I recently created a monogram for my website. The WTFP monogram was a fun process. The sketching, designing and vectorizing the letters was a great challenge I am excited to say that with the help of Skill Share I am able to offer my help for others who wish to create their own monograms.
In my class you will learn the elements of a monogram, the history of them, and how to use them in conjunction with other branding elements. This process helps give students a better understanding of letter forms.
When starting any project, it is important to go an explore and get inspired. Here, I ask students to first create multiple mood board, one for each letter they are using. Here is my mood board for the letter W. The purpose of this is to see just how different each letter can be. Notice how many different ways there are to draw the letter W.
Next, I ask students to go out and explore in the real world to find some letters in their surroundings. This was a project given to me and has helped me see letters in a new way. Students are asked to photograph buildings, shapes, shadows, anything which resembles the letter they are working with.
Once students have gone around exploring letter forms, now they are given the opportunity to get their ideas onto paper. Using the steps that I personally use, students are shown how to solve certain design challenges such as dealing with asymmetrical letters. This step is crucial, since great design often comes out of a simple sketch.
Once students have their sketch going, the next step is to make it digital. Although many people are familiar with the process of vectorizing their designs, I go over some tips and tricks that are useful and helpful such as how to vectorize non destructively and how to keep your lettering consistent.
There are many different ways to execute a design and hours can be spent analyzing which colors and embellishments to use in a monogram. I go over some important ones such as overlapping, light and shadow and adding depth to a piece.
Lastly, the final step in my Skill Share class is for students to take their monogram and create a real world application. This can be a label, a business card, a header for a website. I took mine in a fun direction by creating my own custom matches. These matches are a fun way to get your name across and make great gifts.
Taking the class is a fun and exciting way to get a better understanding of letters and monograms. With just a pencil, a camera, and a computer, you can learn to create your own beautiful monogram.
