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Graphic Design Tips

By John McWadeBefore & After Magazine

Dateline: October 7, 2005

Companies of every kind sign their names with linked letters called

ligatures

. Ligaturemeans

to tie

. Ligatures make excellent business signatures. They’re handsome, simple andcompact. And they’re fun, too—we all have initials! Some letters link in one typeface but notanother. Others link in lowercase but not in upper. What follows are a variety of ways to getyour letter pairs beautifully together. The logo typefaces and colors are listed at the end of thearticle.Use Shared StrokesMany letter pairs form natural links; they have identical parts or complementary shapes thatfit like hand in glove. Let’s begin with the easiest letters to link—those that have identicaladjacent strokes.Almost-identical StrokesPairs like UR share not-quite identical strokes, yet often flow naturally together. To link

Strategies for Letter-based Logo Design

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neatly, you must usually sacrifice some parts; here, the R gave up a foot, the U a serif.Angled to VerticalAngled strokes often link well to vertical strokes. The easiest technique is simply to cut theangled letter in half.If Your Letterstrokes Don’t Quite Match...How to Design a Logo of LettersCurved to VerticalThe more decorative the typeface, the more easily dissimilar strokes can be linked. Even acurving stroke can replace a vertical. You need gentle curves, though, circles won’t do (farright).

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Uppercase-lowercaseUppercase letters can often link to lowercase with excellent results. An uppercase I, though,won’t link to anything—its body just disappears! But a lowercase i has the advantage of itsdistinctive dot and can link with many letters.Horizontal CrossbarsA few letter pairs share top crossbars, which are easy to link. Similarly, some typefaces haveexaggerated serifs that can be linked.Mid-letter CrossbarsMany letters, such as ABEFHPR, have mid-letter crossbars that can be connected with a littlehelp—just cut the letter apart and s-t-r-e-t-c-h the bar!