Letter Design from First Sketch to Final Artwork

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LETTER. DESIGN FROM

FIRST SwETCH
TO FINAL ARTWORK
 CONTENTS

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Foreword
Pe
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Introduction
Ma’,
——
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Defining lettering and its difference The importance of

from calligraphy and type design observation
P. 10 P.16

lettting esner’

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The DNA ofletters Pens, brushes, and other tools’ An overview
P. 28 P.50 of lettering styles
P. 64
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Lave

REA che tal

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Le
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Structure, hierarchy, and From rough sketch to refined Vectorizing your lettering
flourishes drawing (and some helpful tips
P. 88 and tricks)
P.102

| 10
Acknowledgments
TA ae | anol Referoucee
owe 0 GRl? | P.166

Adding colorandtexture ~ Becominga professional

P.128 lettering designer
P. 138

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Foreword

Dear reader,

You have been tricked. You thought you bought a book working in the field. Of all the literature available on
that would teach you how to create lettering like a the subject right now, | wish | had had Martina’'s book
typographic artist. But Martina Floris more than just when | started my career—it would have saved me from
a letterer, and this is more than a book about lettering. many embarrassing mistakes.
She is a brilliant designer and consummate profes-
sional with expertise in the minutiae of making shapes Now, please excuse me while |go fix the ellipses in all of
that are the result of abroad understanding of what it my fonts.
means to be a designer. In these pages she generously
reveals an impressive range of techniques that will Matteo Bologna
advance your skills not only in lettering but in the larger Founder and principal of Mucca Design
world ofdesign.

Along with the revelation that the dots of an ellipsis are

supposed to be smaller than a period (thanks, Martina, |
didn't know that!), we also learn about the kind of paper
we should use for sketching and how to price artwork.
She explains not only how to use Bézier curves properly
and how letterspacing works, but also how to reada
brief and confidently follow the stages of a project, from
the client's call to the delivery of the final file.

Because I'm an old-timer, my design education lacked

the typographic resources that are widely available
nowadays. Thanks to the plethora of websites, books,
videos, and schools specializing in the subject, the world
of lettering is reaching unprecedented heights. As a
self-taught designer from an era when all of the above
did not exist, | learned through trial and error while
 About This Book

We are surrounded by letter shapes: we see them on explore our playground as letter designers and will
the bus, on the packaging of the sugar we put in our discover the many different ways ofcreating letter
coffee, on the storefront ofour local bakery, on our shapes. Learning about concepts of hierarchy, composi-
computer keyboard, on our toothbrush. All sorts of tion, and flourishing will help us structure and plan our
things are printed with letters that someone more or lettering. Once we have a rough sketch in hand, we will
less carefully planned and designed. find out about drawing techniques that we can use to
refine our design. Then we will move on to the digital
Since the dawn of mankind people have felt the need to environment and vectorize our letter shapes. We will
give our language an image. Nowadays, with the rise of finalize our piece by coloring it and adding texture.
new, ever-faster methods to create letterforms and
typefaces, thousands ofdigital fonts of various shapes In addition, | will share some insights about the
and kinds are within our easy reach. In this context it is commercial work of hand lettering. | will describe
not surprising that the love for custom, handcrafted the most common kinds of commissions and give
typography is having a renaissance. advice on how to reach out for clients and how to
showcase your work.
This book concentrates on the process of drawing letter
shapes by hand, i.e., the art of hand lettering. However, Finally, | will guide you step by step through the process
our goal is not to make imperfect, quirky, handmade- of a typical commission, from producing the artwork
looking type, but rather to create well-shaped, polished, to communicating well with and getting feedback from
exquisite lettering that is finally digitized. We are not your client—an essential part of the job if you want to
concerned with calligraphy or type design but rather build a sustainable career as a lettering artist.
with the kind of precise, high-quality lettering that sign
_ painters used to do. To that end, we will first sketch our Before we get started, | want to stress that this book
letters by hand and then digitize our sketches using a shows just one way of doing things: mine. It is
vector drawing software. informed by my personal experience of working as a
commercial letter designer, by all the teachers and
But first we will train our “typographic eye” by looking colleagues | was lucky enough to learn from, and last,
at lettering samples found on the streets. Then we will but not least, by my involvement in teaching at
dig into essential concepts of letter design and havea universities and private workshops.
look at the art of calligraphy to understand its influence
on the anatomy of letters. After that we will start to
 INTRODUCTION

In my workshops and classes | have worked with all Loosening my hand while developing a smooth,
sorts of people, including those with a background in organized way of producing commercial artwork
creative professions, such as architects, designers, and consistently was the hardest thing | had to learn.
illustrators, as well as those with no previous experi-
ence, including law students and housewives. What | My aim with this book is to share all | have learned
have learned from dealing with so many different kinds through trial and error. Rather than showing pretty
of students is that everyone can learn how to draw alphabets that you can copy and color, this book will
letters. All you need to do is practice. provide you with concepts, tools, and techniques that
will guide you in your own path to hand lettering. Be
As a student of type design, | learned how to create ready to find out about them and make them your own.
highly legible, basically neutral letter shapes. The After reading this book, you will see letters in a totally
biggest challenge for my own development as a hand new way!
letterer was therefore to achieve expressive, outspoken,
and colorful pieces of lettering. | had to go from the
systematic, black-and-white, concept-free methodology
of a type designer to a craft that combines letter shapes
with colors and textures in order to tell a story and to
deliver a message.

Sketchbook with notes on type

design basics from my studies in
type design in the Netherlands.

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CHAPTER 1

What Is Lettering?

The term lettering refers to a unique, personalized While lettering often imitates the spontaneous manner
typographic expression, made for a certain application of calligraphy, it is actually the product of many careful
by combining shapes and graphic elements, such as design decisions about how a particular curve or shape
color and texture, in order to convey a certain attribute, should look.
message, or idea.
Although all three disciplines deal with letter shapes,
Lettering, in short, tells a story by using drawn letter the processes and amount of time they take are
shapes. These letterforms are not fonts that can be radically different for each. A type design project often
bought and simply used over and over again. Rather, takes months, even years. The work of a hand letterer is
they are custom-created for one particular piece and usually dependent ona client and must meet (often
purpose. In this sense, they can be compared to an tight) deadlines. Lettering commissions normally take a
illustration—an illustration consisting of letters. few weeks. Calligraphy projects last only a short
time—as long as it takes the hand to execute a particu-
Lettering is often confused with type design. A type lar text—although the process may be repeated.
designer, however, focuses on creating an entire
alphabet in which individual letters work together in
every possible combination to form words and sen-
tences. Typefaces are concept-free and acquire a certain
tone or communicate a certain message depending on
how a designer or typographer uses them and com-
bines them with images and colors within a layout. A
typeface’s connotation is thus defined by its use.

Lettering is also not the same as calligraphy, the “art of

beautiful writing.” While a hand letterer draws letters
from scratch, a calligrapher executes letterforms
according to a model or freehand. The value ofthis art
arises from the imperfection and spontaneity that are
the result of the hand maneuvering a writing tool ina
certain space and time. Each piece of calligraphic
writing is unique.
 VISUAL STORYTELLING

Sa
at

A type designer creates a full alphabet, which is then saved as a font.

It is a modular system, with each module consisting of a letter that
works together harmoniously with the other letters in the system in
every conceivable combination. A typeface is concept-free and can
be used over and over again in a variety of projects of different kinds.
It acquires meaning and connotation only through its use with other
design elements within a layout.

es i A calligrapher masters the art of writing. By using different tools

the artist embraces variety and spontaneity. Since calligraphy
is the result of a hand moving in a given time and space, the result-
ing artwork is unreproducible and unique. Calligraphy does not
involve typefaces; rather, it is based on certain individualized
writing styles.

— Thin AA what Ahir brok

wall about
A hand letterer designs a word | or series
of wor ds for a specific appli-
cation with the goal of conveying a certain
message or attribute. The
letterforms’ use is |imited to the appl
ication they were designed for,
and every letter is drawn from scratch,
 GE
AVP TuEsRual

Applications of Lettering

Book COVERS
Lettering can be applied on any object that can be
printed, carved, or embossed with letter shapes. You
will find some typical applications listed here. Often
lettering is used as a signal of individuality, craftsman-
ship, tradition, or high quality.

OBJECTS
For example, lettering is widely used in branding as a
way to create a distinct identity that differentiates a
brand from all others while communicating certain
attributes and values associated with it. In these cases,
the design is influenced by many factors: the mark
must be legible and easily recognizable, work at
different sizes, have a color and black-and-white
version, and fulfill other constraints.

Lettering is also often used for editorial purposes, for

example accompanying articles or on magazine and
book covers. It may also act as a decorative element,
applied on apparel and merchandise or interior design
elements. Since in most of these cases there are no
restrictions other than format and number of colors,
NUMERALS the final artwork may be more expressive, colorful,
and freestyle.
4
2

AQT PRINTS
 VISUAL STORYTELLING 15

MAGAZINE CovERS
PACKAGING
AND LABELS

oo

APPAREL LOGOS AND LOGOTYPES

HEADERS

Ka 1. Invitation to the wedding of Eni and Luca

2. Art print for self-promotion
3. Print on a woodblock for the “Good Type” workshop series
4. Decorative figures for Variety magazine. AD: Chris Mihal

ereA DEN
5. Poster for Sandown Park. AD: Scott McNamee
6. Book cover for Walker Books UK. AD: Maria Soler Canton
7. Magazine cover for11 Freunde magazine. AD: Sabine Kornbrust
EPREMERA 8. Label for Bluelime. AD: Josefina Alvarez
9. Design for Beyond Tellerrand Conference

Gop)
c 10. Logo for Matt Murphy Illustration
11. Initial for LetteringvsCalligraphy.com

C 12. Opener page for AD magazine Spain. AD: Patricia Ruigomez

13. Header for Der Spiegel. AD: Jens Kuppi

UE
ALE al f. " 14, Stencil card for self-promotion

Uline Corl
15. Advertising campaign for FontShop. AD: Claudia Guminsky
16. Notecard for Harrods. AD: Pippa Kate Bridle
17. Postcard for Handsome Frank. AD: Tom Robinson
18. Tote bag for KFc. AD: Charlotte Khushi
19. Mug forself-promotiom
76

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CHAPTER 2

Training Your Typographic Eye

The power ofobservation is a tool that enables us to

analyze shapes and evaluate designs by others—which
is incredibly helpful for our own design process.

The ability to recognize features in letter shapes can be

improved through practice. The more you study
examples of lettering, the better you will be able to
judge a certain typographic piece. With time your
typographic eye will become more accurate and you
will be able to recognize even minimal variations
between letters.

How can you hone your observation skills? A first step is The easiest way to train your eye is by studying the
to start looking at lettering with a critical attitude. This lettering you find around you. First, identify the
involves trying to discover the logic behind it. You can design's overall shape. For example, you can ask
analyze a typographic piece from its overall picture to yourself
why a certain street sign was designed ina
its particularities—in other words, from the obvious particular way and what connotations and qualities the
(the big picture) to the not so obvious (the details). The sign is trying to convey. Are these letters “friendly” or
details can help you understand the larger whole, much “serious”? Are they modern or traditional? Is the sign
the same way that you can comprehend how a certain expressing softness or rigidity? How are its letters
machine works by looking at the individual pieces of its shaped in order to give that expression? It is helpful
mechanism. to think about whom the sign targets and which set
of letterforms and elements it uses to talk to its
intended audience.
 THEM Yao G RA PAG EYAE 19

1. Paris. Storefront. Photo

by Jean Francois Porchez
2.—4. Barcelona. Photos by
America Sanchez,
from Barcelona Grafica,
Editorial Gustavo Gili
5. Car chrome lettering.
6. Rivera Lodge.
Pinedale, WY. Photo by
Observing means looking, analyzing, and putting our Stephen Coles

impressions into words. It is also about discovering the

relationship between the parts of awhole and under-
standing why they look the way they do. Once you have
studied the overall shape, you can move on to the
individual elements and their particularities.

A practical approach to this is finding basic shapes and

grouping them. In our alphabet we can find letters that
are predominantly rounded, such as the e and the a. On
the other hand, there are letters that are mainly
defined by their vertical strokes, such as the n, t, andi.
You can thus group and compare letters and study the
relationship between their shapes. Similarly, you can
take a look at the stroke widths and endings: Are they
thick or thin? Are the endings sharp or rounded? Are
they applied consistently across the whole word?

On the following pages, we will look at samples of

lettering found on the streets and study and analyze
their parts.

