I started off by experimenting in Illustrator with a bunch of different typeface combinations, hoping that I would find the right one. However, nothing I was doing felt right; I had no connection with any of these designs, and I needed to make it feel more like my own.
I quickly gained inspiration from my signature after I stared at it long enough. For as long as I can remember, I have always connected the A and the S in my first name, and I decided to try a new design based off of that.
I started by scanning my "A S" signature, and then I brought it into Illustrator for a live trace. Now, I needed to give it more dimension and make it look less blocky and unfinished. I wasn't sure how, exactly, so I just had to play around with it some more.
Other than not having the text yet, something still didn't feel right about the design. I tried for hours to figure it out, and then I finally realized what it was. The S (which I designed to make look more like a J) felt fluid, but the A felt too sharp for the look I was going for.
Now it felt perfect. It was fluid, and nothing felt too sharp.
The type had to really bring everything together, so I did some more experimenting in Illustrator until I found just the right one.
I decided on AT Gothic Extended as being the right font because it worked well with the script-like nature of my signature without contrasting or taking too much away from it.
The signature also looked kind of like a sideways heart to me (my expression for design and photography), so I tried adding color to it to exemplify that, and I loved the result. I even felt like this would be a great way to create a brand for myself that really feels like ME.
