Simple Methods for Custom Lettering with Brandon Rike

Brandon Rike

Stylize your typography with Adobe Illustrator

Day 1
  • 21 video lessons
  • 4 hours and 38 minutes of class content
  • Streaming access on desktop and mobile browsers
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee

You might be surprised to learn that you don’t need to know how to hand letter and draw to create rad custom typography. In fact, Brandon Rike – whose star-studded client list includes everyone from Pharrell to Madonna – creates his unique lettering almost exclusively in Illustrator. He’ll show you how its done in Simple Methods for Custom Lettering. 

Working with type is a huge part of graphic design and custom letterforms can be applied to just about every project you’ll work on. In this class, you’ll take an in-depth look at type and learn Brandon’s methods for customizing it to fit the project. 

You’ll learn about:

  • Matching the typeface to the mood of your project
  • Working with color, shape, and form
  • Customizing letterforms based on existing fonts
  • Improving your workflow

You’ll learn three methods for creating custom typography and how to differentiate between high and low-quality letterforms. Brandon will also teach his super efficient workflow, so your projects aren’t bogged down during the lettering process.

Both beginners and professionals will learn new ways of working in Adobe Illustrator to produce rockstar-quality custom type.

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Course Instructor

Brandon Rike

Brandon Rike

Brandon Rike is a freelance graphic artist making a living in the music industry. His midwestern hard work attitude comes through in his design aesthetic, placing importance on bold statement pieces that effectively communicate the intended message.

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Simple Methods for Custom Lettering with Brandon Rike is rated 4.7 stars by 14 students

  • Md. Monayem H. Feb 16, 2025

    This course is a great introduction to hand-drawn typography. The lessons are clear, beginner-friendly, and encourage creativity. Practical exercises help improve technique, and the tips on spacing and composition are very useful. Perfect for anyone looking to learn custom lettering!

  • darby michael G. Jul 5, 2020

    i used to do programs and newsletters for a NFP agency and i spent many hours into the night working on Aldus programs/ ha.. So i went back to school and said oh i can skip design 101 -- look at all this stuff i did. lo and behold and so glad the art dept chair said .. ummm maybe start with the 101 anyway. sure glad i did.

  • Doreen B. Dec 27, 2018

    Great course, inspiring, love Brandon's teaching style.

  • Cory K. Feb 28, 2018

    Totally worth my time! I wasn't expecting Brandon to give such an impactful launch into this course. Brandon really gives you an insight into his life and his real experience as a designer, helping you not with just designing cool things but helping you set your mindset and expectations, pursuing this as a lifestyle and craft. I found lots of little workflow tricks that I will be using immediately. The only downside I found in this course was the speed Brandon teaches some concepts. I had to use the 15s rewind button a lot while taking this course. I know it's because Brandon is used to working fast, but I would have really appreciated a more paced explanation of something. For example, he used Option key a lot during the course of the class while using a Pathfinder function. That was one little thing that never got explained. After looking it up, I found it was for creating a compound shape while cutting the shape. Aside from that, one of the best design courses I've seen yet.

  • L. Jan 26, 2018

    A great class that inspires a lot of confidence and shows off some very simple yet effective techniques to create great lettering.

  • M. Oct 9, 2016

    Really great teacher, he makes everything very clear and easy to understand. Would recommend 100%

  • James B. Nov 16, 2015

    Love how the drawing are simple and complex at the same time allowing for even quick sketches to really shine.

  • R. Jun 11, 2015

    As a graphic designer I really enjoyed this and learned a lot. Mr. Rike is passionate about what he does and it shows.

  • F. May 16, 2015

    Very interesting class ! Now I have to get some of those pens ! His view on the graphic design industry is very interesting and motivating !

  • R. Apr 2, 2015

    This was a great class to watch. Extremely informative and fun. It's great to see someone so passionate about they work.

  • Twlight808 . Apr 2, 2015

    Brandon KNOW HIS STUFF! Very valuable class to take to expand your use of font treatment and to make your workflow more fluid overall. Warning: I would not recommend this course for those who consider themselves to be at beginner level with Illustrator. The instructor works pretty quickly with the mouse and it can be tough to keep up if you are not already familiar with Illustrator basics. This course is more about expanding your perception about the flexibility of fonts and lettering and showing you whats possible and what direction to go in to achieve what you want (even if your handwriting is not awesome).This course is not about teaching you step by step how to use illustrator to manipulate them. Terrific Course!

  • U. Apr 1, 2015

    Brandon was phenomenal. Definitely going to watch his other classes.

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