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20 CHAPTER 2

AVN.
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Stuaclrur ENDINGS

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capilad Litters

Buenos Aires

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middle wtkote ofAe A | SERIFS
 THE TYPOGRAPHIC EYE 21

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Study
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Ther Aare Mar Aang wuditan

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RouNDED SHAPE? 69 UL
4 THINNER, Thin
44 calli a
“LIGATURE”

Rome. Photo by Alessia Mazzarella

fp amd n hare Ue ravee

Curve ptrape

The spa a unkidi the Cllr

AA Mmikor Ao Abe pace
betweenthe Cr’
22 CHAPTER 2

Lroks
Hr Aame arthn@
whfare but with, a longer tack

a
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I ra =
Rn
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 THE TYPOGRAPHIC EYE 23

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2.4, CHAPTER 2

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Barcelona

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 EM Y POG
RAP Hi EG EYE 25

The with ofUx Hooke

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‘SAUSAGE LETTERING ”

The Lilturr wre pone ;

port QA AM Aandurding
26 CHAPTER 2

er.
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STARTING STROKE cages repeat

These shages
The stokee ending dwt tha pause! urtigtt
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 phe RO EER ETS EYE 27

ASHI
HNMOR eppaats

1. Barcelona.
Photo by @laurameseguer
2. Amsterdam.
Photo by @retypefoundry
3. Zilina, Slovakia.
Photo by @typeatlas

4. Prague.
Photo by @typeatlas
5. Paris.

Photo by @typofonderie
6. Bakersfield, CA.
Photo by @stewf

7. London.
Photo by @martinaflor
8. Berlin.
Photo by @martinaflor
9. Car chrome lettering.

moperesaay ee 3 aes by @stewf

=>} DBLILIOUS SEASONAL Rinks! is l
a5 age 10. Berlin.

rte SO rt > Photo by @martinaflor

200k our lowerbar+dining aren
yor Rone FING Oe i Po 1 F _ 11. Paris.
WaT At WDE
ps fee z z comme |) | : Photo by @typofonderie

Aru om Pudlagrans ?
ee Harlidlina echt bring
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LowERCase LETIERS |
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Gi AlPER:

Basic Terminology
ASCENDER HEIGHT

CAP HEIGHT

When working with letters, we need to speak a

ne ee ern Ea ree

common language by using a specific terminology. We %- HEIGHT

don’t talk about the “feet ofthe letters,” for example,
but about “serifs,” and we don’t talk about a “round
thing hanging from the a” but a “drop terminal.” The
following pages introduce you to some of the most
eee
eee ee

important terms.

DESCENDER HEIGHT

APEX

CROSS STROKE

ar be
 THE BASICS 31

ASCENDER,
Le STEM CouNTER
SHOULDER,

| | | ! | | \

TERMINAL
\ Co

CONTRAST
—_—— Tr om

| \ ) | | ] } | | | {
CAPITAL LETTERS REACH
THE CAP LINE

LOWERCASE LETIERS ARE MAINLY

CONTAINED BETWEEN THE
BASELINE AND THE X-HEIGHT
7 ee
PERIOD SOME HAVE ASCENDERS
AND DEcCeNDERS

iL
Bi, GHAPTER 3

LETTERSPACING OR, TRACKING

Here are some additional terms that come up often

~~
when working with lettering. This is a small selection of
some of the most commonly used terms; there are, of

Woy
WS.
course, lots more!
=

WORD SPACING
The cintamce betreen
Tawr rool wn He oo LINE SPACING
The cleatance between
Toure Fanekined im Thee

VERY WIDE VERY NARRow

| eee anes Lia Litlors

VERY THICK VERY THIN,

WEIGHT Hour Xhick Abe Letlinr are

 THE BASICS 33

FLOURISH

SWASH LOWERCACE
CHARACTERS

SHADED o2 2D SHADOW STENCIL OUTLINE INLINE EMBosgED

APEX
2
way< as= E iu x< =

DRoP TERMINAL
 CHAPTER 3

that are pored

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Et meaur "and”
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ACUTE
DIACRITICAL MARKS ACCENT ee RING
Symbols hat are FPF Sx e@6@ & 8) fey CEDILLA
addsol Lr-Lellond

CIRCUMFLEX GRAVE TILDE

ACCENT BAR

and aur...
 THE BASICS 35

LATIN AND NON -LATIN WRITING SYSTEMS

\TALIC?

=
olin arvipt ahr known ar Roman acugt,
eee, writin #e
liom tn He worked However

VIV
Ax w thn wii Mut, ancl

un back .
(HANDWRITING)

The eomtent rf Hs took, drake yeelurn

wih akin a ist. Nowthle, m
36 CHAPTER 3

Basic Shapes: Capitals

ee

MOTHER.

Feelin olin

RECTANGULAR ROVNDED
SHAPEC SHAPES SHAPES OTHER RECTAN@ULAR SHAPES
ee
ee ene cen
Fee

ee
SIBLING 2s
SHAPEC ean Own
¥
ene
ee
ieee eee k \) DENA

As we have seen in the previous chapter’s typographic There are, however, certain letters that share character-
safari, there are certain basic forms that can be istics of two of these groups, and to design them, we
discovered in letters. Identifying these “mother shapes” have to take DNA from both shapes. Once we have
allows us to group letters that are “siblings” and design decided what the letters O and H should look like, we
them based on the same criteria and shared features. know how a rounded stroke and a straight stroke look.
We are looking for the DNA of letterforms. Therefore, we can easily draw letters such as D, G, P
and B.
There are three basic shapes on which our alphabet is
based: the square, the circle, and the triangle. We can Once we know what an A looks like, we know how a
quickly and intuitively organize certain letters by these diagonal stroke should look, so we can go on to draw
shapes: the H and | are based on the square, the O and C the K, X, V, and W.
on the circle, and the A and V on the triangle, for instance.
Shapes cannot be simply combined as if they were Lego
pieces, however. Each letter requires adjustment, and
no curve or stroke will look exactly the same.
 THE BASICS 37

SMA

When we design letters, we are shaping the image of means that we need to take into account not only
our language; therefore, we should always design the letter shapes themselves but also the white
entire words and sentences. Designing letters is not space that surrounds them, i.e. the space within and
about shaping individual characters that are then between the letters.
combined with other characters to form a word.
Isolating a single letter will make it look strange when
put back into context. Letters need to be shaped in
relationship to each other, both inside and out. This
38 CHAPTER 3

Basic Shapes: Lowercase

When it comes to lowercase letters, we follow the same Again, we will identify “mother shapes” and take DNA
logic as with the capitals, with one difference: we are from them to draw “sibling shapes.”
working with ascenders and descenders this time.

UR

KUM
sa

TIP:
ihiten
borer
weve

EO ree
cant Lettinrs .
tant
a At;
aes

nei
has
eatin
Became

Thicker AD kis ma ke Mp
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oeeeentiiiecnsattilinnst <
 THE BASICS 39

TUM

ANI
AMM
40 CHAPTER 3

Optical Adjustment

Reading about basic shapes and their geometry may The reason for this discrepancy is that a square has a
make you think of math, but letter design has very little more direct relationship with the baseline and cap line
to do with that. Our work is not about numerical values than the other shapes because it touches them with an
so much as our own optical perception. This means that entire border, whereas only a small part of acircle ora
mathematical precision is not as relevant as optical triangle touches these lines.
adjustment: it must look good. Let’s see how this works.
To make the forms appear the same height, they
Take the three geometric shapes we have been examining, require optical adjustments. The circle must be drawna
make them the same size, and place them on the same bit bigger and go slightly over the baseline and cap
baseline. The shapes are geometrically the same width height. Similarly, the triangle must extend past the cap
and height, but to our eyes the circle looks smaller than height in order to look as high as the other shapes.
the square, and the triangle appears even smaller.
If we translate this into letter shapes, our O and A will
go beyond the guidelines, and this principle will extend
to all the letters that share the same basic shape.

UO)
Ma As Xs.
How much overshoot should you have? Simply as much
as you need to make it look good, and this will vary
according to the letter shapes you are working with.
There is no formula; instead, you will rely on your most
valuable tool: your eyes. This is the point where you can
drop your ruler, because you won't need it at all!
 THE BASICS 41

Sete ee ce

~~ <r ne eee
eee eee

mee ee _
42 CHAPTER 3

The criteria for optical adjustment also apply to other The dot, being a rounded shape, will need to have an
design elements, such as the dot of the ior an overshoot in relation to the stem to appear to have the
exclamation point. same width.

Similarly, a curve needs to have slightly more weight

than a vertical stem in order to look optically balanced.

X LY The rrundeeat
Ak thicken yee
 THE BASICS 43

So although we are using geometric elements to draw

our letter shapes, this is not a straightforward exercise. rae Ht the
All of the elements require optical adjustments a
according to their position and use. Ni
th Minnen sca as

Even when we are trying to make a shape look geomet-

rically exact, we need to make optical adjustments to it.
There is always a slight difference in stroke width.

To make tb lrvke
errucadf, ;
PN ORLLED
44 CHAPTER 3

Spacing

The horizontal room between letters is called spacing. If we could fill the space within a letter with water, we
should be able to fit the same amount of water
between that letter and the following one.

ANDHERE yeRe Ad WELL

In letter design, spacing is as important as the letters

themselves, because it allow us to identify where a
letter starts and another begins, and it changes the
perception ofthe letter or entire word itself. A word
that is too loosely or too tightly spaced results ina
change in its gray value and becomes less legible. This rule makes it easy to find the optimal spacing for
any kind of letter shape you create. If your letters are
GRAY VALVE:

irk light
Hhe overall wide, their inner space will be big and you will there-

color ofa word fore need lots of space between letters. On the other
hand, if your letters are narrow, the amount of water
that fits inside will be less and you will require less
As a golden rule we can use the following formula to space between the letters.
~ obtain optimal spacing:

S§ Fes. Wee hetrernthelito

the lttin ure space “within theGitlin’
 THE BASICS 45

The distance between two words is called word space.

It too depends on the letter shapes and the space
within them.

WN
lem Aja elbetween te Lettre

|SRR

Other variables can influence this formula. For Bore

SLRS
instance, if the lettering is displayed in a large size, it
might need tighter spacing than if it is displayed ina Line space is the distance between lines oftext. Take
small size. Your eyes will decide how much space you note of ascenders and descenders here!
need to make the letters look right.

Spacing creates rhythm and keeps the words together >

it is an essential part of the letterform. Thus, it is not

something we decide afterward: rather, it is a funda-
mental part of the design process and needs to be
designed in tandem with the letter shape.

BREN
AOA

ESESES
ba eat wittuim a Lettin ond
aul ‘where dots Me Ch
46 CHAPTER 3

Weight and Contrast

The weight of a letter describes the value of its strokes. When making a letter thicker, we can add weight
It also has a direct relationship with its spacing, because consistently to all its strokes or we can apply weight
the stroke width affects the amount of“water” (or white inconsistently, which will lead to a change in contrast.
space) that fits within a letter and therefore also the Contrast is the difference between the thinnest and
space between that letter and the next. thickest parts of a letter. If there is little difference, the

THICK

ee THIN Stoke High CONTRAST

|v

dd mru rdstauen
Ae he Min Aro leer
The Amcaller the difference dA
betwen Unck aud Mur roles,
The Corer Ae emhartis

>

The Mun Mrokes were nn Oa

att tor, urkernas Me Chick
LOW CONTRAST
Re tracks Ar rade
Cun :
 THE BASICS 47

Low CoNTRACT HIGH CONTRACT INVERTED CONTRAST

letter’s contrast is low. If there is a lot of difference, the

:
contrast is high. How much contrast should your letters The Airizeital roles art Mick
have? There is no formula for that either!

Low CONTRAST AL¢o LON CoNTRALT

There sr altura ee
Ate Kind of

eon Prank |
HIGH CONTRAST ALSO HIGH CONTRAST
Po.
48 CHAPTER 3

Numerals
SOMETIMES REACHING
CAP HEIGHT, SOMETIMES —-——— >
ASceN DER HEIGHT

BASELINE
ee
wow)
Seas
SONS
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SOMETIMES
LIKE THIS
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ene ene A —— mone ti ma pata ale

OLD-STYLE FIGURES

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LINING FIiGuRES

EN
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 THE BASICS 49

Pumclualim martes
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51
yy CHAPTER 4

Calligraphy: The “Mother of All Letter Forms”

We live in an era when text reproduction is very which you use them. Pointed nibs, on the other hand,
inexpensive or even free. Books are therefore a com- expand when you apply pressure, resulting in thicker
modity accessible to all of us. This was unimaginable in strokes with increasing pressure. Angle and pressure
medieval times, when books and manuscripts were are thus the two main characteristics that define the
copied by hand by scribes. Because of the amount of difference in the tools’ performance.
time and effort every copy required, they were scarce
and expensive, with only a few lucky (and wealthy) Although describing each ofthe calligraphic tools and
people having access to them. styles in detail goes beyond the scope ofthis book, we
will look at some of the principles that rule each group.
The tool of choice for text reproduction at that time As you already know, calligraphy is not the same as
was calligraphy. Its influence is still apparent in the lettering; however, understanding the “art of beautiful
structure and shape ofour letters today. Therefore, handwriting’ will help you improve your lettering work.
studying calligraphy and the calligraphic tools is A smart lettering artist always has a set ofcalligraphic
helpful for every lettering designer. It will help you tools at hand.
understand the shapes ofour alphabet and find
solutions for your own designs.

