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Graphic Design Tips
Strategies for Letter-based Logo Design
By John McWade
Before & After Magazine
Dateline: October 7, 2005
More Graphic Design tips
Companies of every kind sign their names with
linked letters called ligatures. Ligature means
to tie. Ligatures make excellent business signatures.
They’re handsome, simple and compact.
And they’re fun, too—we all have initials! Some
letters link in one typeface but not another.
Others link in lowercase but not in upper. What
follows are a variety of ways to get your letter
pairs beautifully together. The logo typefaces and colors are listed at the end of the article.
Use Shared Strokes
Many letter pairs form natural
links; they have identical parts
or complementary shapes
that fit like hand in glove. Let’s
begin with the easiest letters
to link—those that have identical
adjacent strokes.
Almost-identical Strokes
Pairs 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 Vertical
Angled strokes often link well
to vertical strokes. The easiest
technique is simply to cut the
angled letter in half.
If Your Letterstrokes Don’t Quite Match...
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