This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Monogram Logo Conveys Character
- Typestyle, color, and a dash of flair say volumes about your company.
Historically, a monogram was a monarch’s treasure—a hallmark bearing the most revered icon of all—the royal seal. It said little, but spoke with immediate recognition.
A few centuries later, monograms still command attention. Sure, the royal seal is gone, but the monogram’s simple, quiet elegance remains—the elegance of a name, an initial, and the visible voice of character.
The easy-to-make monogram shown in this article is a great example. To make it, first you’ll draw a circle, an initial, and a name. What’s exciting are the endless ways in which typestyle, value, and small embellishments can then be combined to convey exactly what you want. Dress them in the costume of royalty, and they speak of the privileged. Bathe them in a spotlight of smoky blue, and they fill the imagination with slow, swaying jazz. Center them on a stage of texture and accent, and they whisk us somewhere else. Here’s how to do it:
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1 Draw a Circle
Draw a circle with a 10-pica diameter. Set the stroke to 3 points. Crisscross two ruler guides and center the circle at the guide intersection.
Now start thinking about the image you want to send out. Is it sophisticated, casual, traditional, sporty, futuristic? And what typeface expresses it best?
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2 Set Your Initial
Your initial is the focal point of the monogram, and it’s fun to experiment with typestyles. What you are looking for is expressiveness—your choice may be ornate, blocky, rough, classic, bold, whatever. Pick one you like—we’re using Snell Roundhand—and for now set it in 120-point.
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3 Center and Scale
Center your letter by eye and scale it to fill up the circle. Make it big; it’s all right to touch or even overlap the circle like we’ve done here. At this point it’s hard to tell what will look best, so just get it in the ballpark, and we’ll fine-tune it later.
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4 Set Your Name on a Path
Set the company name on a 11-pica diameter circular path, similar to what’s shown here. To start, we’ve used 16-point centered type, in all caps. Since it’s much smaller than the initial, the font should not be ornate or detailed; ours is Charlemagne.
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5 Space the Letters
Increase the letterspacing until you are pleased with the results. To extend a too-short name, you might try adding a bullet between letters, or repeat the name, or use a more extended font.
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6 Add an Outer Circle
Draw an outer circle as shown here, so the type is spaced evenly between the circles.
Before moving on, take a look at the whole thing; you’ll now have a better idea if the type is the size you want, if the spacing pleases you, and so on. Adjust if necessary.
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7 Color
Monograms look great in just one or two colors. Pick a deep, rich main color—burgundy, grape, midnight blue, forest green, charcoal. The second color, if you use one, should be light: a pale screen of the first color; a neutral cream or gray; or a complement. Here, the inner circle is a tint of the outer. White type gives the illusion of three colors.
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8 Embellish
Lines, texture, and pattern can help to symbolize the company’s business. Use them to conjure up mental pictures. Here, horizontal lines bring to mind old engravings, or are perhaps reminiscent of the grain in the wood barrels, and turn the monogram into a wine label. Old-world dingbats fill space artfully, easing the “jump” between words.
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Artistic Guidelines
The example illustrated on the previous pages balances many variables. When you create a monogram, you must also balance proportion, typestyle, and color.
Proportions
A monogram is like a target: The eye is drawn to the center (1), then led outward (2), because its elements are scaled from large to small. How large should they be? How small?
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The initial
Fill up the circle. For your initial, pick a typestyle that’s as wide as it is tall, You want it to fill the space and look substantial and secure, not to float or appear weak. Steer clear of condensed or extended typefaces, which in a circle leaves big gaps.
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Lines
Take special care. Line weight should be no heavier than the initial, and preferably lighter.
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Type
Typestyle is the costume your initial wears to express your company’s character: playful, stately, flamboyant, confident, whatever. Use the visual language of type to convey your company’s spirit.
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The initial
Make it expressive. For bright results quickly, start with decorative headline fonts. Look first for something energetic, blocky and bold, or ornate. Sometimes a solution is obvious: a swashy script initial, say, for a fancy hotel. But try everything. Chances are you’ll be surprised by interesting results from some unlikely choices.
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Name uneven? Too short?
Even it out. Words of uneven lengths, such as Laurelwood Books, can be set in uniform letterspacing (1) or uneven (2).Set a too-short name twice (Al Dente) or three or even four times (3).
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Working basic
The basics are sometimes ideal and always worth a look. This logo is set in Palatino, a standard laser font.
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The circular name
Start with the same typeface. Try first setting the circular name and initial in the same typeface; this establishes immediate uniformity and is often the strongest choice. Always set the circular name in uppercase; the up and down shapes of lowercase make for an uneven, weak appearance (above right).
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Make sure it’s readable
Keep it simple. If your initial typestyle is elaborate, you’ll need to set the circular name in a different, simpler font. Look for contrasts. Try serif/sans serif, script/serif, or bold/light combinations. Keep in mind that your choice must be easy to read at small sizes.
Color
Monograms look unusually good in black and white, but it’s color that draws attention and expresses character more than any other element. Color is why, as you read this text, you can feel the pull of Zorro’s solid red pizza box (previous page). Color can also affiliate a monogram with a nationality, school, sports team, and so forth.
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Use solid color for boldness
Bright, solid color without screens has the broadest range of use. This is ideal when printing on uncoated paper on which screens could easily plug up.
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Two colors
A dark color for body, a light color for accent. Monograms are beautiful in two colors. To find the most expressive ones, it will help to browse your draw program’s color libraries. Look first at the burgundies, grapes, midnight blues, forest greens, and charcoals. The most vivid monograms are predominantly dark. Select a light second color for accent—a pale screen of the first color, creams, grays, or complements. As a rule, avoid making the light color dominant, which weakens the effect (above right).
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Tints
Tints make the most of one color. Tints soften and give dimension to one-color logos. Since tint values are most obvious in shades of gray, work in black and white first. Alternate values from the center out: dark, light, dark, light (above left), then apply those same values to a dark color (above right).