There are two main groups of calligraphic tools:

broad-nib and pointed-nib tools. They differ in shape
but also in flexibility. Broad nibs are flat and rigid, and
the stroke width changes depending on the angle at
Barrie calls arafobicc toot, and malniak:
| Fine paper Don't
D wre JuUgulan males
hut Ay (paper raitabde fo or lee Wk

PoINTED NBs BRoad Nieg

ny oaitp
(flex) (rig)
CHAPTER 4

Broad-nib Calligraphy Daa Nhs bis

ies

avurremtMnd ar QA Ue ough
aA which Ahe Artis tlh

In broad-nib calligraphy the tool is moved downward

and sideways in order to draw the letter shapes. It is
held at a constant angle, so that the nib always points
in the same direction. The unchanging angle is what
makes the thick and thin strokes consistent. The most The proportion ofthe letters depends on the width of
common angles are thirty and forty-five degrees. The the pen nib in relation to the x-height and varies
hand moves from top to bottom and left to right while depending on style or script. To determine the width of
constant pressure is applied to the nib. the nib, hold the pen nib at a ninety-degree angle to
the baseline, then pull it a short distance to the right to
create a “block.” This unit is used to define proportions
in calligraphy. For example, in a certain style, the height
of a capital letter might always equal six blocks, i.e., six
nib widths.
ASCENDER LINE

REIT
Go? Ap°
4 ere.
BASELINE BASEUNE
——
DESCENDER
eee
LINE
oe me
BLOck,
 TOOLS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS 55

Torta4

{
l ettcra BROAD NiB

Hepypines
PARALLEL. PEN

FLAT BRUSH

AVTOMATIC PEN

Broad-nib calligraphy
by Giuseppe Salerno SVEDE PENS

You can use broad-nib calligraphy in many different

ways. You can draw letter shapes that are rather con-
trolled or geometric, or you can work with it freestyle,
outlining more expressive strokes. The key is to stick
to the rules of the tool throughout the whole process:
keep the nib at a constant angle and pull it in the
direction of writing.
56 CHAPTER 4

Here is a basic exemplar for broad-nib calligraphy. Try

aa ornilant angle

ed
following the order of the strokes and stick to the fixed
angulation of broad-nib calligraphy. Take the pen and
place it on the paper at a thirty-degree angle. Now move
your whole arm and start writing.

a A ab ace a Ce
eee a geh ee 1 Ysik lz

Limm n n o o - p e
q rest. Weve
W\WIXKYYZ2Z Gerey,
an

oe ike

12345678900 arora
 TOOLS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Broad-nib calligraphy

A BC D>
EP FrPGGH#H
I. ih_ Miki

R- ST
58 CHAPTER 4

Pointed-nib Calligraphy

Pointed-nib tools work by pressure. When the hand

holding the tool applies more pressure, the tip expands
and more ink flows, creating a thick stroke. When the
pressure is released, the nib contracts, resulting ina As a general rule, when we write with a pointed-nib
thinner stroke. tool, we apply pressure on the downstrokes (when
we pull the tool downward) and release the pressure
in the upstrokes (when we push the pen upward).
The varying pressure is what determines the contrast
of the letter shapes (the difference between the
thinnest and thickest part of the letter). The amount
of contrast is defined by the amount of pressure
and by the relationship between the size of the letter
and the nib.
 TOOLS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS 59

rafelanaen Un
het SAVY.
POINTED NB

Elmo van Slingerland

BRUSH PEN

OBLIQUE NIB

RULING PEN

Giuseppe Salerno

As with broad-nib calligraphy, we can use pointed-nib

calligraphy for a variety of styles. There are moderate
scripts as well as more expressive ones, but all are
based on the same rule of achieving varying stroke
width through varying pressure.
 CHAPTER 4
a

Here is a basic exemplar for pointed-nib calligraphy. al

Try following the order and direction of the strokes
while sticking to the rule of applying varying pressure. |
Take the pen and place it on the paper. Apply pressure 0 ‘
oie tool when pulling down; release pressure when with , is
going up. expands Gu oe:

AA Td

eee lr S e b i s C s
Imm noe pp
GITs- t e U L V >

5 6 8 9 0
1234
 TOOLS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Pointed-nib calligraphyby

ABE BCCDD
EE FE GG HEH
| ] JKKLLMM
NNOOPPQG
RR SS TEUU
Vay Wi xXbd
VV 7,2, weet Bo
 CHAPTER 4

Other Tools

There are many calligraphic tools, not all of which can

be discussed here. But | want to encourage you to
experiment with new writing tools. It will help improve
your handwriting and train your typographic eye.
When trying a new tool, you may take the following
steps, shown here using one of my favorite tools as an
example: the brush pen (a brush with a rechargeable
cartridge).

The first thing to do when you are working with an

unknown tool is to take a close look at it and study its
features, so you can identify to which calligraphic
group it belongs. Start by drawing some upstrokes,
downstrokes, and circles to find out which principles
the tool follows.

PUSH THE WHOLE Beulk

ONTo THE PAPER,
FoR DOWNSTROKEC

pate es = SalehTorapera
fe
USE ONLY 2 | = Th trun pen

pg pee
 TOOLS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS 63

Then look for a suitable exemplar and practice every After a lot of practice you will become familiar enough
individual letter. with the script to be able to use it in a more or less
freestyle manner. Remember that there are different

abcdet styles for each tool, so do some research and find the
ones you are interested in. The only key to getting
better is:

GMOP RE
MHOPY
ee O (sac
U V W Mastering the basics of calligraphy is the foundation for

1y fast
drawing well-shaped letter forms. But how closely
should we follow calligraphic principles when drawing
Giuseppe Salerno letter shapes? This is something
you will find out by
doing. A golden rule is that it “should work.” But how do
Once you have achieved good shapes, write whole you know if it works? With experience!
words at different speeds.
| encourage you to further your knowledge of calligra-
a v phy: take a course or workshop; read books about it;
experiment with the tools on your own. You do not
need to become a calligraphy master to do hand
lettering, but having some calligraphic skills will
certainly be a valuable starting point.

SPo— Giuseppe Salerno

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66 CHAPTER 5

Exploring the Design Universe

Our playground as lettering designers consists of every if

possible way of drawing a letter. It is, therefore, endless.
We call it our design universe, andthisiswherewe 4 ~~—--——-——~~
are at home.

The design universe is defined by parameters that a

operate between two poles. This means that when we
work on, for instance, the weight of a certain letter
shape, our room of exploration is found in between the /
thickest letter imaginable and its opposite, the thinnest
letter we can imagine. But what is the thickest letter in
the world? And what is the thinnest? There are no rules
or limits here, for the possibilities in the lettering
universe are endless!

There are a few parameters that we will work with quite

regularly. These include contrast (the difference
between the thinnest and thickest parts of a letter) and
width (how wide or narrow a letter is). Serifs are
another element we will deal with often: How many
different shapes of serifs can we come up with? How
sharp, rounded, or straight can they be?

Of course, these are not the only elements you can play
with when drawing letters; you can experiment with as
many as you like, no matter how unusual they are.
 SOME
coerne
THE LETTERING DESIGNER’S PLAYGROUND

PERG
BARK

OK TK

“eX
*
KOK
x x
ne

™
3 ee

yr
kK

x
3K

oor
KK
KK

oe"
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 CHAPTER 5S

NUS

Lo
een
—
THE LETTERING DESIGNER’S PLAYGROUND 69
70 CHAPTER 5

Letter Shapes and Lettering Styles

from other letters in the alphabet. A good example for

this is our handwriting, which is based ona certain
model but is still unique to every person, with a varying
degree of legibility.
How do we find the shape of a letter? There are no
instruction manuals that will tell you what a serif The restrictions for the shape a letter can take are
should look like, or how wide the letter a or n should be. defined both by the characteristic features of its
If |told you, for example, that a B should be drawn ina skeleton and by the context in which it appears. The
certain way, | would reduce the lettering universe to the letter M, for instance, has to be recognized as an Min
options that my mind can imagine and my hand comparison to the letters surrounding it to not be
execute. My goal with this book is exactly the opposite, confused with other letters.
however: | want to hand you the tools and concepts that
will enable you to develop your own personal lettering
shapes and styles.

Nevertheless, in this playground, as in any other, we

play according to some rules. One thing is predeter-
mined in the lettering universe: the overall shapes of
the letters of our alphabet. Our written language is
nothing more than a convention in which we all agree
that a certain form stands for a certain vocal sound.
This form is the skeleton ofthe letter, and although we
can explore this skeleton to its extremes (even to the
edges of abstraction), certain features need to remain
recognizable so that the letter can be distinguished
 THE LETTERING DESIGNER’S PLAYGROUND 71

\\
\\ >“iy,
Ss

tt
ssttl
hy

\\\\N\
yy
IL
pTETTCLE

The moment we start speaking about styles, we reduce

our scope to those we can name and ignore the variety
of styles unknown to us or those still to be developed.
However, there are of course a number of recurrent
styles within the art of lettering. In the following pages
Legibility is a fundamental part of lettering design, and | will introduce you to some of them and encourage you
the challenge of a hand letterer is to develop unique to explore further those you are interested in.
shapes without failing the main mission ofour craft:
conveying a message. If legibility suffers, our lettering Rather than providing templates that you can copy, |
may fall into the marshy waters of abstract art. will focus on the criteria behind each style so you can
apply them in your own work.
Within the boundaries of the basic shapes that we
recognize as letters, the possibilities for drawing
letterforms are endless. Even the basic shapes can vary
for some letters (e.g., the lowercase a can take a
one-story or two-story shape). Take some time to
explore the infinite variations of the lettering universe.
Experimenting with forms and styles is fundamental
for developing your own style.
72 CHAPTER 5

Serif Lettering Serifs are thought to play a role in the legibility of

bodies oftext set at small sizes, but in lettering their
use is less functional than aesthetic. Therefore, the
variety of serifs in lettering tends to be larger and
wilder than that oftype. For our purposes we will call all
letter shapes that have a terminal to the strokes,
whatever it looks like, serif lettering.

eIIIGIGIIIIGGI®
 THE LETTERING DESIGNER'S PLAYGROUND 73

This spread shows some of the most common serif

styles as a foundation for some more uncommon,
exciting variations. This doesn’t imply that the variants
historically developed like this but is meant to encour-
age you to take these basic forms as inspiration to
develop your own ideas.

SLA® SERIES
74 CHAPTER 5

Sans Serif Lettering This group is hard to define, because no letter shape is
completely free of serifs. However, for our purposes we
will call sans serif all letter shapes that have straight,
clean-cut terminals, without additional shapes
extending the stroke width boundaries.
 THE LETTERING DESIGNER'S PLAYGROUND 75

In lettering we can play around with these boundaries—

just as a serif can be really extroverted, a sans serif can
also get quite extreme but still belong to the category

sph te
of sans serif letters.

ott otVe stoke

cndinga hareTrfe do

senileUp

cee, (ene ei A SEN SO RR SS HO

> — ee ee ett
76 CHAP TERE

Dimensional Letters and Shadows

A three-dimensional letter shape can be drawn withor — needs to be drawn. Fora letter without perspective it is
without perspective. In the first case, the farther away sufficient to repeat the same shape slightly offset and
the edge ofthe letter is supposed to be, the smaller it join the points.

VANISHING @_
POINT = fy
Pe ta

/ :a
i \

/\ [\PERSPECTIVE
Define Qa vramighing,
wh and ectind
tints
Ax it

AXONOMETRIC
PROTECTION
Dein he poss
 THE LETTERING DESIGNER'S PLAYGROUND a

ec
Viewed Arom t4ebur

Viawfons
edahare
fe ¥
|
7 1S y

Three-dimensional letters often come along with your lettering is to determine where the light source is
shadow effects. For where there is volume and lighting, |coming from and to apply it consistently on all letters. The
there will be shadows. The key to adding shadows to effect differs depending on the location of the light source.
78 CHAPTER 5

Script Lettering

aT
Script lettering (also known as cursive) is the umbrella Throughout North, Central, and South America,
term we use for all styles with letterforms that are handwriting models are based on narrower letter
joined together by a continuous movement, as in shapes with a slanted axis.
cursive handwriting. The easy flow of letters that are
connected to each other is a way of accelerating
the writing.

There are as many cursive handwriting styles as hands

in the world; however, they are all based on cursive Although no longer in use, Sitterlin script was once
handwriting models acquired at school or elsewhere. widespread in Germany. Today many ofthe Sitterlin
The variation occurs when each hand leaves its own letter shapes are illegible even to German speakers.
imprint when executing the shapes.
Wikd pi
Although nowadays handwriting styles tend to look
increasingly similar, their main features vary according
to country. In French cursive handwriting, for instance,
letters tend to be rounded and upright.

oP.
Besigm
Wied THE LETTERING DESIGNER’S PLAYGROUND ie)

Bin Pebicec!

Script lettering is ruled by similar principles as hand-

writing: slant, width, speed, and rhythm.

ood [Mom Mende Mend

The slant refers to the incline ofthe letters. We call
them upright when the axis reaches ninety degrees.
Most scripts slant in the direction of writing, but there
are also some with a back slant, with letters leaning in
the opposite direction.

The width refers to how wide the letters are in the

horizontal axis, both regarding the letters themselves
and the space between them.

Speed is a distinctive feature ofcursive lettering.

Handwriting created at low speed tends to be wider,
with a regular baseline. Handwriting performed bya
nervous hand tends to be narrower, with an irregular
baseline. Script lettering picks up these characteristics
depending on style.

ae) The rhythm is determined by all previous features and

describes the level of regularity and consistency in the
letter shapes.
 CHAPTER 5

CHARACTERISTIC
STROKE ENDINGS

Brush Lettering

Brush lettering is based on calligraphy executed with a

pointed nib or pointed brush. It is a form ofscript
lettering and follows the same principles, as can be
seen in the wide variety of shapes and the influence of
speed on letterforms. The strokes tend to be irregular,
and the stroke endings are often soft and rounded,
corresponding to the end of a brush.
 THE LETTERING DESIGNER’S PLAYGROUND

se! @ho abo abo

DIFFERENT STYLE?

a 4 Ww SCHWABACHER, TEXTURA FRAKTUR, ancl mut...

MAIN eS alice
At sent He am amauta) tines
‘\
a ws ae
_ Yarvur hittin wt
_ Crnphre and dewrdlive
capitals

CHARACTERISTIC
STROKE ENDINGS

Lettering for the

Washington Post
AD: Amanda Soto

Blackletter

Blackletter is an umbrella term for a group of cal-

ligraphic styles widely used throughout Europe
between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. It is
executed with a broad nib and is defined by its angular
and narrow ductus. The curves ofthe letter shapes are
often “broken” through abrupt changes in direction. As
a result the script has a dark, heavy look, and its basic
shapes—especially those of capital letters—often
deviate from Latin letterforms.
82 GHAR TERS S

Funky Lettering This is an unofficial term for letter shapes that look
“funny,” most often due to uneven proportions or an
uneven baseline and x-height. Depending on how
A mic shad od
extreme these features are, “funky letters” may turn
so ig sey ,
into “monster letters.”

