VICTORIAN HAND LETTERING PROCESS
This page details my process in developing a victorian hand lettered logo. I’ve used my own logo as an example. If you’re interested in working together or have more questions, reach out. The total process typically takes around 80–100 hours, and happens over the course of 1-2 months.
At the beggining of the logotype process, prior to hand drawing the letters, it’s important to take a look at a few compostions. The text is designed with a font, and the elements are kept simple. The client will request the components that should be involved. In this case, those pieces were “Four Thirteen Design”, “Lettering / Branding”, and a monogram. At this stage, the client is to choose from one of the presented options to push forward to a hand drawing.
Drawing the letters with pencil on paper allows my hand to flow freely and create truly unique letter designs. This is where all of the creative thinking and design happens. Unique opportunities within the letterfoms begin to come clear and special moments and embelishments present themselves. The drawing will be presented when completed and any feedback will be taken into consideration going into the vector tracing process.
Using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, I’ll begin to trace an image of the drawing. Often times slight corrections are made throughout the process of tracing as the hand is never quite perfect. Each line is measured, and every anchor point is placed with intention. Once the entire piece is traced, I’ll begin to detail and populate all of the linework with tapering strokes or fills, adding depth and interest. The completed logotype will be shared with the client for feedback, and up to three rounds of edits are made.
Once the logo is complete, I’ll add color, and sometimes there can even be up to four color variations. It’s also important to figure out how the logo scales for smaller applications such as business cards. In this case, pulling the “413” monogram out as an icon is a useful asset.
