How bespoke typography and lettering can elevate your brand’s logo.
Branding provides an organization with a recognizable face. It enables and amplifies differentiation from the competition. As Luc Speisser, Global Chief Innovation Officer at Landor suggests, “Great brands are like friends — you encounter a huge number of them every day, but you only remember the ones you love.” In that sense, branding is the reason some businesses remain memorable.
At the heart of any brand is its logo. While logos can take form through many combinations of symbolic form, a brand’s name is how we refer to it, which makes wordmarks so powerful. A wordmark is a freestanding acronym, company name, or product name that uses only type to determine brand positioning. The best wordmarks depict names legibly and distinctively.
This thought leadership series — launched on LinkedIn, but applicable across all media — is meant to reinforce the notion that wordmarks, when steeped in strategy and handled with careful typographic attention, can provided organizations with the business advantages needed in today’s competitive landscape.
DELIVERABLES
• Thought Leadership Article
• 4 LinkedIn Carousel Posts
• 2 LinkedIn Video Posts
SERVICES
• Concepting
• Copywriting
• Content Creation
• Media Planning
• Graphic Design
• Branding
Make Your Wordmark Work article drafted in LinkedIn.
The Opportunity.
Social Media is loaded with fantastic case studies from the creator marketing economy. Designers regularly share their work on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok because they are perfect for sharing compelling visuals. But, most professionals that hire graphic designers are on LinkedIn — this is where the real opportunity exists. The goal of this campaign is to develop a content series that educates, informs, and inspires marketing professionals about the importance of typography in branding and logo design.
The Audience.
There are two target audiences for this content series: marketing executives and creative leaders. Marketing executives are the people that will most likely hire logo designers — They may work in-house for a brand, at a marketing company, or a large advertising agency. The goal of creating a dialogue with creative professionals is to establish credibility and help define industry leadership.
The Concept.
Make Your Wordmark Work is a thought leadership series that offers both insightful business rationale and sound creative advice for harnessing the power of bespoke typography for branding’s most important asset, the logo. The foundation is a shareable long-form article on LinkedIn. The main concepts are then reiterated and reinforced with other LinkedIn formats, like carousels and videos.
Supporting article images.
LinkedIn Carousels
The LinkedIn carousel posts serve to support the main concepts from the article, and provide creative insight about custom typography or hand-lettering. The first post, catered to marketing executives, offers three business benefits of custom type for logo design. The next two posts each showcase three timeless wordmarks made with custom typography or hand-lettering. Markups within each slide point out the specific features that make each solution successful. The last post offers five creative customization ideas for designers to consider.
Post Copy
Creating a custom logotype offers distinct business advantages that go well beyond aesthetics. How? For starters, a bespoke wordmark can create an emotional connection with your audience — it’s science. Here’s three other reasons to consider investing in your brand’s typography:
Ownership: When type is custom-made, there’s far less risk of infringement or confusion with existing brand marks. Take that, AI! A unique logotype can significantly simplify the legal process of trademarking.
Consistency: Custom typography provides full control over scale, weight, spacing, proportions, and counter spaces. Ever notice the negative space between letterforms? Logo designers, like us, pay extra attention to it. We work to maintain visual rhythm and balance, so that the logo looks consistent across print and digital applications.
Differentiation: The cost of a product or services is often based on perceived value. A bespoke logotype signifies an investment in brand identity, positioning the business as more premium, or having better quality products, than your competition.
Post Copy
Ever wonder what makes a logo last over decades? The best have unique typography that speaks directly to their audience, and make an emotional connection. These three wordmarks represent a masterclass in simplicity, memorability, and brand storytelling. Let’s break down why each one works so well:
IBM: The 8 horizontal bars convey speed, innovation, and digital precision — perfect for a tech giant like IBG. And, the bold slab-serif font communicates strength and reliability. It’s instantly recognizable, even without color or context. The logo has remained unchanged for over 50 years, proving its timelessness. Designer: Paul Rand. Date: 1972.
Mobil: The clean sans-serif type is modern and approachable. The red “o” adds a subtle but memorable visual hook, but it also helps with pronunciation and brand recall. It’s versatile across signage, packaging, and digital media. The logo reflects Bauhaus principles: form follows function.
Designer: Tom Geismar. Date: 1964.
IBM: Fun fact: The original logo was designed by 13 year old Mark Van Doren, as a stencil meant for skateboards. The simplicity of the sans-serif font keeps it legible and versatile across everything from shoes to stickers, while the stretched baseline of the “V” adds visual interest without sacrificing clarity.
Designer: Mark Van Doren. Date: 1970’s
Post Copy
The brand advantage of hand-lettering lies in expressive, custom-crafted typography that feels human. It can be warm and personal, or sharp and ewdgey. The most iconic examples help tell a brand story — where each stroke contributes to a visual identity that’s not just seen, but felt. Here’s 3 examples that have withstood the test of time.
Disney: Disney’s whimsical hand lettering is actually based on Walt Disney’s own signature, making the playful loops feel personal and expressive. The typography is instantly recognizable, embodying the brand’s promise of enchantment and wonder. It has been emotionally resonant across generations evoking a sense of imagination and nostalgia today.
Designer: Unknown. Date: Introduced in 1937.