LETTER, PROPORTION?
[NSS \W ar vey
Gad
wy

;
a [PALE

RNA
 THE LETTERING DESIGNER'S PLAYGROUND 83

You can also alter other features of letter shapes in an contrast, i.e., turn the thin parts of a letter into thick
extreme way to achieve funky lettering. As with all parts and vice versa. Increasing the size of the serifs is
lettering styles, the boundaries are vague. A common another technique. Often the result is reminiscent of
method of creating funky lettering is to reverse the circus posters or has connotations of the Wild West.
84 CHAPTER 5

Decorative Lettering

Like a wedding cake, this lettering style consists of

several layers of decorative elements that are piled on :
top of each other. Ideally, these elements are planned
Decorate tk pun9
beforehand as an essential part of thedesignandare _ “A eftin urtol 4a
not add-ons that are applied to the letter shapes 77) Aint buah Littinr
afterward. The use of color and contrast are important Ml AM hats
elements of decorative lettering.

OUTLINE DECORATION INTRICATE >-D WITH Lord

LINE WORK OF LOVE FOR, DETAIL

Decorative lettering can also become more abstract,

resembling an illustration. You can create letter shapes
out of a ribbon, for instance, or another real object.
Here the nature of the object used to construct the
letter has a great influence on its resulting shape.
THE LETTERING DESIGNER'S PLAYGROUND 85

M4
My
My
My
My en ORNAMENTS
aa

Naw SHADOW

\
\\ bs

A’
. VOLUME
\\
w
WwW
Gg (tl

Mityj
Witay {AHI

uP >
WW Wy

layers of omhellihmeant
86 CHAPTER 5

Building Your Own Lettering Library

The same way a painter studies artistic movements, a

lettering artist should be aware of the different styles in
the history of lettering. Just like artworks, letters too are
shaped by the historic context in which they appear.
Developments in technology and production tech-
niques also influence letterforms. For example, the
invention of lithography opened up a range of new
possibilities that were impossible when printing with
movable type.

Knowing and studying what others did in the past helps

us understand our position in the craft of lettering and
think about what our own contribution to it can be.
TYPE SPECIMENS

Take the time to study the various historical models, to

analyze them, and to practice them. This will help you
HOUFFAZ- 2 ae :
FEDER grasp the scope ofcreative possibilities and improve
and expand your lettering skills. Exploring a variety of
lettering styles will help you develop your own style
and solve issues when designing your own pieces.

Read books on calligraphy and study calligraphic

exemplars. Photograph or collect vintage typographic
samples on postcards, posters, or packaging. Slowly
build your own library of inspiration.

BOOK COVER,

VINTAGE
PACKAGING DESIGN
 DEES EET
a ERaNiGs DESIGN ER’S PLAYGROUND 87

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RECORD COVER,
= LAID SII ALE OIE)
4 RELICS,
1. Cinderella by George Routledge
CURIOSITIES
9, 2) etl =,

and Son. Book cover

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2. Packaging for nibs
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RUIN 3. Old type specimens
Part 2 AUTOGRAPHS, , u. 4. Rubber stamps by Sol Matas
MAGALINE COVER. 9. oe oe a 5. The Magazine ofArt. Cover
EPMEMERA 6. Argentinean savings book
7. Grofge Erfinder und Entdecker.
Book cover
8. Les Luthiers.Record cover by
Ricardo Rousselot
9. Vintage ephemera
12.
10. Dry-transfer lettering sheet
CUMENTS.
Do AA,
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A 4
by Letraset
11. "Dampflok-Romantik" (steam
engine nostalgic) button, 1985
12. Nigroids tin
13. Woodblock type

10.

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ROOK COVER, DRY-TRAN S FER.
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LETTERING SHEETS’
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90 CHAPTER 6

Hierarchy and Structure

In some cases lettering is used to play a supporting role which the words will sit. To design it, we first need to
in a design, appearing, for instance, in the tagline fora establish hierarchies in the text. The way you organize
logotype. In those cases, your lettering will have to the elements will help the reader quickly identify what
adapt to the preexisting elements. is important and what is secondary.

More often, however, lettering is the star of the design We can create different levels of hierarchy in a number
and needs to be able to stand on its own. This means of ways. The most common and easiest one is size: Large
that we have to develop a structure for the words or words come to the front, while smaller ones recede to
sentences we draw. The structure is the skeleton on the back.

THE THE
GOLDEN’ SECRETS GOLDEN SECRETS
OF
LETTERING LETTERING
ees
e eee
ia
BRS EASaS
 COMPOSITION AND EMBELLISHMENTS

We can also establish hierarchy through color by using Finally, another common way of defining hierarchies is
brighter colors for the elements we want to highlight by combining different styles of lettering; for instance,
and lighter tones for those that are less important. using serif lettering together with an English script.
Embellishments can also help us make a certain word This way we develop two groups of content within the
or part more prominent by enhancing its appearance. composition. Of course, we can also combine the
Weight is another way of emphasizing parts of the text —_various ways of establishing hierarchies.
by making certain words bolder.

THE IDEN. pe 75
od
GOLDEN’ GOLDEECRETS
D2: CHAPTER 6

Establishing hierarchies is the first step in defining the

structure of acomposition. In the process, we organize
the elements we will be working with. The next step is
deciding the position of these elements, which is also
determined by hierarchy.

Coutiredk arcis
Jism de ot
 COMPOSITION AND EMBELLISHMENTS ee)

We can use a centered composition, with all words

aligning to a centered vertical axis. We can also align
the elements to the left or the right.

fra
left atigneed Justfick Right aligrid

Or we can use a justified composition and make all text | Our compositions may also become more complex and
fit a certain format; for instance, a circle or a square. include several axes and shapes. Experiment with other
combinations and take it as far as you wish!

Te Axes ‘shes uw ox
94 CHAPTER 6

Distortion IS
“by
\\

|
i
|
us }

P
GRAV
ATATIONAL 1 OD
oi
Ie
{7
An exciting characteristic of lettering is its capability to
pee
Ere
adapt to various surroundings or formats. BASELINE

As a principle, letter shapes follow the law of gravity.

Therefore, when you are working with distorted formats,
the letter shapes should still maintain their balance and
center of gravity within the distorted format.
 COMPOSITION AND EMBELLISHMENTS 95)

By
Gy
a &

oO

When you use a text container, make sure to draw the

letters directly into the shape. Distorting them later
using software would lead to letterforms that look
unbalanced and strange.

Adjusting the letters to a specific shape will lead to

different x-heights and a changing baseline within a
single word. In order to keep the gray value of the word
consistent, you will need to make optical adjustments.
Once again your typographic eye will help you achieve a
balanced composition.

oe
au
SS

Sa
96 CHAPTER 6

Flourishes and Swash Letters

Flourishes and other embellishments are some of the

most attractive aspects of lettering. If you are taking
your first steps in the field of hand lettering, you will
very likely be tempted to use many flourishes in your
designs, but even though they can contribute much,
less is often more! Bear in mind a few basic rules when
Lt ruad
Me umd
adding embellishments.
hello
Flourishes can be useful to create balance ina
composition.
UNBALANCED

Keep in mind that flourishes create positive and

negative space and thus influence the distance
between letters. Swashes can also easily produce

BALANCED shapes that resemble a letter and affect the legibility

of the overall text.
They can also highlight a certain part of the text.
The nature and shape offlourishes should fit the
lettering style you are working with. The embellish-
ments used in blackletter, for example, are rather
different from those in brush lettering. Explore old
calligraphy and lettering manuals to discover the
particularities of each style.
 COMPOSITION AND EMBELLISHMENTS By

Flourishes are extensions ofthe letter shapes, and the contrast and weight of our letters (and the
therefore, the letters themselves will guide us in calligraphic model they are based on). The “mother
creating embellishments that suit those letters. The shapes” ruling our letters will also determine the
contrast and weight of our flourishes will correspondto forms of the flourishes.

The Contant of
ook ak atl of Hh
. Hhe (ittinsid
ee
rrundecl MITA

=
ae

p
fe)
p-

S
Z
aN
Ss
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98 CHAPTER 6

Basic Flourishes

As mentioned previously, most lettering and calligraphic

styles come accompanied by a specific set of shapes for
flourishes. This book takes a contemporary approach to
lettering; while | acknowledge the existence of past
models, | do not advocate simply reproducing them.

Getting to know the historic models will certainly help

you develop your expertise about lettering, but you
should feel free to step away from the traditional forms
and find your own way.

Even the most intricate flourishing can be broken down

into simple shapes. Your job will be to combine these
elements in an innovative and interesting way.

Figure tigat PReSy

Re

Flourishes can be used for various purposes; some of

the most common include borders, patterns, initials,
frames, and text embellishments. Calligraphic strokes
are not the only elements you can use to create your
own flourishes. Try experimenting with floral patterns,
ivy, or whatever else fits your letter shapes.
 £4

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 COMPOSITION AND EMBELLISHMENTS 101

Thumbnails

| typically start a project by establishing hierarchies and

structure, as this determines the way the lettering will
occupy the space. For this purpose | make lots of small
pencil sketches, around two to three inches (five to
eight centimeters) wide, in which I play around with
blocks of content. At this point | can also already
explore first ideas about the lettering style of the piece.

The great thing about working at such a small size is

that you can focus on the big picture instead of digging
deep into details too early. You can quickly try out
different structures and combinations and see what
works best.

After establishing a structure that fits your project, you

can either draw a larger-scale version of the sketch or
scale it up using a copy machine. This enlarged version
will serve as a basis for the next steps.

This Faas ee
A /
fo hogabArk
 pe?

' dW nking wrth Cayo

aaa
\.The ere: ee on
5 'k N
104 CHAPTER 7

Basic Tools
and Supplies

Drawing letters is not about getting everything right in

the first sketch. On the contrary, it is an iterative
process: in each step we make decisions, change details,
and refine shapes. Therefore, it is important to use a
technique that facilitates iterations and allows us to
work comfortably.

My favorite method for sketching is working with layers

of drawings on tracing paper. This technique enables
you to work on improving your sketch on each new layer
without losing the results of your previous attempts. To PAPER, Regqulan proper
use this method, you need white paper, plenty of
inJpuatfore)
tracing paper, anda pencil (preferably a mechanical
pencil so you don’t have to sharpen it all the time).
Some “forbidden” items are rulers and graph paper.
Sticking to geometric measurements will only hinder
you from drawing the shapes as you want them to be. |
also recommend against using a notebook, since the
pressure of turning it into a pretty object hampers the
process of trial and error. Loose paper works better for
our purposes.
 SKETCHING LETTERFORMS

at
NU thnok

xf
oO |

°
8)
xy

G
=WY

/
TRACING PAPER,

weighh tuA othar unk ar well.

Bug Lim a rol, 4 Can
detote upon The %i3e of thednamiing
MECHANICAL PENCIL

Wy

PENCIL

WHaARPENER.
106 CHAPTER 7

Sketching

You have already made some thumbnail sketches to

define hierarchies and structure. Perhaps you have even
come up with some style directions for your letters. The
next step will be to explore your concept in a larger size.

When you start sketching, do not to try to make a pretty

or perfect drawing right away. Do not worry if your
strokes are a bit rough and stiff at the beginning. Your
hand will become looser with time, and your sketch will
become more accurate and refined with each step of
the process.

Create your first draft on white paper. Sketch relatively

fast and with a low amount of detail. Your drawing
should be a suitable size: big enough to add details
later on and small enough to not take too long to finish.
A letter-size piece of paper (or DIN-A4) usually does the
job for me.

Make sure to focus not only on drawing outlines but

also filling your shapes. This will enable you to see how
heavy or light each letter is and whether it works well
with the other letters.

Draur arvricls nathr

Khan umndivioluakh
Ltr

ryt Akeet ches == PAW

== FAST!
 SKETCHING LETTERFORMS 107

Be dis
Dot er af we n Mraning,
on ore Ltn. Kor
ies Ahe dioll ble

spt HE NIA TEN

yee

Keep am eye
onThe. Apecone

Hey, rebare sysrn hard’

GHVAYP
AT ERS 7

K hand rehayed.
Dee he pencil
Tips for Beginners

Applying pressure will not make your

drawing better; it’ll just make your hand
tired and make you want to be done
Living as we are in the digital era, we are no
soon. Relax your hand and enjoy the
longer used to working with our hands. For this
process.
reason, you may require a lot of practice to
become effective at sketching. But believe me, no
matter how awkward it feels at first, you will get
the hang of it at some point.

A common mistake that many beginners make

when working on their first sketches is to fall in
love with the first letter that looks more or less The scale should be large
enough to let
decent. Suddenly it does not matter whether you work comfortably on
details and
that n works in combination with the other letters small enough so that you
don’t spend
in the word—you spent so much time drawing the hours executing a sketch
.
letter, it’s hard to let it go.

My advice to avoid this pitfall is to work fast.

Sketch as quickly as you can and don't waste time
trying to make a letter look “perfect.” This is not
what these first drawings are about.

Restricting yourself to outlines does

Sketching fast will enable you to keep an eye
not allow you to see how light or heavy
on the big picture, the whole word. It will
s,
also encourage you to give crazy solutions a
your shapes really are. Fill your letter
even if roughly.
shot. These are the things that will make your
design shine.

Dow draw
| Ado at LMA

We design words, not single letters.

Focus on the big picture first; move on to
the details only once you have found the
overall shapes and composition.
 SKETCHING LETTERFORMS

at
Daur dak ie Apeeipe,
Don’t get lost in details too soon. Work
Spending less time with each drawing
fast and focus first on finding the
will help you try out more different es of
overall composition and basic shap
shapes and solutions, which will lead toa
your design. Toward the end of the
more successful result. and
process, you can work more slowly
concentrate on the details.

