Collection of Lettering-based Logos by Simón Londoño Sierra

Learn about the development of several logo projects and the creative process behind them

Hi! I’m Simón Londoño Sierra (@simonlond), and I’ll be sharing a collection of my lettering work for the logos of various brands, clients, and projects. Each logo was developed from scratch, without the use of typefaces, but using drawings or calligraphy style letters.

My creative process

I start each creation with a process of investigation by getting to know the brand’s story and collecting information. Then, I gather relevant images connected to this information, which sum up the brand concisely and convincingly. Rhetoric is a useful element at this stage.

I create a visual pattern from this conceptualization process, and later I sketch some early designs by hand, and I create mood boards. Finally, I finish off the piece by applying some of my favorite, mainly digital, techniques.

In my head, I have saved a bank of images and visual ideas inspired by projects I have come across during my investigations or merely by seeing an art piece. I am always waiting for an opportunity to find the right moment, project, or client to put these ideas into practice. As Picasso said: ‘Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.’

Sources of inspiration

Culture itself is a limitless source of inspiration. Still, I also find many references for my jobs in North American and Japanese comics by artists such as Joe Madureira, Joe Quesada, and Kentaro Miura. I also find ideas in science-fiction cinema, Latin American graphics, and fantasy literature.

The designers who have influenced me the most are Herb Lubalin, Milton Glaser, Alex Trochut, Non-Format, Mario Hugo Gonzalez, Sawdust, and Violaine Et Jérémy, and many more.

Tools and resources

I use a brush pen with fountain pen ink, and 0.3 to 0.5 tips for my ink drawings. For projects in ink, I prefer to use smooth drawing paper.

On a digital level, I use Adobe suites (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Lightroom). For admin and teamwork, I use Slack, RescueTime, and Google’s G-Suite.

Take a look at some of my projects for logos using the lettering technique below:

This article was written by Colombian lettering artist, designer, and illustrator Simón Londoño Sierra (@simonlond). His images are a combination of typography and illustration, and his focus is on visual communication for branding and editorial design using letters as images. If you want to know more about creating letters with character to build your brand, sign up for Simón’s course, Digital Lettering for Visual Identity.

Don’t forget to share your projects with the community!

English version by @acesarato.

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- 10 Basic Typography Design Principles for Creating Memorable Logotypes
- 5 Lettering and Typography Books to Inspire Your Projects
- 8 inspirational examples of typographic design