Creating a simple Logo in AI

This tutorial will show you how to create the following logo using the shape, text and pen tool.

To begin with open AI, and select File>New to start a new drawing, accepting the default page
properties.

Lets begin by drawing a simple rectangle. Select the rectangle shape tool
page once to bring up the rectangle dialogue box.

and clicking on the

Draw a rectangle that is tall and thin by clicking on the page once with the tool, enter a width of 5
mm and a height of 40mm, then clicking ok. You now have a rectangle like the one shown on the
right above.
Select no colour for stroke, and a fill of light grey using the colour swatch with the shape selected.
Your rectangle should now look like the one shown below.

Now we will draw a letter T using the type tool. Select the type tool
, and draw a box on your
art board. Type the letter T, selecting the font Myriad Pro, making it bold and choosing a size of
100. You will now have a large number T which is slightly smaller than your shape.

Now, create two more text boxes, using the same font, and choosing a size of 72. In the first text
box, type the word Info, and in the second one, the word Tech. Your drawing should now
contain the following elements.

Now, turn your text into shapes by selecting all three text objects, and selecting Type>Create
outlines. You will notice that your letters now are shapes with anchors and paths (Right below)

Now, make the word Info the same colour as the rectangle you have drawn by selecting the word,
and then selecting the eyedropper tool
and clicking on the rectangle. Your word should now
have the same colour scheme as the rectangle, that is: light grey fill, with no line.

You now have the principle components of your drawing. Now, you will use the perspective grid tool
to place the shapes into 3D space, giving the illusion of shadow and light.
First, start by selecting the perspective grid tool
are guidelines for the perspective grid.

. You will notice a coloured grid appear. These

You will also notice a cube icon appear in the top left
plain is selected. You can change the face to the right
grid selection tool

. Make sure you have the left face

. This icon shows you which perspective

or bottom

using the perspective

selected to begin with.

With the perspective grid selection tool selected, click on the rectangle and drag it toward the cube
shown by the perspective lines. The shape will snap onto the left face of the cube, allowing you to
position it in the perspective plain. Move it to the bottom corner of the cube.

Do the same with the word Info, positioning it just below the rectangle.

Now, select the bottom perspective plain

, and drag the letter T toward the baser of the
perspective cube, untill it is next to the rectangle.

Finally, select the right perspective plain

, and drag the word Tech onto it so that it is
positioned next to the word Info and slightly overlaps it.

Now, you will create a copy of the word Info and move it to the bottom perspective plain so that it
looks like a shadow. With the word selected, hold ALT and drag the object to make a copy. Keep
holding ALT while dragging, and press the number 2. This will change the perspective plain the now
copy will snap to. Keep holding ALT, drag the copy to behind the first Info and release the mouse
button. You now have a vertical word, and the same word sitting horizontal.

Give the copy a black fill rather than grey. This will make it look more like a shadow. Then, go to
Object>Arrange>Send to back to move the copy to the back.

Finally, to complete the effect, we will resize the shadow so that it is the same size as the vertical
word. With the perspective selection tool active, click the shadow, and drag the corner handle so
that you make the shadow thinner (in line with the other word, and stretch it out a bit so that it is a
long shadow. Then adjust the position of the shadow so it meets the base of the word.

Now, adjust the colour of the word Tech so that its not so dark, and move it backwards behind the
word info (Object>Arrange>Send Backwards).

You also need t move the letter T backward until it is behind the rectangle, and resize it so that it
meets the base of the rectangle.

Finally, we will stylise the letter T in Tech using the anchor point tool
in the pen tool. With
the tool selected, hold SHIFT and clict the botton anchor at the top right of the letter T, and drag it
off. Release SHIFT and position the anchor in the position shown.

Congratulations! You have completed a simple icon!

This tutorial has shown you how to use the perspective drawing option in AI, as well as giving you
some examples of how text and shapes may be created and manipulated.