Don't get allachucl ot

14 Anawina.
% Y, .4/
Bedinnarpectfulrsite a
Always keep in mind all parts of your
Look at your first drawing as the piece during the sketching process.
starting point that will change for the
better as you move further into the
Kee an eye om Apache
process.
Bee d
Don’t forget that the space between and
around the letters is an important part of
your design. Use the white space within
and between your letters as a reference
point for proportions.
one
Don’t assume that there’s just
Try
way of drawing a certain letter.

pony ©
come
all possible solutions you can

~ MLTR
shape
up with and then decide which
fits your design better.

ee
i las Me
| Fan nadical chran
Flourishes are not add-ons that
wart SINGLE
LETTERS)
you can decide on later. Draw
them together with your letter
shapes. Plan them into the
Make radical changes to your design structure ofyour lettering piece.
and see how the shapes react. Let
yourself be surprised by the process.
110 CHAPTER 7

Working with Layers AND So ON...

In this section | will explain the process of using layers

of tracing paper to improve your drawing and give some
advice on how to make decisions and handle mistakes.

Your first sketch is done. Ideally it was a fast process.

Now look at your drawing in a critical way. You will
notice things you don't like and you will think of
features you would like to add. Place a sheet of tracing
paper on top ofyour first sketch and copy the things
you like about your previous drawing, while making the
changes and adding the details you have decided on.

When you’re done, repeat the same process again: look

at your sketch, decide what works and what doesn't, TRACIN
PAPER,
——>
add another layer of tracing paper, and continue
improving your drawing.

The idea behind this technique is that you carry on the

successful solutions to the next step and try out new
ones at the same time, without having to start over or
( FIRST ROUGH SKETCH
ruin your previous drawing. You can be disrespectful
with your sketches, because you have nothing to lose!

On the following pages you will find some ofthe layers

of my process of designing the lettering for the cover of
this book, including notes and tips.
 @)
FIRST ROUGH
SKETCH

of he Aawe Kinol |
Ailing aut Areach Ahn, *
 What abod some hte C3)
Niles CHAPTER 7

THICK STROKE
 SKETCHING LETTERFORMS

| Whe aloud esnbinna Go bkim

farm Ae with Letting” fromAare?

lot! A crake
CHAPTER 7

The Sketching Process at a Glance

. The
Here is an overview ofthe sketching process of my (DEN SECR os OME 20
f
lettering piece, from the first thumbnail sketches to the =F TeALDEN §SEC)
CRS
refined final drawing. Soelleing Lofiringe

Of course, the process varies according to each project: © Ge

some will require more intermediate steps than others. . Aol
The first thumbnail sketches are rough and quick, while Ag=f; “6 0LDE:
iti
the drawings toward the end ofthe process are more
undls
polished and detailed and take more time to execute.
Of;
Layer 6 seems like a good point to move on to digital
THUMBNAILS
drawing. Why? Because it looks like | have solved the .
big problems. Or at least | think | have for the moment. The small two-inch sketches determine the overall composition,
possibly define the style of the lettering, and show how the design
sits on the page.

LAYER 3 LAYER 4 >

Experimenting with a different calligraphic principle for the shapes Returning to pointed-nib lettering. Exploring variations of shape for
of my letters. Addition of new, more laid-back decorative elements thee and capital L.
and shadow.
 SKETCHING LETTERFORMS

LAYER1 —_————> LAYER2

Reproduce the best thumbnail sketch in a bigger size. Choose a First layer of tracing paper. Finding consistency in the slant of the
format that will provide enough space to work on details but is not baselines and improving the overall balance of the composition.
so large that you get lost in them. Letter size normally works well. Trying out different solutions for single letters.

LAYERS —— LAYER 6

Another experiment: a radical change in the weight of the word Combination of broad-nib lettering from layer 3 for Golden Secrets
Lettering, forcing me to try new, simpler letter shapes. and layer 4 for Lettering. Most of the problems are solved, so I’m
ready to scan the drawing and start working digitally.
 ees
» The digitak ee ets : Deg Lguna goon weal

> Workin with exlome prin ey cee bt

C97 07 Or
eo: (0) a eae
AD
ANCHOR PONT
o——___y__——_6
HANDLE
 117

LYS
RARE

PAS
RRS
118 CHAPTER 8

The Digital Drawing

The “final” hand-drawn sketch of your lettering When you move on to the digital environment, what
becomes the basis of your digital drawing. you essentially do is to translate your hand drawing
into digital vectors. Vectors are paths that are defined
Go ahead and scan the sketch. Because | like to keep by points, whose positions in turn are the result of
a high-resolution digital backup of my sketches, mathematical equations. It works a bit like drawing
| generally scan them at 600 dpi, but 300 dpi is more by numbers: the shapes are the result of connecting
than enough. the points.

Once you have your sketch as a digital file, prepare your There are several software programs you can use for
working space by creating a new document in your this purpose, and you may choose freely among them
favorite vector drawing software, based on the same and use the one you feel most comfortable with. For our
dimensions. Place the lettering file as a background purposes, the power ofthe tool is not in the amount of
image and create a new layer. This is where you are effects you can achieve with it, but in how useful and
going to start your digital drawing. intuitive its drawing tools are. All of the super-duper
effects can be greatly tempting for someone who is a
At first, drawing digitally will feel like walking on beginner in the art of lettering, but it’s better to stay
the moon: everything moves much slower. Why? away from them for now and stick to the software’s
Simply because the lines and curves are much more basic tools.
accurate now, and it is therefore easier to identify
defective shapes.

Although you can still make small decisions and minor

changes while digitizing
your lettering, the main
Mou med
“A tom wth vetnr
problems should be solved on paper. If you want to
make further overall design changes or add flourishes,
you should return to your hand sketch. VA Acanmar (rym cam Tae

Cover for Walker Books.

AD: Maria Soler Canton
 FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL

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120 CHAPTER 8

Working with Extreme Points

The key to vectorizing letter shapes is to work with Of course, most letter shapes are more complex than a
extreme points. The main goal of this method is to circle, and you will need a lot more vector points to
reduce a letter’s number of vector points (also called describe the form.
Bézier points or anchor points) to the minimum and
thus make the editing process as easy as possible. The
formula is quite simple: Fewer points = less work.

The extreme points are found in the horizontal or

vertical tangents of our shapes—i.e., at the extreme
points in each direction, namely the northern-,
southern-, eastern-, and westernmost points.

ORT ee gy eee

ej------
eee
ween ert
eee
 FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL 121

ANCHOR, POINT

Handles are also called control points, because they

control the shapes. Altering any of the points or
handles will directly impact the form of the adjacent
is BAN DLE ra segments.
HAN DLE

Vector points are defined by three elements: a central

anchor point and two handles, or control points. The
section between two anchor points is called a segment.
There are two different kinds of segments: Straight SHIFTING
HANDLE
THE
segments consist only of two anchor points. Curved
segments in addition require the two handles, with
which you can vary the radii of the curves.

a4

NO HANDLES
FOR, STRAIGHT LINES

—,
HANDLEY
FoR CUQNES THE
SHIFTING
POINT
ANCHOR
122 CHAPTER 8

As a general rule, handles should always be placed A curve is defined by the position of the anchor points
on the horizontal or vertical axis and notona and the length of the handles. The closer together the
diagonal. This will allow you to control the handles anchor points are, the tighter the curve. To achieve a
more precisely and, most importantly, avoid smooth curve, the handles should ideally share the job,
unnecessary points! i.e., have a similar length. In addition, one handle
should not go beyond the position of the other.
 FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL 123

If the latter does happen, the anchor point is probably Although the process seems to be a complex science at
at the wrong position. For although handles play a first glance, you will quickly understand its logic
major role in defining curves, the position ofthe points through practice, and vectors will soon become your
is even more important. Our job (and challenge) is to best friends.
find the right balance between all of these elements.

ANCHOR. POINTS
CLOSE TOGETHER
_

TIGHTER. CURVE

Refrain from clicking the “Auto Trace” button! This will

only turn your sketch into millions of points that you
will not be able to edit in years.

USING THE AUTO-TRACE USING EXTREME

FUNCTION Pointe

ANCHOR POINTS
FARTHER. APART

SOFTER CURVE
124 CHAPTER 8

Digitizing your sketch

As we work on our digital drawing, we continuously

improve and refine the shapes of our hand sketch. We
pursue “the perfect curve” by placing and improving the
positioning of anchor points and handles. It is artisanal
work in the digital environment.

Start by locating the extreme points in your sketch and

place your anchor points. Remember that the fewer
points your drawing has, the easier it will be to work with.

Keep your sketch in the background and place the

anchor points on a new layer. Just as you did with your
hand drawing, work with layers in your digital drawing
too, always creating a copy of the current layer when
you continue on to a next step. This allows you to
measure your improvements and compare solutions.
By saving your previous steps, you'll be able to easily
recover shapes that you liked better.

When digitizing your sketch, make sure to keep each

individual stroke separate. You'll find out why this is
important on the next spread.
126 CHAPTER 8

iV ork wh flea ah , Keeping each stroke ofthe letter as a separate vector

net aw outlones H form will allow you to easily move it, modify its shapes,
and correct spacing issues without affecting the rest of
the letterform.

Continuous strokes should, however, be vectorized ina

continuous way, as this will make them look more
Sone Aboaper PegLIDh natural. Think about how a specific letter was executed
and at what points you put the writing tool on the
ff»,
dn ctr
7 A bovte
east ///
/
ff
/ /}
jWy paper or lifted it. This will give you an idea of how to

Li
/ He
Sy
P
//
digitize it. 2

Y
Vi { J jf Vi

i \ae”
“Sb

Ais
 FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL 127

Letters that are connected with each other, as for

example in script lettering, should be kept separate in
your vector drawing. This will help you achieve cleaner
shapes and fewer anchor points. It will also be easier to
correct letterspacing.

SEPARATE Forms i
SEVENTY-NINE POINTS “S
ee

CONNECTED FORME:
ONE HUNDRED POINTS,

The processes may vary according to each project: some

will require more intermediate steps than others. Be
sure to print out your design from time to time. Once
the printout is on your desk, you can look at it, take note
of mistakes, try different solutions on paper, and write
down your ideas for further steps. This is your waybill
for the next move: executing those corrections.
{> Se #
& ‘eo 6 f am
129
 CHAPTER 9

Coloring

Digital drawing tools help us create sharp and polished easy to succumb to the temptation of using such effects
letter shapes, as vector points and handles give us very in abundance, but our primary focus must be on
precise control over the forms of each stroke. However, perfecting the letterforms. Therefore, it is important
this technique also influences the appearance of the not to move on too quickly to the finalization phase.
resulting drawing and can lead to a “digital” look.
Adding color and texture helps remove the digital Once again we will work with layers to add texture,
aspect and adds back some tactile feel to your lettering. shadows, decorative elements, and color. Using layers
will enable you to try out different effects and easily
Keep in mind, though, that applying trickery and effects return to previous solutions. While working on finali-
Cover for
Net magazine
may both disguise poorly executed lettering and zing your piece, make sure never to forget the stars of
AD: Rebecca Shaw distract from beautifully executed letter shapes. It is your work: it is the letter shapes that need to shine!

Layers

So 8 f> Mustration and Flourishing

> 8 |> & Letter shapes
© a > & Pattern

>. a > NB) shadow

> ‘J Background
 THE FINISHING TOUCH 131

Choosing a color scheme for your drawing is not about

simply mixing colors that you like or that go well with
each other. The color of a piece should accentuate and
accompany the message you want to communicate or
the atmosphere you want to create with it. Color
selection also depends on the amount of contrast your
design requires, what elements you want to highlight,
and what parts should stay in the background.

Color is a huge field, and it is an essential part of the

creative work of every designer and artist. There are
many good books on color theory out there, and | will
not even try to pretend to come close to them here. ee Ant fs
Instead, | will talk about general aspects of color and and Atuctir window
mention some sources of inspiration that you can use
to find color palettes for your lettering.

The first step, however, is to clearly define what you

want your piece to convey or what atmosphere you
would like it to have. This will narrow down your search
for inspiration.

| recommend you start by choosing a palette of two or

three colors. Although this may seem limited, you will
see that it allows multiple possibilities when applied in
your piece.
13:2 CHAPTER 9

tae
[he Cétor Achuwe
; On
of the chosen color scheme will depend on
The effect
the way it is applied. You will arrive at different results, MMir A wad AA
J
depending
on which color you use for which element. gn hd tio wet
The selected color will also determine the amount usec Many ae viding
of contrast—and whether your piece will vibrate or onde Hh je
look smooth.

Grepbinre malin ia ens bole. Likier fi Let

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THE FINISHING TOUCH
 CHAPTER 9

Adding Texture

Every object in the real world has a certain texture, To counteract this cold, homogenous look we add
which is part of what allows us to differentiate one texture, which is basically anything that helps add
thing from another. Working with lettering in the noise and naturally-looking irregularities to your
digital environment allows us to achieve precise and design. It will make your piece look tactile, volumetric,
well-shaped letterforms. But as! mentioned, ithasa or dimensional, depending on the effect you want
downside: the result can look very flat and “digital.” to achieve. With texture, your design will not look
so digital anymore and will start to belong to the
real world.
WITHOUT TEXTURE WITH TEXTURE
¥

t
Diggifl gras
er Hhn
WITHOUT aeaee . WITH TEXTURE dackansun and atracdsur-
 THE FINISHING TOUCH

You can create texture from almost anything that

surrounds you. As the lettering’s creator, it is up to you
to decide how much texture is necessary and what kind
oftexture is suitable for your design.

