Hi there! For this project, I decided I would create a lettermark. I previously worked with a client who needed a logo for their charity program. The program selects one lucky business per month to design a website for and provides other free design services. The design I chose for this class was not choosen by my client, but I thought it still had fun potential and would work for this lettermark project.

The lettermark is a "D" and contains design tools and elements. Since this was also designed for a charity program, I really wanted to incorporate the idea of "helping" or "working together". I thought of the concept of a closed card board box (I know, weird, right?). How you have to fold all four sides together, or it won't close properly. Each side has to be both tucked in and on top of another piece or it pops right open. It all has to work together to make a functional design. Once the idea popped into my head, I began doing very quick, rough sketches.

Sketch 1: Getting the main concept down on paper.

Lettermark for charity program - image 1 - student project

Sketch 2: Refined the sketch and added more detail.

Lettermark for charity program - image 2 - student project

Sketch 3: I felt like the "D" was a little too short and boxy, so I corrected it with another sketch beside it.

Lettermark for charity program - image 3 - student project

Step 4: Brought the sketch into Illustrator and began building my "D" shape

Lettermark for charity program - image 4 - student project

Step 5: Once the shape of my lettermark was complete, I made it a bright pink color, so it would stand out as I started to build each individual tool shape on top of it.

Lettermark for charity program - image 5 - student project

Lettermark for charity program - image 6 - student project

Step 6: Built each design tool with either the pen tool or the rectangle tool and added a nice thick stroke to everything.

Lettermark for charity program - image 7 - student project

Step 7: Took out the "template" pink lettermark and did some refining to the design.

Lettermark for charity program - image 8 - student project

Step 7: THE FINAL DESIGN. While I thought the black outline looked nice, I wanted the final product to stand out with a bit more contrast and depth. I reversed the design by making it white on black and then added a little bit of gradient to highlight the idea that the tools are overlapping one another.

Lettermark for charity program - image 9 - student project

THANK YOU so much for checking out my project! I absolutley appreciate it and welcome any comments, questions or feedback!

Kathryn Smith

KCMO/25. Design + Lettering.

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