- When it comes to design, type can play a significant part.
When considering type for your logo design,
there will be a variety of approaches you can take,
which will determine the nature
and direction of your logo design.
In a previous episode,
I discussed considering type for your design,
where I outlined the options we have as designers
when working with type for our logo design
and discuss these in depth.
As I mentioned earlier in a previous video,
one of the fundamental principles
of good logo design is timelessness.
If we are going to use type then we need to think about
how this may work in five or 10 years time.
A good logo design can remain constant,
but broader brand components like color
and typography can change.
It's not uncommon for brands to change elements
like color and typography they use.
When using type in a logo design,
one thing that we will need to consider is,
how is the logo going to work as part of a brand
that could change in future?
In this video we are going to think
more practically about using type,
where I'll discuss some important things
we will need to keep in mind
when using type as part of our logo design.
Let's get into it.
(bright music)
When it comes to using type for logo design,
there are a variety of ways you can approach this.
If the design is intended to be just a logomark,
then it may not even include type.
However, it's very common for logos
to include both a logomark and a logotype element.
You may even decide to create a logo,
whether is no logomark elements at all
and only type such as an a logomark,
lettermark, or monogram.
Whatever approach you take if you decide to include type,
you will need to consider three important aspects.
Are you crafting type exclusively for a logo?
Will you use pre-designed typefaces?
Or will you customize a pre-designed typeface?
It's important to consider these questions
because the answers will determine the course you take
when using and choosing type for your logo design.
Let's take a closer look at each question
and the course of action you may take for each.
The first question is,
are you crafting type exclusively for a logo?
Depending on a project and the design of a project,
some designers will choose to craft
a type element from scratch.
Sometimes there may not be a typeface a designer can find
that can adequately suit their design and vision,
or maybe they just have a completely
customized composition in mind.
If this is a case, a designer may choose
to draw the letter forms themselves,
and craft them in vector programs
like Illustrator or Affinity Designer.
If a designer wants to create something
completely unique and bespoke,
then it is common for one
to craft their own logotype element.
If you choose to develop bespoke type for your logo design,
no further consideration
will need to be taken regarding type,
you can simply focus on craft
in the logotype how you see fits.
A benefit to fully customized type,
is it will not be linked to any particular typeface
that may be used as part of a broader brand execution.
As mentioned earlier brands change over the years,
and it's common for brands
to reconsider their brand typefaces, color, and so on.
Customized type in a logo design
can help make it timeless,
it will always be unique and independent
of any broader brand refresh.
Logos like Disney, CNN, Coca Cola,
Kellogg's, General Electric, V&A,
and London Symphony Orchestra all have customized type
which have remained consistent for decades,
independent of broader brand changes and refreshes.
Another aspect to consider is,
will you use a pre-designed typeface?
Crafting bespoke letter forms
can take a lot of skills and can take a lot of time.
If time is a factor then it may be more practical
to consider a pre-designed typeface.
It's very common for logos to use pre-designed typefaces
to accompany logomark elements,
or even create a standalone wordmark logo.
Today, there are thousands of quality typefaces
available in multiple styles
you can consider for your logo design.
If you choose to use a pre-designed typeface
for your logo design,
you will need to consider type carefully
to appropriately reflect the values
and qualities of the company, business,
or product it needs to represent.
And this can be tricky
because there are so many typefaces to choose from.
Also, when using pre-designed typefaces,
do keep in mind how this may work in five or 10 years time.
Today, we are seeing a trend of simplicity
where a lot of well-known brands are simplifying
what used to be quite distinct designs
into more minimal executions.
Let's take Spotify, Airbnb, Google,
Facebook, eBay, and Pinterest.
Some of these have become more minimal
to fall in line with a more neutral approach.
There is nothing wrong in using a pre-designed typeface,
but just keep in mind how this may be used
as part of a broader brand execution.
Another aspect to consider is,
will you customize a pre-designed typeface?
As mentioned earlier,
a benefit to fully bespoke type is it will not be linked
to any particular type that may be used
as part of a broader brand execution.
Bespoke type in a logo design can help make it timeless.
When designing a logo,
one may find a typeface that is right for a design,
but may choose to customize it slightly.
This allows a designer to further craft a typeface
to make it more ownable,
make it more unique, and make it more bespoke,
and more appropriate for the design.
This can be a really good approach
to make the type you use in your logo design more unique,
which can help to make it more timeless
and independent from any broader brand refresh.
When working with type in your logo design,
it helps to consider these three aspects,
as your choices will influence
how you ultimately use type in your logo design.
For my particular approach,
I'm going to consider using a pre-designed typeface,
which has already been well-crafted
to match my initial scamp design.
However, I'll also attempt to put a unique twist on it,
so it can still remain independent
should there be any changes or brand refreshes in future.
If you choose to use a pre-designed typeface
for your logo design,
and are thinking about maybe customizing it,
we will then need to undertake a few tasks
to research and decide on a perfect typeface.
Here I am with my design process checklist.
If we decide not to develop customized type
and look to use a pre-designed typeface,
we can now move into step two in phase three
and undertake the following tasks.
Task one, research typefaces.
Task two, build typeface collections.
Task three, edit, examine and decide.
And task four, customize the typeface.
In the next video, we are going to look
at task one, two, and three,
where I will demonstrate how I research typefaces
and decide on the right one for my design.
So I'll see you in the next video.
(bright music)