Asmall library of various textures is very handy and

easy to create. Scan surfaces with different characteris-
tics, such as fabric, paper, or plastic, for subtle texture
effects. Or take pictures of surfaces (with reflected light
effects, if possible) and adjust their contrast using a
picture-editing software.

t Aare mort ofCory

Teil, for
Da ae
Ao L tan pred

ntdi
gpa

malirials 01 Awa ces

OXtbanrr
are Aton

J wca ape.
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heugena
ath,ot.)
x na co raat |
136 CHAPTER 9

WITHOUT TEXTURE

Working with layers, you can apply different textures to

different parts of your lettering. You can, for instance,
use a wood texture for the background, a photocopy
texture for your letterforms, and an old paper texture ——
on top of everything.

CORA TIVE
LLEAGEW I, -

6
TEXTURE ge a

Since layers of texture will increase the density of the

overall design and make it darker, you'll need to adjust
its color, saturation, opacity, and transparency. Trial and
error is the best way to find out what settings work best
for your piece.

Drop shadows and gradients can help give your design

additional texture. However, it is a fine line between a
drop shadow that improves the design and one that
ruins it. A rule of thumb here is: the less you notice a
shadow, the better!

Bear in mind that not all lettering requires the same

amount oftexture. Some designs may even look better
without! Think of texture as just one ofthe tools in your
toolbox that you may wish to use (or not).
 THE FINISHING TOUCH

WITH TEXTURE
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140 CHAPTER 10

The Work of a Lettering Designer

The work of a lettering designer is positioned between cover of amagazine in a newsstand or a book in my
the fields of design and art: it requires the systematic favorite bookstore.
approach of a designer and the keen eye for forms of a
visual artist. Lettering projects vary in scope but they tend to have
tight deadlines. Their intended purposes (and thus the
Which side it stands on often depends on the job—on best ways to approach them) can also be widely
whether it is a personal project ora commercial different, depending on the type of commission. Each
commission, and on whether the client asks you to comes with its own challenges.
show your voice in the piece or wants you to communi-
cate a precise message. On the following page you will find some of the most
common commissions for lettering designers and some
The work of a lettering designer is often comparable to notes on what each involves.
that of an illustrator. The task of both is to interpret
content and transform it into an image.

Asa letterer you have several income options. You can

work for clients or agencies; you can sell your lettering
ina shop or in art galleries; or you can license your
artwork for products. You can specialize in one of these
or doa bit of each.

| love doing commercial work. One reason is that it

often involves interacting with an art director or editor
who will help make my piece better. | also find it
fascinating to see my work in the real world: on the
 WORK IN PROGRESS 141

Poilera or
billhvanrde
| magaipee HEADLINES
eresting
Job: Creating an att
ractive

menrpaper Job: Creating an int tha t people

dline lettering design
Om Job: Designing 2 hea
text. piece of lettering tha t catches
will want to wea r on the ir
that illustrates the ser sby . have lots
the eyes of pas clothe s. You 'll usu all y
design.
the page of freedom for your
Challenge: A part of will
COVERS for the Challenge: The poster
will be reserved els of
ing include various lev Challenge: Produc
tion
headline. Your letter may
the content information, which techni que s may lim it the
ing for a should ref ere nce your
Job: Designing letter way. require combining number of colors
and effects
any an of the text in some le type-
header or to accomp letter ing wit h sui tab
you can use.
ati ng 4
illustration. Cre
covet, if
complete lettering

logotypes
youre luc ky.

Challenge: Having
work around pre -de
to
signed Tatler
ographic
elemen ts, suc h as the Job: Creating 2 typ Job: Designing a dis
tinctive will be
es. wor ks equally Job: Your lettering
masthead or barcod identity that piece of let ter ing tha t e’s skin
applica- inked into someon
well for a range of expres ses one or Mor e forever. Are
need to and remain there
tions. You'll probably ter istics of a product. to take on
ite and cha rac you sure you want
create black-and-wh 'll probably collab
orate
ARTICLE tha t can be used You s
thi job ?
color versions des igner.
\LLU CTRATIONS with a pac kag ing
in various Sizes. roduction
Challenge: The rep
nge: Making the the number
Job: Designing ill
ustrations adjusting Challe technique lim its
Challenge: Optically product stand out
from other
and eff ect s you
at large of col ors
for an article. the lettering for use on the she lf.
products can use.
and small sizes.
g with
Challenge: Dealin
s kin ds of for matting
variou
osi ng the
within the text. Cho

Cphemi.
e to

Bork. VOL
osp her
right kind of atm
fit the conten t.

tering for
content of Job: Designing let
Job: Expressing the invitations or not
ecards.
ing,
PAGE OPENERS
r let ter
the book in you
bin ati on
sometimes in com osphere of
Challenge: The atm
with an ima ge. ch the
Job: Your lettering
introduces the design has to mat
art icl e. occasion.
the story of an g with
Challenge: Workin

Challenge: There
will be few
lettering is
given images . Ho w
book sells will par
well the
tly depend and Lt
restrictions; your .
pie ce and on your cover design
the star of the
should shi ne!
142 CHAPTER 10

Being Your Own Client

Finding occasions to produce lettering work can be Morima 4. Cabli WAR Pu

difficult, especially when you don't have clients (yet).

with Ttahian telliqnaphor

My advice is: set your own tasks. Create a poster, design
oir a Salera: tink amorlive
a postcard, make a greeting card for a friend, or write a
shopping list—draw letters as much as you can! Stop
platform, awe wiuld unre a
waiting for a dream project to come your way; start it Lon. Ge Ahem nec cahlig-
yourself! You just need to invest your work and time napti Aor execu wt, wtih, ¥:
gor he Aether Atbiapes Thisprop
(and perhaps a bit of money) in order to become your
own client.
edt Lrsgta a Cot ofalltlusy
If you have no art director or client to evaluate your Dae Ge ae e ved
work, find your own audience. Start a blog, put up a Pies feces XA dred "ans L-
portfolio site, use social networks, or attend design
meetups. Getting your work out there will give you the
opportunity to show what you do and prove your
f Dirpons edad
interest in the topic. It will put you in touch with

NZ

letteringvscalligraphy.com
 WORK IN PROGRESS

like-minded people who can act as a critical eye for you. OL Colle hima sin muy avg
Just the mere fact of knowing that someone will be er ha feck. Sine:
looking at your work will push you to create better HGS cond and
pieces and to top yourself.

Le Land complet Troma

Displaying
your lettering will also help you keep a
Fo hin ct olnaur- ails
record of your work. You'll be able to see your progress
as you create more and more pieces. ON Autiners neath Athan Mrolr
ATID. re dr dérxignn
It is very likely that what you show your audience today one
aia candls. ae,
will not seem so wonderful to you tomorrow, but this is
normal and simply proof that your typographic eye is
becoming more discerning every day! eS hee
our sresien
anLhd
yf

dg rac hl
eee Cswwrvrcal OMA ,

lettercollections.com
144 CHAPTER 10

Showcasing Your Work

In order to start a career as a lettering designer you A portfolio that is current and up to date does not only
should be able to show potential clients a selection of display your work to potential clients. It also gives you
good lettering pieces. But how do you build up your an overview ofyour past projects and will spark ideas
body of work if you do not yet have commercial clients? about what kind of work you want to do next. Before
As discussed before, you can become your own client starting a new commission, | often go to my website
and set your own tasks, in order to expand your and look through my portfolio of projects. This way |
portfolio and improve your work. can reflect on what | have done and determine which
other directions | would like to explore.
However, having commercial clients is important, not
only for your wallet but also because it will affect your Some clients will want you to replicate the style ofa
future work. The pieces that you will show as part of project that you did in the past. This is good in a way,
your portfolio will arouse the interest of potential new because by perfecting a certain style or technique, you
clients and will thus directly influence the kinds of can take it to the next level. On the other hand,
commissions you will get in future. replicating work can become boring for you and quickly
turn you into a one-trick pony. My advice is: try to
There are several ways of showcasing
your work, and | convince the client that you are proficient in other
dedicate a large amount oftime to thinking of ways of styles as well.
reaching new audiences. | particularly enjoy designing
greeting cards with holiday wishes at the end of the A careful selection and presentation of your lettering
year and try to come up with novel ways of designing pieces can help you keep your work moving in new
the cards each year. | also frequently print postcards or directions. When putting your portfolio together, there
posters that I can give away to people at conferences, are several things you should bear in mind:
workshops, and other events.

Every little piece of lettering that | put out there helps

point people to my work and draws them to my website.
Every time | participate in a social network and every
time I give away a postcard or business card, I’m hoping
to encourage people to visit my online portfolio and
discover the rest of my work.
 WORKIN PROGRESS 145

Prerstuk f)
an propel
You will want to introduce yourselfasmore
than just a “pretty-picture maker.” You are
also a conceptual thinker and creative in-
dividual. Your portfolio should reflect that
by briefly sharing some insights on each
project, including aspects about the brief-
ing and your inspirations. Do not forget to
mention your collaborators (e.g., the art
director or editor) and the client.
You should always keep your online portfolio
up to date, so make sure your website is easy
to update. Avoid complex intro animations
and multiple languages. Your site should be
easy to navigate for your potential clients, and
it should showcase your latest and best work
(see also “Edit your work,” p.146). Although you
might currently have plenty of commissions,
keeping your website current with fresh work
will help ensure you new commissions in the
months oryears to come.
146 CHAPTER
10

moll! My, a
S A

CAL apron wrk.

Your portfolio should reflect the kind of work you want
to do in future. You don’t want to do any more
calligraphed wedding invites? Then certainly do not
post the last set of invitations you did for your cousin’s Once you have a smart-looking site, ideally you simply
wedding! If you accepted a job just to pay the bills, ora need to point potential clients to it. But how do you
commission led to something that you are not proud know whether people are visiting your site and
of, don’t include it on your website! Do not show pieces checking out your fresh work? How do you know
that you don't like; show the projects you want to do whether certain promotional actions you took helped
more of. bring traffic to your website?

Luckily, there are tools to measure this kind of data.

Adding a simple Google Analytics code for your site will
tell you which ofyour projects are the most visited in
your portfolio, where the traffic is coming from, and
what kind of audience is interested in your work.

Karcur yr chi enut

It is important to set yourself ahorizon and define whom you
would like to work for. If you aim to work internationally, start,
for instance, by making your website domain name end with
“com.” If your potential clients speak English, do not waste your
time translating your website into different languages.
 WORK IN PROGRESS 147

Letter design can be quite a lonely job. You often

collaborate with clients and art directors, but at the end
of the day, it is you on your own shifting those anchor
points in your vector drawing.

Participating in social networks has balanced this out

Did
for me. It has opened up a daily dialogue and put me in
contact with many people who are interested in what |
do. They encourage me to do more of it and do it better,
thus becoming a key force in improving my work. It is
true that participating in social networks can be
Don't hide away in your studio; take part in the time-consuming and distracting, but hey, we are
creative community. Art directors, designers, or spending much ofour time there already anyway, so we
shop owners will more likely reach you through might as well use them professionally.
a side channel than directly through your
website. People work with people they like, One downside of social networks is that the content is
whether they like you on Instagram, follow community driven: under the hashtag #lettering on
your blog, or meet you at CreativeMornings. Instagram, you will find numerous images, some of
Find your favorite way to be present: go to which are not in fact lettering and many whose quality
conferences or design meetings, have an active is questionable. To an inexpert eye, your work may look
Instagram account, or post on Twitter. Or better at the same level as all the others. Nevertheless, many
yet, try them all. This may sound like a lot of editors and art directors (who do have an educated eye)
work—and it is—but it is worth it and you perform talent scouting using social networks, so it
might have a lot of fun in the process. might be a chance for you to get your next commission.
 CHAPTER 10

Do You Need an Agent?

Thin Mm ae Conn 4m ,
which |rncuived xn Ay
v
Murer tiwrs after A WUE

Working with a representative is one option fora

wih. rm ne luckiby -

y?A lowed a Aho (4 of

lettering artist who wants to do commercial work.
Because the work of a lettering designer is often a noes Wage
comparable to that of an illustrator, illustrators’ L CY
A
agencies have started including lettering designers in /
/
|
their portfolios of artists. There are a number of reasons
why you may choose to join an agency. Lance’s rise
+
and fall Richard
fore.Sote.
J Evans
When will people
Rachel Cooke

Ed Smith Armstrong's control ofthe press newbookcoulddo stop messing

exposes |theculture ofinsiderjournalism |witha bitmore bias with Wodehouse?

Working with an agent can help you reach clients whom

you would otherwise not get to, simply because certain Free thinking since 1913

types of clients speak directly with agencies rather than As voters go to the polls, we profile
a country full of contradictions
doing a Google search for a “lettering designer” and
calling you on the phone.

