Digitizing Hand Lettering

Digitizing hand lettering is a delicate balance between artist and designer. The example I want to share is my work on Ami James' signature sketch. I started by placing the original scan into Adobe Illustrator. Once placed the art is turned into a Template layer which makes digitizing an easier task.

My first step is to lay down vector lines while being mindful of Ami's creative intent and aesthetic. Very often, hand lettering is skewed and equal weight is not given to each letter.

As designer you need to be mindful of the artist while attempting to improve upon their hand lettering – smoothing the curves and creating pleasant proportions. Once the the lettering is complete inner details are added, then drop shadows, outlines and color.

The final vector art, much like a logo, is more flexible when creating marketing and advertising materials. The vector format, unlike a bitmap, is infinitely scalable and easily applied to all media.

Designing with Spot Channels

Here is a t-shirt I designed for my friend Andrew of Bertha's Mussels in Fells Point. He wanted a t-shirt that connected his legendary bumper sticker with the memory of his dad's sweet VW bus from the 70s. I found a photo of a bus online and opened it in Adobe Photoshop. I made all the design and color edits in Photoshop and exported 3 spot channels in DCS2 format. The color plates were placed and positives were printed from Adobe Illustrator.

The DCS (Digital Color Separation) format is a version of the standard EPS format that lets you save spot color channels in Photoshop. Spot channels are not the same as the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) channels. Spot channels allow the designer to use the Pantone color space which is referred to as PMS colors. Basically, to understand the difference between CMYK and spot colors think of the color green. To create green in the CMYK color format you print the cyan and yellow equally thus blending together to make green. Spot colors rely on the purity of the chosen green represented in the swatch book and there is no need for blended channels (channels = color plates/separations)

The black channel from the original bus photo was converted to a spot channel. The same black channel was used to create a mid-tone color. Using "Levels" I isolated the mid-tone and converted it to a spot channel and set it to Pantone 130. To achieve the white high-light I used the original black channel, inverted and pushed the histogram in the levels palette to isolate the brightest part of the photo. This selection was converted to a spot channel and set to white.
What is really cool about exporting spot channels from photoshop is that the .eps file when placed into Illustrator or In Design bring the spot channels into the layout program. Once the spot channels are in the swatch palette you can then use those swatches in the layout to color vector art and be output on the same color separation.
Understanding Color Separations
Spot Channel Tutorial

Red Wing, Green Boot

What does sustainability mean when discussing footwear? Recycled material? Earth-friendly production? I would consider another definition for sustainability - the Longevity or “life cycle” of the product. My idea of sustainable footwear is a pair that last forever or at least in my case 16 years and counting. I’m talking about my trusted, Red Wing “Linesman” boots. These steel toe “shit-kickers” have seen it all: mosh pits, metal forging, and over 6,000 days not all of which were spent pounding the pavement, sometimes, they just looked good with jeans.


So for me the idea of sustainability has been an experience with the Red Wing brand. Red Wing, who also own the legendary Vasque brand, are made in the USA and have been for over a century. By using the best materials and century old craftsmanship Red Wing has created product with an impressive life cycle. It’s important that materials be eco-friendly but another very important factor should be the life-cycle of the product. Consider how many boots of lesser quality would be bought and tossed over 18 years? This is not a very green solution.

Now we come to the price. Red Wing like Dr Marten are not cheap products, but make perfect sense if you consider them as an investment. And they deliver in quality and classic styling and if you’re lucky many years of sustainable butt kicking, pit moshing, metal bending….

See the new Red Wing “Lifestyle Heritage Collection”

And if you haven’t seen, J-Crew is offering 4 exclusive pairs of Red Wing boots this fall. Inspired by the rich Red Wing heritage, J-Crew is offering these timeless classics that wear well in the office or studio. View the collection here.

Related links,
http://www.redwingshoes.com/
http://www.vasque.com/
http://www.vibram.com/