you can type in the required information into the Transform section and the rectangle will adjust to these dimensions.

Click on the Text Tool (located on the left hand side of the screen) and then click inside the rectangle frame and you will see your text cursor appear in the upper left hand corner of the rectangle frame. Also, notice that a new Properties section appears that is specific to the Text Tool. Click inside the dropdown menu that is under Character and your Font selections will appear (Minion is probably the default font if you are on a Mac). Pull down until you see either Times or Times New Roman and choose that font.

Notice that when you scroll through the dropdown menu, there will be a sample of each style of each font so that you can see a preview of the font.

Type a sentence such as "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy black dog" and notice that the rectangle frame has now turned blue since it has been selected. Also, notice that Character section of the Properties section contains data on your Times or Times New Roman font. Times and Times New Roman are known as SERIF fonts. There are two general categories of typefaces: serif and sans serif. Sans serif typefaces are composed of simple lines, whereas serif typefaces use small decorative marks to embellish characters and make them easier to read. 

 

Arial, Helvetica and Tahoma are sans serif type.

 

Times, Times New Roman, Georgia, Palatino and Garamond are all serif type.

 

TAKE A SCREENSHOT AND POST IT TO YOUR BLOG. Title the post Typography Assignment 01. You will be coming back to this post and editing (adding) more screenshots.

Using your mouse or trackpad, select the sentence your just typed, as we are going to edit the font character. The sentence should highlight in black with the type reversed in white while it is selected.

In the Character section, you will see an icon that has a small 'T' next to a larger 'T' - this is the area to change the size of your font. 

Change the type in your sentence to 18pt (which stands for 18 points), take a screenshot, and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost.

There are approximately 72 (72.272) points in one inch or 2.54 cm. To be extremely precise, 1 point is equal to .013836 inch, so 72 points are actually .996264 inch. For practical purposes, this is rounded up to one inch.

If you look at the Paragraph section of the Properties section you will see the adjustment for Text Alignment. The default is Align Left (the first icon). The other icons in order are:

- Align center (all sentences aligned center)

- Align right

- Justify with last sentence aligned left 

- Justify with last sentence aligned center

- Justify with last sentence aligned right

- All sentences justified

- Align towards a spine

- Align away from a spine

Change the type in your sentence to ALIGN RIGHT, take a screenshot, and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost.

Change the type in your sentence to ALIGN CENTER, take a screenshot, and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost.

To the right of the Font Size adjustment icon is the Leading (pronounced led-ding; short e sound, not long e sound) adjustment icon. It looks like a vertical line with an arrow at the top and bottom next to to two letter A's stacked atop one another. 

The spacing between the baselines of the typeface is referred as Leading. The default, or Auto, setting for leading in most font software is 120% of the type size. For example, the auto/default leading for a 14 point font will be 16.8 points. 

Type a second sentence directly underneath your first sentence within the same rectangle frame. You will probably have to use the 'return' key to move below the first sentence. Once you have the two sentences, one below the other as shown below, Select All of the text.

 

With your two sentences of text still selected, go to the Leading adjustment and change it to 6 pt (6 points). The two lines of text should now overlap as the leading has been set too close, as seen below.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost.

With your two sentences of text still selected, go to the Leading adjustment and change it to 72 pt (72 points). The two lines of text should now be spaced far apart as the leading has been set to a larger number than normal, as seen below.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost. 

 

 

Directly underneath the Leading adjustment is the Tracking adjustment. The default setting for tracking is usually '0' zero.Tracking is often confused for kerning. Tracking, like kerning, also refers to the distance between letters, but tracking involves adjusting the spacing throughout the entire word. 

 

Tracking can be used once you have determined the right spacing between each letter to change the spacing equally between every letter at once; hence, it should be used with caution.

 

 Go to the tracking adjustment and set it to -100 (negative or minus 100) and watch the letters scrunch together as seen in the example below.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost. 

With your two sentences still selected  go to the Tracking adjustment and set the tracking to 200 (plus 200) and watch as the letters spread apart in the entire sentence, as seen in the example below.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost. 

 

Reset your tracking to zero, go to the Character section and the font selection dropdown menu, and choose Arial as your font. All of your text should change to the new font. As we discussed, Arial is one of the Sans Serif fonts. Notice how the sentence changes in style and readability, as seen in the examples below. Notice, too, that the Character section now shows Arial in the font selection dropdown menu area.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT and add it (edit) to your existing assignment blogpost.