Big clients often prefer working with agencies because

the latter are familiar with contracts, licensing terms,
and disclosure agreements, which freelancers often are
not. This is also a good reason for a lettering designer to
search for a representative: an agency will make sure Yotam Ottolenghi Simon|Sebag Montefiore David J Goldberg
~
Rachel Shabi Sami Tamimi Jason Cowley Avi Shlaim Ali Abunimah ¥

your work is protected. ak Dimi Reider Patrick Tyler Ed Platt Rafael Behr Uri Dromi el
%
: i 5
rt oa
+ yee
Moreover, having an agent will help you dedicate your WabIA .a pl, eye
ei ryff “9 Tn ii
time to doing what you do best: create artwork. If you
SslRas avert
asireine
ae iz
Cover illustration for don’t have an agent, you may at times find yourself
New Statesman magazine.
discussing your fee with the same person who will lead Beyond dealing with money and protecting your rights,
AD: Anja Wohlstrom
the creative process, which can be slightly uncomfort- an agent will help you promote your work and improve
able for both parties. If an agent discusses those terms it, at times giving you feedback about which pieces are
for you, this can also enhance the perception of you as successful and loved by clients. Since the agent is your
an artist, since in the eyes of your potential client you are representative, you will want her or him to deal with
too busy creating awesome things to have time to speak issues and clients in a professional way, adhering to
about such mundane matters as money. manners and values that you relate to.
 WORK IN PROGRESS

Agents charge a percentage ofthe total fee of a

commission. This percentage and the terms of collabo- a)

ration vary from agent to agent. Some allow you to

have your own clients on the side without the agency’s
involvement. Others ask for exclusivity, which means
that all commissions you get as a professional lettering
designer have to be managed and negotiated by them.

Some agents leave the artist the full rights to the work,
TRAVEL THE Wor,
while others bind the work to the agency. The latter 1°
means that you will be able to show the projects you
got through the agency as part of your portfolio as long Be HAPPY
———g——
as you are under contract with the agency. However,
Be REPRESENTED
once you decide to go on your own or sign with another
BY You!
agent, you will have to get the agency’s permission to 3°
display your own drawings.

a a few agencies that seem to fit your work and

Auogiticte An Forma ef TUN JYngned wilh my agency vn

Be pad edt 2015. | Aent a Vit Cans
amrnackt HMwrsu oe tefrr grilin cord with, ny Heek
“A faa pee
5;
he callcd ,
put your efforts into getting their attention rather than OP Ih ’ and weLS
havetaal
sending promotional material to lots of agencies at
Work iyHogan
random. Successful agencies receive applications by
Wen Ath Ce
artists all the time, so try and find a novel way of
approaching them. Trade fairs, art shows, and other
events present an opportunity for meeting agents face
to face.
150 CHAPTER
10

Pricing Your Work

The fee you charge for your work depends on a combination of several factors:

What are the deadlines? How fast do you have to complete the
piece? Do you need to push back or reject other commissions
to get this one done?

Comnpptapciteg afAbe jot

TIP:

L Aisngly Pred Ae How many revisions does the client require,

how complex should the lettering be, and how
Graplice Ati 4 Guilel many steps will it take to draw it?
Hand hook wfPre civ and
Ctlicad Quicelinta, a TOMA ofi 7
com we ap len C
How long will the lettering be used by the client (a year,
On AU tim anrtnrle. five years, unlimited time), in which media (TY, bill-
boards, magazines), and in which territories (USA,
An ely ae Aanuple emhacké English-speaking countries, or worldwide)?

exelusin ly
Is the artwork exclusive for that particular client? If so, this means
that although you as an artist still own the copyright on the artwork,
the client is the only one allowed to exploit it commercially. If it is
not exclusive, you can make additional profit from it; for instance,
by selling prints of that artwork online or by licensing it for use
on products.
 WORK IN PROGRESS pee

How will your work be used? Is it a logo, an illustration for a T-shirt, or an adver-
tising campaign? What is the size of the print or production run? Knowing
exactly how your piece will be used will give you an idea of how much money will
be invested in the entire project, which in turn will help you calculate the price of
your work. Charging $500 for an artwork that will be used in an advertising
campaign that invests $120,000 in renting billboards alone would be dispropor-
tionate, for example.

ient Axe
a:
How economically powerful is the company you will be
“a working for? This is directly related to the size of the
production run and distribution of your piece, and how
much profit the company will make from it.

To build a sustainable career as a lettering designer, can make the deadlines a bit more flexible, reduce the
your fees should be realistic for both yourself and your number of revisions required, or limit the usage of the
client. While you do want to get the job, you also want artwork to a certain time frame. Bear in mind that
to make a living from your work. Accepting a commis- money is not the only figure you can negotiate.
sion that is underpaid today might mean a chain of
clients who expect the same low fees in the future. On Make sure to establish a professional contracting
top of that, this underpaid job will prevent you from system. This will protect your work as well as set clear
investing time in other, better-paid projects or in conditions under which the job is done. The contract
acquiring new ones. should state all the terms you negotiated with the
client. Make sure to also define the conditions of
However, in some cases it might make sense to be payment in case the work is canceled or the client is not
flexible about your fee, for example for a job that you happy with the final result. And most importantly,
really want to do and that will lead to a great piece in include a statement specifying that the copyright of
your portfolio. If you are interested in a commission the work remains with you. This will give you the right
that does not pay as well as you would like, think to show your piece as part ofyour portfolio to other
outside the box to find other forms of compensation. potential clients.
Perhaps there is an opportunity for a trade-off, or you
 152 CHAPTER
10

Tips for a Productive Workflow

Drawing letters is an incredibly slow-moving

job. This is | once received a commission with a really fast
one ofthe first things | realized when | started working turnaround. Although the deadline was extremely
on lettering full time. Since | ran a one-woman studio tight, |was interested in the job and decided to take on
and wanted to make a living from it, | had to improve the commission. Once | got the briefing and cleared up
my workflow to be able to do multiple projects at the - some doubts with the art director, | started sketching
same time and respond to the working rhythm of right away. A few hours later, | sent a first colored
agencies and publishing houses (where projects are sketch to the client. The art director got back to me
due yesterday). right away: he loved the direction. However, there was
a little problem: | had used the wrong text for the
Developing a good sketching technique is enormously lettering. |had made a huge mistake!
helpful for this process. Sketching helps me quickly
visualize an idea, discuss it with the client, and have After taking a deep breath, | wrote back apologizing
enough time for the digital execution afterward. and two hours later | was able to deliver a new sketch
using the right text. | got positive feedback and could
Working with quick sketches is convenient for both the move on to the digital drawing and finalize the work as
lettering designer and the client, as it allows you to quickly as possible. Almost no time was lost consider-
deliver a concept in a short time and confirm if you are ing that, ahem, | had started the project with the
both on the same page regarding the direction of the completely wrong text! Bottom line: sketching saved
project. If not, it is easy to sketch some new ideas and that commission, the relationship with the client, and
discuss them with the client. all the future potential commissions that may arise
from it.

Opener for
5280 magazine.
AD: Dana Pritts & Dave
McKenna
 WORK IN PROGRESS 153

The } wd

\
~.
so
Ke

Working with sketches has two more benefits.

Although you are establishing a lot of essential
ail NA NE
Allow ck. than

elements in your first sketch, many ofthe details will k

follow later in the process, which keeps the work The clitudAn an achive
interesting for you and thrilling for the client. Another
benefit is that sketches enable the client to experience
the working process; she or he can see the individual
steps and influence them.

Additionally, in the digital era a working process that

involves hand-drawn sketches is well appreciated and
adds value to your work. Clients will perceive your work
as a craft and not only as a job.

As you learned earlier in this book, creating the digital

drawing is much more time-consuming than the
hand-drawn sketch. Make sure to schedule enough
time for digitizing your lettering. Also set aside time
in your schedule for presenting your work and getting
feedback. This involves emails or phone calls with your
client, as well as preparing your files for electronic
transfer. People will hire you not only because they love your
work, but also because you are great to work with,
In the following pages | will explain the process of a because you come up with creative solutions, or you are
lettering commission step by step, from receiving the skilled at time management. While it is important that
briefing and delivering the first sketches to getting you deliver good results, the client will appreciate them
feedback and preparing the digital drawing. even more if the collaboration and workflow were
smooth and pleasant in addition.
 154 CHAPTER10

The Creative Brief

A commission usually starts with a phone call or an ° Schedule: Can | meet the deadlines for rough
email from the client, inquiring whether you are sketches and final artwork?
interested in a particular project. You will get a Budget: If one is given up front, does it fit my
description ofthe job, including information on expectations? (See “Pricing Your Work,” page 150.)
deadlines, format, color scheme, usage terms, file fe Artistic demand: Am | the right fit for this
format, and, possibly, budget. commission?
And most importantly: Do | want to do the job?
There are a few things that you should consider before
taking a job: In most cases you will be contacted by an art director or
an editor. This is also the person who will give you the
creative brief and provide feedback on your work.

| A good art director is an essential part of interpreting

the brief correctly, because she or he has a lot of

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 WORK IN PROGRESS SS

experience in the sort of work the company is commis- One of the things you should find out is whether the
sioning
you for. Make sure to get along with this client has already formed an idea of the style the piece
person, because that is key to achieving a smooth, should have or if there is a particular project in your
efficient process and delivering a successful final piece. portfolio that resonates with her or him.

After receiving the creative brief, think ofall the topics If you already have some ideas in your head after
that it does not cover and don't be shy to ask questions. reading the brief, you could suggest a certain approach.
Art directors and editors are commonly working on However, do not get into details yet. The first rough
many projects simultaneously, and they will appreciate sketches should be the place for you to show your ideas.
your asking about things that they might have
overlooked. Ideally, answer the client’s first email Finally, you should tell the art director what to expect
within twenty-four hours. Agencies and publishing from you. | normally explain my working process,
houses move fast, and they will not wait around for letting her or him know that | will send a rough sketch
you. It would be a pity if a job went to someone else along with a color scheme first, and if the direction,
just because you did not send your answer fast enough. style, composition, and color scheme are approved, |
will move on to the digital drawing. | explain that my
In your first email, show your interest in the job and process includes two rounds of sketches and two
clearly state any questions you may have. Be to the rounds of amends during the project. If the client
point and make yourself available by phone as well as approves the terms of your working process, tell him or
by email, because some art directors and editors may her you would be happy to take on the job.
not have the time to write long answers.

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156 CHAPTER 10

The Roughs

Showing your entire exploration and process would be e __ its structure

confusing for the client. Therefore, you should present e __ thestylistic direction of the letter shapes
only the best of your initial sketches as your first draft. e thedecorative elements
Art directors and editors are often rushed, and they will the color scheme.
appreciate if you make the process economical for
them. So unless they request otherwise, show only one The rough sketch may be scanned and digitally colored
or two options as solutions for the brief, implying that or submitted in black-and-white along with a sug-
you have already filtered through the many options you gested color palette. Include a brief description of your
have explored and are showing only the winners. inspirations and describe features that your rough
sketch does not include, such as shadows, textures, and
Rough sketches do not need to be beautiful or refined. other elements that will be added later on. However,
They do need to show the following aspects of you don’t want to overexplain what the client is already
your piece: seeing. A good sketch should be able to speak for itself.

Book jacket for Walker

Books. AD: Maria
Soler Canton

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SCHLITZ

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 WORKIN PROGRESS 157

The rough sketch is the basis for discussing the

direction of the project with the client. You will
get feedback on whether your ideas work for the
‘urypray det noch lange bet tetRulyo DeBeet
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through a password-protected web page, where |
upload the rough sketches and later on the digital
drawing, as well as my written notes on the
project, including deadlines, the names of those
involved, and one or two paragraphs describing
the main points of the briefing. This way the client
has a full overview of the job from start to finish,
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158 CHAPTER 10

Feedback

Feedback is a vital part of your process. Your chances of you will save yourselfa lot of time by making sure up
delivering a successful final artwork depends to a great front that you are heading in the right direction with
degree on your ability to interpret and incorporate the your work.
client’s feedback into the next iterations.
If there are numerous changes that mean a radical shift
Feedback can often be overwhelming and discouraging. from your original rough sketch, or if the client wants
Don't take criticism personally, and be professional in you to come up with a new concept, the fastest method
solving any issues. You will learn with experience that a is to present a new sketch outlining the new direction
client’s comments serve to improve your work. The and then have a second round of feedback with the art
design process is never a straight line, and your client’s director or editor to make sure that you are ready to
feedback is just one step in the set of iterations that will start with the digital drawing.
lead to an outstanding result.
If there are only a few changes that don’t affect the
If you think that one of the suggested modifications structure ofthe piece, you can agree with the art
will not be good for the piece, politely suggest another
solution. Remember that you were hired for the job
because the company likes your work and trusts your
expertise, so rely on your knowledge and experience
as well.

In the best-case scenario you will receive an organized

list of tweaks and changes the client wants you to make
to your sketch. Oftentimes you'll receive feedback ina
much less clear way, either in writing or by phone,
including a mix of impressions and problems. If
this is
the case, you should take these notes and organize
them as a list of amendments to make and suggest pos-
sible solutions to the problems that were pointed out.
Send this list to the art director to make sure that this
reflects the changes the client wants you to perform.
Opener for Vanity Fair
Spain. Rather than being annoyed, she or he will surely
AD: Maria San Juan appreciate your help in organizing the workflow, and
 WORK IN PROGRESS

At an pen AVruskeeg
\ Headline for
y Glamour Germany.
AD: Katja Klinger

director or editor that you will incorporate them approval in writing. It is okay to politely ask if the
directly in the digital drawing. sketch is approved and to state clearly that you will
start working on the final artwork based on the
Before moving on to digitizing your lettering, you want direction of the approved sketch.
to make sure that the art director or editor approves
your concept. Ideally you will want to have this
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160 CHAPTER 10

Digital Drawing

As we have learned in chapter 8, digitizing your drawing

is the most time-consuming part of lettering. Since
some details are still undefined in a rough sketch, the
digital drawing also involves further decision-making.
You may therefore want to share an early draft with
your client, to confirm again that you are moving in the
right direction.

After presenting your digital drawing, there may bea

round of changes, typically involving details or color
changes that you can take care of promptly.
Before you deliver the final result, you will want to
make sure that the art director or editor is happy with
the revised version and ready to receive final files from
you. Politely ask if everything looks fine, and if so, you
can start preparing the files. Now you are ready to wrap
up the job!

