Project · 01

Diff Dez

Personal identity · Custom lettering

Diff Dez is the lettering side of Different Dezine. It's where I get to be a little less structured and let the letterforms do more of the talking.

The logo started as hand lettering before I brought it into Illustrator and rebuilt it as vector artwork. I wanted to keep the movement and imperfections that gave the original lettering its personality while cleaning the forms enough that the finished mark could actually function as a logo.

That balance is a big part of how I work. I love the character of something made by hand, but I also care about what happens after the sketch is finished. Curves have to be intentional. Shapes have to reproduce cleanly. The final artwork has to work beyond the screen.

The finished mark is polished, but underneath it is a ridiculous number of anchor points, Bézier handles, adjustments, and probably more obsessing over curves than any normal person should admit to.

The finished Diff Dez mark with its dimensional color treatment.

Diff Dez letterforms shown as separate overlapping vector shapes before being combined — **Building the letterforms.** Individual vector shapes before they were combined and refined into the finished artwork.

Diff Dez vector artwork with anchor points and Bézier handles visible — **Refining the curves.** Anchor points and Bézier handles behind the finished letterforms.

Animated logo reveal.