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Strategies for Letter-based Logo DesignBy John McWadeBefore & After Magazine Dateline: October 7, 2005More Graphic Design tips Companies of every kind sign their names with linked letters called
ligatures
. Ligaturemeans
to tie
. Ligatures make excellent business signatures. They’re handsome, simpleand compact. And they’re fun, too—we all have initials! Some letters link in onetypeface but not another. Others link in lowercase but not in upper. What follows are avariety of ways to get your letter pairs beautifully together. The logo typefaces andcolors are listed at the end of the article.Use Shared StrokesMany letter pairs form natural links; they have identical parts or complementary shapesthat fit like hand in glove. Let’s begin with the easiest letters to link—those that haveidentical adjacent strokes.Almost-identical StrokesPairs like UR share not-quite identical strokes, yet often flow naturally together. To link 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 cutthe angled 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. Evena curving stroke can replace a vertical. You need gentle curves, though, circles won’t do(far right).
 
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 theadvantage of its distinctive dot and can link with many letters.Horizontal CrossbarsA few letter pairs share top crossbars, which are easy to link. Similarly, some typefaceshave exaggerated serifs that can be linked.Mid-letter CrossbarsMany letters, such as ABEFHPR, have mid-letter crossbars that can be connected with alittle help—just cut the letter apart and s-t-r-e-t-c-h the bar!
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robustmystique8

Thanks. Great tutorial mate... Here's the Video Tutorial: http://bit.ly/cXQPGN - If you prefer video like myself. Don't get me wrong, I still like ur tutorial!

reply04 / 20 / 2010
kumaravelu

shape your wold with us

reply01 / 06 / 2008
Yoda2

Terrific guide, visually very helpful. Thanks!

reply06 / 11 / 2007
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