Jul 18, 2016 | Brush Calligraphy, Calligraphy, Recent Posts
Calligraphy brush logo with watercolor by Iskra Design
I am having a month of orange. Stay tuned for more of this color, which I can’t get enough of! Here is a fun interpretation of a logo I usually show in black and white. I have revisited it in watercolor, creating a background that suggests a lively dinner party with a slightly ’50’s vibe. The original logotype calligraphy was done with an edged brush, pointed brush and gouache on rough paper, combined with a set font.
May 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
From my Morning Pages, a daily practice for generating ideas and learning about composition. “Binary Systems, Interrupted,” acrylic on paper, © Iskra Design
Jan 21, 2016 | New Work, Recent Posts
Identity design for packaging can be creative and exciting work, as long as you don’t allow yourself to be attached to a final product. Probably 90% of ideas generated for packaging are never used. It is an exacting process with many rounds of negotiations between creative, marketing, and client. In spite of the fact that so much of the effort goes purely into development, it is often my best work. There are always puzzles to solve, and the teams of people involved are smart and fun and don’t hesitate to offer me a challenge. This was a rush project done mostly in one day. If it had gone further the curves and edges would have been finessed except for the rustic version, which is intentionally rough.
This last version was my favorite. It might not read easily from ten miles away, but it makes the most of some limited options for ligatures. I am not a fan of what I call the “dental floss school of lettering,” in which every wild and frivolous opportunity to make a flourish is followed, at the expense of being able to make sense of the words. It is rare to get an arrangement of letters where the forms will gracefully interlock. Most letters are lazy: they’d rather sit proud in their natural, beautifully proportioned forms, and as a designer I never want them to look like they are working hard to make a relationship. In this case, particularly, the name feels like it has dignity. It may be high proof, but it’s sober.
As mentioned in the intro, in packaging many are offered, but few survive. Nonetheless, a great chance to work with lovely letters. You can see more snapshots of work in progress on Instagram or Facebook.
Jan 13, 2016 | Calligraphy, Handwriting Design, New Work, Recent Posts
Last year I had the opportunity to work with a wonderful photographer on a new identity for her business. “Simply Ania” already had a pretty fine site and look, but Ania wanted something even better, more customized, that would express her personality and the quality of her work. Ania specializes in portraiture of babies, and after seeing her portfolio I couldn’t wait to see what we could create for her.
After reviewing her inspiration file and gathering styles from my site we established a general parameter. I would focus on her name, “simply” would remain set in type, and I would explore a range of directions, from informal to elegant, blending femininity and strength.
Above, the final choice, as it appears on the Simply Ania website. One of the unique challenges of this project was the very shortness of the name involved. Also, repeated letters. It can take many tests and variations to balance out repeated letters so they look different in a way that looks intentional. An upper case A would have given more variation to the logo, but the choice of lowercase adds approachability. When a logo is signature based there is always a key question to ask: is the main goal of the logo to amplify the identity and image of the business so that it becomes aspirational by association? Or is it to open a door and create a relationship with prospective clients? When I work on celebrity logos we usually take an aspirational approach and put the focus on expressing the celebrity brand. In a service business, particularly one where relationship is as important as it is in portrait photography, a quieter approach can be more appropriate. It is a subtle difference, and is one of the elements I love working with in creating custom logo design. You can see more examples of custom calligraphy logos in my handwriting portfolios.
Jan 7, 2016 | Book Covers, Brush Calligraphy, Calligraphy
This book cover titling project was recently finalized and I am very happy with how it turned out. The reversed brush lettering really sparkles in reverse, and I like the way the drybrush texture complements the starry sky.
You can see more of my custom typography and hand lettering for book covers here.
Designer, calligrapher, lettering artist. 