Monogram Letters
What really makes a monogram look great is not just the letters of your name by themselves. It is the elegant and artistic look of a monogram that is so visually appealing. Part of that visual appeal is the font that you use for the letters of your monogram. But it is a myth that you have to invest in a graphic designer or buy an expensive package of customized monogram fonts to make those letters look great.
You can find dozens and dozens of great looking fonts already ready to use in your copy of Microsoft Word. On top of that, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of cool fonts available on the internet for the taking. There is a whole subculture of people who make it their hobby and passion to create new fonts and give them away. By tapping that subculture, you are sure to find more fonts to try out for the letters of your monogram than you know what to do with.
When you do narrow down the monogram fonts you will use for the letters you want to make look great, make sure the final monogram passes one big test. Make sure they are readable. Many fonts are so ornate that you virtually cannot make out what the letters are. If the original shape of the letters is so distorted by a very creative font or overlaid with effects that you cannot make out that it is a monogram at all, you end up with a modern art logo that isn’t useful as a monogram any more.
The accessory issue is also one you should think through. If the monogram is going to occupy an entire poster of the entire space of a web page, then lots of accessorizing is ok. The types of decoration some go with include things like snakes winding up the sides of the letters, flowers or ivy growing on the letters or a backdrop of the family crest or a big wooden door. These accessories are very fun but for a monogram that is going to occupy an half inch square area on your shirt, napkins or stationary, those extra effects only obscure the beauty of the monogram. It is hard for people to make out what those extra features are and your monogram looks cluttered and foolish as a result.
The old KISS adage of "keep it simple, silly" is a good one to use when designing how the letters of your monogram will look. There is a lot of elegance and style in just the 2-3 three letters of the monogram artistically arranged in relation to each other. You can dress up the monogram with colors and backgrounds for effect. But by keeping the letters of the monogram simple and yet classy, you have a monogram you can use in lots of different ways and for a long time to come.