Ford: The flowing, hand-lettered script, created by Childe Harold Wills, captures heritage and motion with elegant loops and confident curves. It’s instantly recognizable and has remained largely unchanged since 1907, making it a lasting symbol of American automobile ingenuity.
Designer: Childe Harold Wills. Date: 1907.
IBM: Saul Bass designed Kleenex’s friendly, hand-drawn script that feels both personal and iconic today. Its soft, flowing curves conveyed comfort and care — perfect for a brand that’s often associated with emotional moments. The lettering has a natural rhythm, with subtle imperfections that added humanity and charm. Over 50 years later, it remains a benchmark in expressive typography and brand storytelling.
Designer: Saul Bass. Date: 1961.
Post Copy
Logo need an upgrade? Customizing your logotype helps to define your brand’s voice and connect with customers. Here’s a few ways to make your wordmark work harder.
Play with Scale: Variation in scale and proportion can make a logo stand out in a world of flat logos.
Custom Serifs: Serifs can add movement, depth, and character to otherwise straightforward type.
Go Retro: If handled with care, mimicking typefaces from early Americana can look fresh today.
Extended Characters: Some of the most iconic and memorable brand marks have one unique focal point — a long crossbar, or extended ascender or descender —that separates it from the competition.
Ligatures: Sometimes all it takes to create a bespoke logo is an unexpected joining of two nearby letterforms.
Add Texture: Texture can add a hand-made element to a corporate design, just make sure that it can scale to small sizes.
LinkedIn Videos
Did you know that video generates 1.4 time more engagement than other formats? To keep up with the LinkedIn algorithm, two creative videos would be published alongside the carousel posts. The first video highlights industry-expertise by walking through historical logos that have withstood the test of time. Another video offers a “behind the scenes” look at a hand-lettered logo being drawn, tweaked, and finalized. Data taken from these two videos would be used to optimize LinkedIn engagement in the future.
"Timeless Wordmarks"
Post Copy:
Did you know that "logo" is short for "logotype?" A logotype is a brand’s name set in stylized typography. No icon. No symbol. No image. That’s right, sometimes the best approach for a brand’s most memorable design element is just good ol’ type. Still, not all wordmarks are created equal. Some rely on short-lived trends, while others are designed to last. In this short video, I walk through a few of my favorite logos, and help describe what features help to make them timeless. What do you think?
#branding #logotype #logodesigner #logodesign
"Hand-lettering Process"
Post Copy:
Sometimes a brand’s name is its most valuable asset. When no symbol or icon exists that will add to a logo’s memorability, a unique hand-lettered wordmark can be the most timeless solution. Edmond Town Hall, a historic entertainment destination in Newtown, CT, needed a logo that would speak to the amazing theatrical performances that graced its stage. This short process video shows how we drew custom letters that were inspired by musical notes — moving forward and upwards, just like Edmond Town Hall’s brand.
#lettering #logotype #wordmark #handlettering
Platform Consideration.
Social media favors those that engage regularly. LinkedIn behaves a bit differently, though. According to Hootsuite, the LinkedIn algorithm is “specifically designed to prevent content from going viral.” In an effort to provide quality content, LinkedIn will detect and classify spammy behavior like poor grammar or excessive use of tags. LinkedIn’s goal is to provide users with relevant professional advice and expertise.
Interesting fact: In 2025, it’s more likely that LinkedIn will show users older posts if they’re relevant to professional interests. In other words, the focus of content creation should be on quality, not quantity. Read more about this on my latest blog post.
Pace of Posting.
The plan for Make Your Wordmark Work is to publish the long-form article the week after Labor Day, when people are done with Summer Vacation. This is a psychological shift in season, and many marketing executives are ready to refocus their professional priorities. The carousel and video posts will then be published on the following Mondays and Wednesdays, altering both content format and primary audience. The time of day will be dependent on current best practices.
Project Plan
The software decision and plan of action for this project was a result of experience, personal preference, and a bit of research. Trello allowed for a comprehensive, but flexible, project management plan. Completed in seven weeks, it was bit of a sprint, and the iterative process combined elements from the Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, and Sprint methodologies. Each week had a specific phase:
Week 1: Brainstorming Phase
Week 2: Planning Phase
Week 3: Drafting Phase
Week 4: Storyboard Phase
Week 5: Design Phase
Week 6: Revise Phase
Week 7: Delivery Phase
Read more about the plan in the article, "A Whole New Process."
Sketches
Sketching was an important part of ideation and iteration. The carousel storyboards, videos, and branding elements were all roughly drawn-out at first. We kept the good ones, and trashed the rest.
Creative Artifacts
From concept to completion, every phase of the Make Your Wordmark Work project was carefully catalogued. Making an effort to track, document, and organize each step of the way helps to capture the journey. For an in-depth look at our creative process, please take a look at the documents below. A complete annotated bibliography can also be downloaded here.
Last, if you have a branding or logo project in mind, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love the opportunity to get to work on your next wordmark!
Project Proposal
The detailed and comprehensive project plan for the Thought Leadership series on LinkedIn.
Article Outline
The outline for Make Your Wordmark Work includes intitial thoughts and areas to research.
Storyboards
Each of the four LinkedIn carousel posts were originally sketched out on paper.
Video Script
"Timeless Wordmarks" needed a voiceover, which was edited and refined over several takes.
Contact
Phone: 203-304-1846
Email: johnrudolph@gmail.com
Instagram: @map.agency
© Topographic 2025