Need excellent typographer

[_Fredo_Viola_]

Hello, my name is Fredo Viola. I'm a multi-media artist preparing a series of album releases and am on the hunt for an excellent typographer to make a name logo for me, as well as a font based on a hand-drawn font found on a German poster. It's a really beautiful, creative font, but alas, my name has many letters not represented! So it's hopefully a fun and creative challenge.

If you are interested, please email me at fredoviola @ gmail (dot) com.

Time is a bit of the essence, so really hoping to hear from somebody within the next week.

Thanks again!

- Fredo Viola
http://www.fredoviola.com

[Neil_Keller]

Fredo,
>am on the hunt for an excellent typographer to make a name logo for me, as well as a font based on a hand-drawn font found on a German poster.

You want a typographic designer -- not a typographer. That said, do you have a budget? Do you have any idea how much creating an appropriate custom logo and crafting a well-designed and implemented font costs? Or how much time this will take -- particularly for the latter? We're talking many thousands of dollars (again, largely for the latter) and many months (sometimes years) of typographic design to do this "right".

You can spend a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars with a fairly competent graphic designer and get "something" as a logotype that reflects who you are; a mark that addresses all the uses that you are likely to need it for -- it depends upon the designer's ability, experience, and how extensive an identity program you need. (Understand that a well-designed and applied logotype is never created in a vacuum.)
>Time is a bit of the essence

It won't happen that way. Even a shlock logo and font take time.

For your font, you first have to be aware of any copyright issues that may exist. Next, you need to determine how the font would be used, in what sizes and media, etc.; how extensive the font needs to be (bold, italic, condensed, expanded, swashes, alternates, ligatures, symbols, pi, accents, etc.).

Figure that a typographic designer has to make sure that every conceivable combination of letters works well, from both a readability standpoint and attractiveness in various sizes; as well as appropriately formed characters for the various media in which it will be applied. The person doing this needs to be experienced in this and will probably be using a steep-learning curve application like FontLab. None of this comes either cheaply or quickly.

Neil

[Neil_Keller]

Fredo,
>am on the hunt for an excellent typographer to make a name logo for me, as well as a font based on a hand-drawn font found on a German poster.

You want a typographic designer -- not a typographer. That said, do you have a budget? Do you have any idea how much creating an appropriate custom logo and crafting a well-designed and implemented font costs? Or how much time this will take -- particularly for the latter? We're talking many thousands of dollars (again, largely for the latter) and many months (sometimes years) of typographic design to do this "right".

You can spend a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars with a fairly competent graphic designer and get "something" as a logotype that reflects who you are; a mark that addresses all the uses that you are likely to need it for -- it depends upon the designer's ability, experience, and how extensive an identity program you need. (Understand that a well-designed and applied logotype is never created in a vacuum.)
>So it's hopefully a fun and creative challenge.

This isn't a junior-level project as you are intimating. To do it as you expect, it'll cost you $$$ -- it's not a high school poster contest.
>Time is a bit of the essence

It won't happen that way. Otherwise, you are simply throwing out your money for shlock work.

For your font, you first have to be aware of any copyright issues that may exist. Next, you need to determine how the font would be used, in what sizes and media, etc.; how extensive the font needs to be (bold, italic, condensed, expanded, swashes, alternates, ligatures, symbols, pi, accents, etc.).

Figure that a typographic designer has to make sure that every conceivable combination of letters works well, from both a readability standpoint and attractiveness in various sizes; as well as appropriately formed characters for the various media in which it will be applied. The person doing this needs to be experienced in this and will probably be using a steep-learning curve application like FontLab. None of this comes either cheaply or quickly.

I hope this helps.

Neil

[_Fredo_Viola_]

I do in fact have a budget, and have a relatively large independent label behind this release. They are called "Because" and have The Klaxxons, Justice, Charlotte Gainsbourg and many other interesting artists on their roster. Of course the music business being in the shape it's in I do hope to keep the budget tight, but am open to any quote.

And yes, I am aware of all of your specifications. It is exactly that kind of designer I am looking for. The font is not necessary right away, and depending on the quote, the font may not even be in the picture. What is most pressing is to have a proper image made of my name.

Thanks, anyone interested or know of somebody really good who might be interested?

[_Fredo_Viola_]

and when did I intimate that it was a "junior level project"?

[D__McCahill]

Fredo

You might also try http://www.typophile.com, which has a large mix of professional designers, including some world class ones. I agree with Neil that "Time is a bit of the essence" is a bit of a red flag for most designers, and is probably why Neil thought you were looking for a cheapo job.

Logo creation, done properly, is a much bigger and more complex job than most people realize.

If you have real money to spend, you will find some good people at typophile.

[_Fredo_Viola_]

Thanks so much, Don.

I have to say, I'm a bit puzzled at having to defend or explain myself when I just wrote looking to pay somebody to do a creative job. And by the way, I described the job as fun because I am an artist myself and am really drawn to jobs that are more creative and fun and assumed it would attract like minded people. And "time is a bit of the essence" meaning I need to start the job as soon as possible, as I am aware of how long these jobs take.

[Neil_Keller]

Fredo,
>and when did I intimate that it was a "junior level project"?

Please understand that when you include terms like "So it's hopefully a fun and creative challenge," it's a phrase that is typically used where the project is being offered either by someone who's working on the cheap, or the project is being targeted to students. I've seen it many times over the years. No need to defend yourself. I just want to be sure of what you are looking for. Thanks for your clarification and apologies for any misunderstanding!

Don's suggestion to try Typophile is a very good one. You will find a good number of pros there, and if the price is right, you should be able to find someone who knows his/her stuff and who is a good fit to work with.

Please let us know how this works out or if you have other questions.

Thanks.

Neil

[_Fredo_Viola_]

thank you, Neil. I really appreciate all of the information you have generously given . I used to be an aftereffects artist and lurked the AE forum, so knew this would be the place to get great info. And I am sorry for the misunderstanding as well.

[Thomas Phinney]

Misunderstandings aside, you've gotten some good advice here. The "build" forum on Typophile has plenty of folks who actually know a lot about typeface design and production. It also has some who aren't so expert, so it's good to ask to see samples of their work, and find out who their previous clients are or get a better-known expert to comment off-line on the quality of the work in question.

Regards,

T

Thomas Phinney
Product Manager
Fonts & Global Typography
Adobe Systems

[_Fredo_Viola_]

Thanks, Thomas. I signed up and posted a blog there last night, and then this morning, after reading your post, created a thread in that section of the forum. Thanks again.

[Neil_Keller]

Fredo,

Please let us know how your search goes.

Neil