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 WORK IN PROGRESS 161

Delivering Finals

Convert all elements ofyour lettering, including any Lettering for AIGA’s
“Eye on Design” blog.
fonts you may have incorporated, to outlines, so that
AD: Perrin Drumm
your artwork can be scaled without changing
the
proportions of the components ofyour design. If you
have kept letter shapes separate from each other,
merge them now.

If not specified in the initial briefing, find out from your

client whether you need to allow for bleed, which is
usually the case for print products. Bleed is basically an
extra amount of image that extends the intended trim
size. It is added as a safety measure to ensure that an
image is not cut off when the paper is trimmed. The
bleed is usually about .125 to .2 inches.

Make sure the color mode matches the needs of the

client. Normally you will deliver a CMYK file if your
piece is intended for print and an RGB file if it is
intended for digital uses. Make your final files available
for download online. That will keep you from having to
send large files by email and will make it easier for your
client to share them internally.

Once the client has approved your digital drawing, you Say good-bye and offer your help in case there are any
need to deliver your file—or files, if there are several issues later in the process. Let the client know that you
versions, such as a black-and-white and color version— have enjoyed working with him or her and that you are
in the format the client has requested. Your drawing looking forward to future collaborations.
should be cleaned ofall unused layers and colors, and,
unless the client has explicitly asked you to deliver the
file in layers, it should be collapsed into one single
grouped object. This will avoid any possible shifting of
elements in your piece.
 CHAPTER 10

Timing

When working as a professional lettering designer, takes too long to give you feedback, it is okay for you to
meeting deadlines is essential. Often your work will be ask (always politely!) for it, so you can go on working.
used within a larger context, such as a magazine, an ad
campaign, or a branding system, and if your work is In some cases a project will turn out to be more
delayed, it will influence the whole project. Delivering a complex than you initially thought and therefore also
job late will cause a domino effect that will impact not more time-consuming. Communicate that in due
only the people you work with directly but everyone course and ask if your deadline can be shifted.
involved in the larger project. Oftentimes project managers pad their schedules, so
you might be granted some extra time to work on
Therefore, it is important that you take care of your own the project. Ifyou happen to finish the final artwork
deadlines, regardless of your client’s workflow. Your earlier after all, your client will always be happy to get
project will be just one of many the client company is it sooner.
dealing with simultaneously. If the art director or editor

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 WORK IN PROGRESS 163

Getting Better

Making a career as a lettering designer depends on But when the goal is to deliver a great piece of work,
creating good artwork and building a portfolio of how good is good enough? This perception will change
projects with happy clients. Those clients will come with time as your skills improve and, correspondingly,
back for more work and will recommend you to other your standards rise.
potential clients. There are two aspects to making
clients happy: one is the quality of your work, and the The line that defines whether a job is finished or not is
other is the human factor. The former depends on the very blurry. On the one hand, refining a piece indefi-
way you pay attention to and interpret the briefing, nitely keeps us from moving on to other things. In the
understand the client’s feedback, and dedicate the time case of acommercial project, it also creates the danger
to the commission it needs. The latter involves facilitat- of not meeting the deadline. On the other hand, a
ing an open and smooth creative process, being kind refinement process that is cut short might lead toa
and easy to work with, and stickingto deadlines at all poor result.
times. Always keep in mind that you are working with
people. Be courteous, empathetic, professional, and Determining the level of quality a work must have to
proactive, and contribute ideas. Deliver good work be considered finished is not easy, but in time, with
within the set time frame. practice, you will acquire a feeling for when a piece
is done.
Now that we find ourselves near the end ofthis book, it
is time to unveil an uncomfortable truth: your pieces Because repetition improves your memory, practicing
will never be finished. In a few years, if you look at an is crucial to raise the quality of your creative work.
artwork you did today, you will probably want to This way you will build a library of letter shapes and
change parts of it, if not the whole thing! concepts that will show up naturally in every piece
you make.
Iterations of your design can go on forever, and there is
always room for improvement. Therefore, it is essential
to set a limit. This may come from a client who defines
a deadline, or it may come from yourself, because you
think a design is “good enough.”
164 CHAPTER 10

Checklist for Good Lettering Design

A Ddak
Of course, creating high-quality work is the most
Its richness ofdetail is what
important factor in making a reputation for
Y Crue teney differentiates lettering from
yourself as a professional lettering designer. 4 other typographic forms.
Since lettering designers are
Everything you create and put out there will stay _ As we have learned, the
dealing with a limited set of
letters in the alphabet share
there for a long time. Therefore, setting standards letters and words, they can
certain shapes and features.
for your work is an essential part of your statement work with a level of detail and
Therefore, if I decide to work
as a professional. Where in the creative world do embellishment that type
with a certain type of serif, I
you want to stand and what kind of contribution do designers cannot.
should be able to apply this
you want to make?
design decision to every
A type designer focuses on
letter of my piece. This does
Nowadays lettering is everywhere! Social media has creating a complete function-
not mean that I copy and
triggered this boom and influenced many to make a ing alphabet that works in all
paste the exact same serif on
go of lettering professionally. There are so many possible combinations
every letter; rather, I adjust
talented lettering designers that the only way to (including punctuation
its basic shape according to
marks, diacritics, numbers,
stand out is by doing good work consistently. But the nature of each letter-
and other components of a
what defines good work? form. This way my design
font). Adding a great amount
will look consistent, and the
of detail and adornment
Throughout the years | have put together a series of letters will “speak the same
would simply make the
standards | have set for myselfto deliver high- language.” The same is true
project endless. Therefore, a
quality work, a sort of checklist for each one of my for calligraphic style. To
font cannot perform the same
make the design consistent,
projects.
kind of tasks that lettering
all letter strokes need to be
can. As a lettering designer I
executed with the same tool,
Standards change with time and depend on the can add several layers of
by the same hand, and ata
person setting them. You can read my standards on intricate details and orna-
consistent speed.
this spread, but I’m sure you will soon create your mentation in order to createa |
own standards for your own work. unique piece.
 WORKIN PROGRESS 165

/ Ome ofa kind

Lettering is custom made for

a specific purpose. Whether it
is used for a storefront, a
magazine cover, or an article
Lettering is a craft that dates
illustration, the power of
back centuries, which allows us
custom lettering is that it is
tailored to that specific object
| to get inspiration from a rich
“8ig, Marr 2 4 Of course! The letterforms are pool ofhistoric styles, shapes,
or application. Its shapes,
4 the stars of my work. They and features. At the same time,
colors, and structure should
should be consistent and we should pay attention to the
be designed to work in Is my lettering conveying the
beautifully crafted. As a letter work of contemporary artists
perfect harmony with its message or story that I want
designer, my main focus and designers.
context. Since we do not it to convey? All the elements
should lie in searching for the
work with preexisting letters, combined in my design, such
ideal shape for my letters. Getting inspiration, however,
we create one-of-a-kind as color, structure, letter
neither means replicating a
pieces that cannot be used for shapes, and embellishments,
For a beginner it may be vintage design nor trying to
anything else, which gives should contribute to this
tempting to cut the phase of emulate a contemporary
lettering design its unique ultimate goal. An artwork
letter refinement short and lettering designer. Your work
character. that conveys an unwanted
move on too quickly to adding should always aim to bring
message or the wrong
color and texture. It might be something new to the scene—
atmosphere fails as a
appealing to make use of find your own voice rather than
communication piece, no
effects that promise to creating more of what already
matter how pretty it is.
“enhance” your design. exists.

Bear in mind, though, that a

set of graphic artifacts and
visual fireworks may possibly
hide poorly executed letter
shapes from uneducated eyes,
but not the eyes of those who
could potentially hire you for
your next job.
166 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND REFERENCES

een

rear
ROL
-
a

Selected Bibliography and Recommended Links

Cheng, Karen. Anatomie der Buchstaben [Anatomy Hong, Geum-Hee. Brush'n’ Script. Mainz: Verlag Stawinski, Gregor. Retrofonts. Mainz: Verlag
of letters]. Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt, Hermann Schmidt, 2010. Hermann Schmidt, 2009.
2006. Noordzij, Gerrit. The Stroke: Theory of Writing.
Congdon, Lisa. Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for London: Hyphen Press, 2005.
Building Your Career as an Artist. San Francisco: Pott, Gottfried. Kalligrafie: Erste Hilfe und Matthew Butterick, Butterick’s Practical Typography,
Chronicle Books, 2014. Schrift-Training mit Muster-Alphabeten www.practicaltypography.com
Graphic Artist’s Guild. Handbook ofPricing and (Calligraphy: first aid and writing training Tobias Frere-Jones, Frere-Jones, www.frerejones.com
Ethical Guidelines. New York: Graphic Artists with alphabet templates]. Mainz: Verlag Allan Haley, “Type Classifications,” Fontology,
Guild, 2013. Hermann Schmidt, 2005. www.fonts.com
Highsmith, Cyrus. Inside Paragraphs: Typographic Pott, Gottfried. Kalligrafie Intensiv-Training Yves Peters, “Figuring Out Numerals,” The Font
Fundamentals. Boston: Font Bureau, 2012. [Calligraphy: intensive training]. Mainz: Feed, www.fontfeed.com
Hildebrandt, Gesine, and Jim Williams. Schrift Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 2006. Paul Shaw, “Script Type Terminology: A preview of
wirkt! Einfache Tipps fiir den taglichen Umgang Pott, Gottfried. Schreiben mit Hand und Herz. a new book,” www.paulshawletterdesign.com
mit Schrift [Writing works: simple tips for Kalligrafische Erfahrungen [Writing by hand Ilene Strizver, “Punctuations,” Fontology,
everyday use]. Mainz: Verlag Hermann and heart: calligraphic experiences]. Mainz: www.fonts.com
Schmidt, 2012. Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 2016.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Martina Flor combines her talents as designer and

illustrator in the drawing of letters. She grew up in
Buenos Aires, where she studied graphic design and
worked as an illustrator and art director for many years.
After obtaining a master’s degree in type design from
the Royal Academy ofArt in The Hague, she founded
her own studio in Berlin.

Specializing in lettering and type design, she works for

publishing houses, agencies, and private clients around
the globe. Flor cofounded the online competition
Lettering vs. Calligraphy, which garnered a lot of
attention, and she has also initiated numerous other
noncommercial projects, including Letter Collections, a
Villbrandt
Jules
by
Photo collection of postcards. Her series of lettering work-
shops called “Good Type’ is now also available on two
online platforms (Skillshare and Domestika) in two
languages (English and Spanish).

When she is not busy drawing letters, Flor teaches at

several universities and travels around the world to
host workshops or speak at design conferences. With
her work, she has helped establish lettering design in
the European design scene and has become a leader in
the industry.
Princeton Architectural Press Special thanks to: Janet Behning, Erin Cain, Tom Cho,
A McEvoy Group company Barbara Darko, Benjamin English, Jenny Florence,
37 East Seventh Street Jan Cigliano Hartman, Lia Hunt, Mia Johnson,
New York, New York 10003 Valerie Kamen, Simone Kaplan-Senchak,
202 Warren Street Stephanie Leke, Diane Levinson, Jennifer Lippert,
Hudson, New York 12534 Sarah McKay, Jaime Nelson, Rob Shaeffer,
Visit our website at www.papress.com Sara Stemen, Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston, and
Janet Wong of Princeton Architectural Press—
Simultaneously published in Germany with the title Kevin C. Lippert, publisher
Lust aufLettering by Verlag Hermann Schmidt.
Verlag Hermann Schmidt © 2017 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

English edition © 2017 Princeton Architectural Press Names: Flor, Martina, author. |
All rights reserved Translation of: Flor, Martina. Lust auf Lettering.
Printed and bound in China Title: The golden secrets of lettering :letter design
20191817 4321 First edition from first sketch to final artwork / Martina Flor.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any Other titles: Lust auf Lettering. English
manner without written permission from the publisher, Description: English edition. |
except in the context of reviews. New York : Princeton Architectural Press, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016037057 |ISBN 9781616895730
Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify (alk. paper)
owners of copyright. Errors or omissions will be Subjects: LCSH: Lettering—Technique.
corrected in subsequent editions. Classification: LCC NK3600 .F6413 2017 |DDC
745.6/1—dc23
Design: Martina Flor LC record available at https://Iccn.loc.gov/2016037057

For Princeton Architectural Press:

Project Editor: Nicola Brower
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 “Martina Flor has created an enchanted gateway to the art and
craft of lettering. This warm, happy book will ignite your eye and
delight your hand. You won’t want to put down your pencil.”
ELLEN LUPTON, AUTHOR OF Thinking with Type

The Golden Secrets of Lettering is a comprehensive, beautifully

illustrated guide to hand lettering. Through easy-to-understand
instructions and guidelines, plenty of inspirational examples,
and hundreds of sketches and illustrations, Martina Flor shows
how to transform initial lettering concepts and sketches into
a well-shaped, exquisite piece ofdigital lettering that can be
published and sold.

Learn how to train your typographic eye by studying lettering

samples and the anatomy of letters; explore concepts of hierarchy,
composition, and flourishes; and discover the many different
ways ofcreating letter shapes. In addition, Flor explains the process
of creating a lettering project step by step—from start to finish,
from analog to digital—and gives valuable tips about how to make
a career as a lettering artist.

Martina Flor combines her talents as designer and illustrator in

the drawing of letters. After obtaining a master’s degree in type
design from the Royal Academy ofArt in The Hague, she founded
her own successful studio in Berlin with clients around the globe.
She also teaches at several universities, hosts workshops, and speaks
at design conferences.

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US$ 35.00 ISBN 978-1-61689-573-0 Princeton Architectural Press WWW.Ppapress.com