The Complete Guide to Custom Lettering by Jon Contino

This course will give you the typographic knowledge necessary to customize letterforms with ease and help form your own style!

So what’s on the agenda?

• A History of Typography — We’ll discuss the history of written language and its development into typography as we know it today. I believe it’s incredibly important to know your roots before you begin creating something of your own!
• The Anatomy of a Letter — How does type work? What are all the moving parts and why are they important to custom lettering?
• Letters in History — We’ll discuss how decorative lettering became a thing and why it’s so important to all aspects of branding and design.
• Tools of the Trade — What do you need to kick off your hand lettering? We’ll discuss it and I’ll share links of where to buy it all!
• Learning the Classics — This is one of the most important sections of the entire class. It will train your body to think in letterforms!
• Altering Letters by Hand or Computer — How can we use our tools to begin making custom type? We’ll also discuss everyone’s favorite: LIGATURES!
• Scripts and How to Use Them — Where does script style come from? How do you use it? How do you make it better? We’ll cover it all!
• Understanding Type Systems — Lettering allows for so many amazing styles; we’ll learn how to use them together to enhance your work.
• Rhythm, Spacing and Context — The best part about lettering is how expressive it can be. We’ll go over how to really make the most out of it!
• Designing for Logos — How do logos affect everyday life? How do you get in on that?!
• Custom Lettering for Branding — We’ll learn the rules of going custom for branding. What’s too far? What’s not far enough?
• The Pitfalls — Once you’ve become a lettering maniac, you’ll encounter some common issues. We’ll learn how to avoid those!
• Defining your style — Experimentation is the name of the game!

Meet Jon Contino

New York native Jon Contino is at the forefront of today’s most influential designers. His uniquely stylistic approach blends old-world whimsy with a modern, minimalistic sensibility that creates a distinct personality imitated time and time again. Jon’s dedicated efforts continue to blur boundaries and affect modern trends in all facets of the creative industry. He has received numerous accolades for his fusion of old and new world aesthetics and continues to garner the attention of media outlets as well as large scale agencies and corporations such as Nike, MillerCoors, American Eagle, Coca-Cola, 20th Century Fox, AT&T and Sports Illustrated, just to name a few. Jon resides in New York with his wife, Erin, and daughter, Fiona, where he operates a full time studio and also works as creative director for The Hidden Sea, brand manager for Past Lives, and creative director of an apparel and accessories brand bearing his name.

Course Curriculum